Football has been a part of my life since I was ten years old. It’s been one (mis)adventure after another. Both on and off the field. …mostly good experiences I have to say.
I’ve been fortunate to work with some fantastic players, coaches, administrators and just “regular old” people. It’s been a great experience without a doubt. But…one of the most interesting turns in the road happened entirely by accident.
In July of 2016 I was a few years removed from football – retired from the Detroit Lions and working at Moravian College (now University) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. My boss (wife Shawn) and I were at a party – “The Italian Fest” put on by our friend Judy Kowalkowski
I spent some time with her brother David who was a fantastic football player at Miami (yes the U) and then one of the best HS football coaches in Missouri. He had spent some time coaching in Italy and his story really caught my interest.
He wasn’t greatly impressed by the football experience … but it was worth a worthwhile adventure. He encouraged me to look into it.
But, try as I might for the next year or so I could not figure out a way to get to Europe. But, then – out of the blue as many things happen in the world – I got a connection!
I was chatting on the phone with an old coaching companion – Bert Hill- who was coaching at SMU at the time. I told him about my efforts and frustration with the European Experiment I was trying to get going.
He said “Hold on a second.” Apparently, in the office across from his was a coach … Carlos Barocio who had spent time as a player and coach in Europe. Bert went and retrieved him – Carlos and I spent a long time talking about football in Europe.
Anyway … Carlos told me that he had a friend who he played with that might be looking for some help. He told me about Giorgio Volpi … the defensive coach for the Junior National Team of Switzerland. Carlos said he might be looking for some help.
He said he had just spoken with Volpi and the Swiss team was getting ready for the beginnings of the European Championship games and he would get in touch with him. I was pretty excited at this and sure enough this seemed like something that might be interesting.
Next Up: Getting a Swiss Education!
Konkrete Kid in Football 