Is American Football Possible In The German Club System?
So in Germany there are football leagues and teams. They wear helmets and shoulder pads, they tackle and score touchdowns . But is
this football like we know it in the USA? Does the word "Footballplayer" mean something different in Germany? After all German clubs are
subject to German club structures and club rules as well as German social laws.
Therefore I would like to look at the differences between American football and German football and answer the question if the foundation
of what football is, is even possible in the German club system. Because I would like to present a complete elaboration I will repeat
previously made statements to allow an exhaustive analysis.
Like I said before: In the USA, Football is generally played in schools and not in clubs. The school is often the heart of the town and
sports in schools brings school spirit and a sense of belonging together. Not only at school itself but also in the entire town! The high
school football team usually represents the entire town and the players (age 14-18) are local heroes. But many students are involved with
the team as cheerleaders, band members or team managers (coaches helpers). The entire town celebrates the games on friday nights
and everybody is a Tiger, Patriot, Yellowjacket or whatever the teams name is. During the week the team practices daily on the school`s
own sports fields lead by professional coaches (mostly teachers so they are getting paid to coach football and therefore bring
professionalism). The head coach his given the authority to lead his program with dictator-like hierarchies, otherwise the foundation of
football wouldn`t be possible. During the season, football is a priority for the players and commitment and mandatory practices (usually
only exceptions are death in immediate family or medical emergencies) are not only necessary (to bring needed conditions for football),
they are a given for the players! Football is the wrong sport for those who cannot give those things! For the protection of the team
coaches need to be able to dismiss players. But no matter how good or bad a player is, if he commits he usually will be supported!
But what about Football in Germany?
In Germany however it is a completely different story. There are generally no school sports league and no school teams and school spirit.
Schools are not the heart of the community and schools do not have mascots or nicknames (like Tigers, Patriots Yellowjackets etc) that
the student body identifies with. So there is no high school football team here that the entire town celebrates! And because there is no
school sport there is usually no professional support for athletes. Sports is not done in schools but in private clubs - regardless of the
sport. So the field they have to practice or play on is usually city owned and is shared with several clubs and then with all the teams
(youth teams like U13, U16, U19 and adult teams) within that club. So most of the time it is even hard to find space to practice twice a
week. Where I coached the teams only had half the field and usually only twice a week...while in the USA the football field is part of the
high school and they practice 5 times a week... Another problem here is that professional coaches are missing. Sports is viewed as a
hobby on the side. Many youth teams I know are coached by fathers. If teams are lucky the find an adult player as a coach but between is
day job, his family life and adult team practices ther is not much time for the youth (and if the guy knows the sport inside and out is a
different story anyways)...so hobby / recreational players and hobby coaches are the reason for a very low level of sports - compared to
the USA...
So usually there is no school / community spirit and generally no school sports over here. German youths are robbed of all those
advantages.
And German youths are robbed of American Football. Because the foundation of what makes football is generally missing completely:
Football was invented to be a lot more than just a sport! Football was not about being played professionally - football was invented
instead to - in a sports environment - raise and mold boys into better, strong willed and tough men! Football was developed to help
prepare boys for their future! For that reason football was invented with military like discipline! Because only discipline brings all the
virtues that are needed in football: Commitment, sacrifice, mental and physical toughness, team love and team spirit! So football is not
just a common sport, football IS discipline! Discipline is the foundation, what football was founded on!!! So in order to play football
correctly you have to have strict discipline!
The Foundation Of Football
Football was invented to be a lot more than just a sport! Football was not about being played professionaly (that came about 100 years later
as unfortunately sooner or later everything is about making money) - football was invented instead to - in a sports environment - raise and
mold boys into better, strong willed and tough men! Football was developed to help prepare boys for their future! For that reason football
was invented with military like discipline! Because only discipline brings all the virtues that are needed in football: Commitment, sacrifice,
mental and physical toughness, team love and team spirit! So football is not just a common sport, football IS discipline! Discipline is the
foundation, what football was founded on!!! So in order to play football correctly you have to have strict discipline!
