German students give gridiron a try
Sports reporter
What's a high school guy to do when there's no soccer or lacrosse team to play on?
Play football.
That's the answer for three German foreign exchange students at Marion High School who arrived this fall, and the experience proved enlightening and enjoyable for all three.
"I was never interested in American football," admitted Tobias Brauer, who hails from Duesseldorf. "It was like running around with the ball and fighting with each other."
Hamm native Thomas Schaffrath noted soccer is the most popular youth sport in Germany.
"Soccer is the game everyone is interested in," he said. "It's such a huge thing. From preschool on, everyone wants to play soccer — that's the sport."
Lacrosse is the sporting passion of Philip Kleinheinz, who calls Neu-Isenburg, a Frankfurt suburb, home.
"I hoped to participate in soccer or lacrosse, but after I noticed it wasn't so popular here, I decided to play football," Kleinheinz said.
"I wanted to play because I played lacrosse three or four times a week, so it was a good idea to play football," he continued.
While most of the National Football League-Europe teams call Germany home, the three students admitted they had little knowledge of American football prior to donning pads as Warriors.
Schaffrath indicated he never had an interest in NFL Europe, while Kleinheinz said he had seen the Frankfurt team practicing, while on his way to and from field hockey practice.
"There were lots of people in my hometown who went to the (Rhein Fire) games," said Brauer, "but I think it's more adults who can understand the game. There aren't very many people who understand football in Germany."
The prevalence of soccer-style kickers in football made Brauer an immediate target for the Warrior squad.
"The first day I arrived I was asked if I could kick," he recalled.
Brauer and Schaffrath both gravitated toward place kicking duties, with Brauer kicking for the varsity and Schaffrath handling those duties on junior varsity.
The two took different approaches to the same task.
"The difference was in the style," said Brauer. "Thomas tried American style, and I used soccer style."
"The American way is accurate straight on," explained Schaffrath. "The soccer way, the ball goes in a bow, an arc."
As kicking specialists, Brauer and Schaffrath found themselves alone at practice much of the time.
"We'd do warm ups with the team, and then go practice on the big field," Schaffrath said.
The arrangement caused some momentary confusion for the pair during the Sept. 21 practice, when they observed the rest of team suddenly heading for the locker room, well before practice should have been over.
"We had to interrupt practice for a tornado warning," Schaffrath exclaimed. "Everyone was moving back into the locker room, and we followed along."
Brauer said his favorite game moment happened Sept. 22 during the homecoming contest against Haven.
"We were leading," Brauer recalled, "and I kicked my first kick into the end zone."
But it wasn't the kick that was most memorable for Brauer, who celebrated his kick with a brief on-field rendition of the "chicken dance."
"Everyone in the stands was doing the chicken dance," he laughed.
Schaffrath's highlight came Oct. 23, in the junior varsity finale against Remington.
"My best experience was when my kickoff came down at the 18," he said, expressing satisfaction in pinning the Broncos deep in their own territory. This set the stage for a Warrior defensive stand that led to an easy Marion touchdown.
Brauer experienced what has come to be a standard stereotype of football kickers.
"I never really played football," said Brauer, noting that as a kicker, he didn't participate in the physical play of offense or defense.
"You can't say I was really a football player," he said, smiling.
Kleinheinz had a somewhat different experience, as he tried playing several different positions in practice.
"Until the last three or four weeks, I didn't know what I would play," said Kleinheinz, who eventually settled in at defensive end.
"I tried receiver, but I couldn't catch the ball — so receiver was not so good," he laughed.
Kleinheinz had his most memorable game experience in the Remington junior varsity tilt, but had to wait until the second half for it to happen.
"A player forgot his shoes, and he borrowed mine for the first half," Kleinheinz explained. He had to talk the player into giving his shoes back so he could get into the game.
"I had three sacks in one quarter," he recalled.
All three players expressed gratitude for the support they received from their host parents during the season.
"They were very supportive, they brought me everywhere I needed to be," Schaffrath said of Jenny and Doug Lind.
"They've been really helpful," chimed in Kleinheinz, talking about Vickie and Bill Kaempfe.
"My host parents (Sunny and Ken Christensen) have been to every game," Brauer said. "He was a runner, and he helped me with my training."
The trio also received regular support from their families and friends back in Germany, who would stay up until midnight and beyond to make pre-game phone calls.
"I think that means quite a bit when you get a call in the middle of the night that supports you," Schaffrath said.
The three were eager to share their observations about the game of football. Schaffrath provided the most unique comparison.
"Football is kind of a mix of chess and soccer," he asserted.
"I was surprised about the breaks in the game flow, how the clock stopped so often," he observed.
Schaffrath noted that clock stoppage was integral to the conduct of the game.
"I realized the breaks were necessary for planning and to make things work," he explained. "The basic part (of football) is really tactics, where you try to repeat the things that work. The rest is the work and effort you have to put into it."
Kleinheinz contrasted football with lacrosse, suggesting more physical players have an advantage in football.
"In football, you use your body to do things, in lacrosse you use your stick," he began. "In football, if you're the most physical player on the field, you're one of the best."
"In lacrosse," he continued, "if you're physical but your technique is not good or you're not fast, you're not one of the better players."
Brauer took issue with his teammate's observation.
"I think football isn't all physical," he said. "Like Chase Carlson — he's 140 pounds, and he was always knocking the 240-pound guys down."
"I was impressed with the professionalism of the sport, even at the high school level," Brauer added.
All three indicated they have become fans of the game because of their participation.
"Now I can watch football for hours," said Schaffrath.
The Warrior coaching staff received high marks from the trio for their conduct in practice and games.
"I really liked our coaches — they have the perfect mix of funny and serious stuff," Brauer said. "And with the tactics stuff, they were pretty professional."
Kleinheinz and Schaffrath agreed that the staff was adept in finding the right words to say in whatever situations arose.
Participating in football also helped the players socially integrate into the high school more quickly.
"It was good to know the guys on the football team," said Schaffrath. "It's easier to make friends."