Even the New York Times - America`s largest Newspaper - confirms this: "DISCIPLINE is a football coach's favorite word. And like everything
else in football, it's as old as blocking and tackling. Amos Alonzo Stagg and Pop Warner talked about discipline. So did Knute Rockne and
Vince Lombardi" ( New York Times - 28.11.1988).
One of the most successful High School Football Coaches in the USA (and during his time the coach with the most wins in Texas high school
history) is Coach G.A. Moore. Ed Housewright wrote a book about Coach Moore called "Beyond Just Win - The Story of G.A. Moore". In this
book a former football player is quoted: "He is an incredible individual. He`s father-like. He cared about his players and everything that went
on in their lives. It wasn`t just about football. It was about teaching us life lessons. I know in my household , my parents never set any rules
for me because Coach Moore set them all". The book also states: " Moore had rules for the players on the field and off the field. They
included a prohibition on dating during the football season".
In his book "Big and Bright - Deep in the Heart of Texas High School Football" Coach Gray Levy describes the role of football as follows: ""It
wasn`t about winning. It had to do with the more important but less regognized task of building boys into men."
In an article on SI.com from October 24, 2013, High School Football Coach Jeff Scurran writes: "Football has become the last bastion of
discipline. Every good football coach knows you can be the greatest mind in the world when it comes to strategy, but if you don’t train your
troops, it’s all a waste. In football, we are training the troops. We are teaching kids traits desired by many professions, including the military. I
took my team on a trip to West Point a few years ago. I wasn’t surprised to find out that every freshman cadet was required to play on an
intramural football team. Because in football, we are teaching kids hustle, determination, teamwork, effort, discipline, intelligence and that
hard work pays off. If the high school football coach doesn’t teach this, who will?..."
Update 2020: Even the popular regional German newspaper "Aachener Zeitung - Heinsberger Zeitung - Erkelenzer Volkszeitung" calls
Football "a perfectly simulated conquering battle" in a report about the Superbowl. The article further states:" American Football is deeply
rooted in the people. Football is part of the identity. This land is constructed similar to a football team! It is based on discipline, competition
and Success. Take those things away and you have weakness, chaos and decay of moral and ethics. All that is happening in America now".
Those quotes are from an article in Aachener Zeitung published on Feb1, 2020! Impressive for a German newspaper to realize what football
is and to print it!!!
I could certainly bring thousands more examples! Everybody in the U.S. knows that football IS discipline. Parents want Coaches to be tough
and mold their child with discipline! Parents let their kids play football to be formed into better people! After all that is what football is founded
on! Football-communities want tough coaches! I would like to go back to Gray Levy and a statement from his book mentioned above. This
section deals with a winning team (7-0) but the community felt that the coach was not bringing enough discipline: " ...some saw an inability to
discipline is squad correctly and worried that the lack of discipline would cost them...".
So how does football discipline look like and what does it mean to be a football player? I will explain a bit further in in the section "High
school football". But for now let me say this:
Because Football incorporates many different skills, teamwork, as well as physical and mental toughness and discipline, practices have to be
organized and run accordingly. Football practice therefore means high energy! And commands in football have to be communicated loud
and clear. Players also need to know that wrongdoings have consequences - otherwise the sport does not work, especially with boys in
puberty...If you ever watch a high school football practice you will realize that is about the same everywhere and comes close to a military
boot camp! The best high school teams are lead in a dictatorial manner and the reasons are obvious. Team functions like practice or
meetings are strictly mandatory (with very few exceptions - a family death or medical emergency) and whoever cannot commit to the strict
rules simply cannot be a football player! And because Germany has a different understanding: A football head coach is far more than what
is known as "Trainer" in German sports (in Germanya a "coach" is defined as "exercise leader", not as leadoer of the entire program. This is
a huge problem because it shows the mindset towards what a "coach" is in Germany! In USA Head coaches are the teams leader and have a
lot more authority than "Trainers" have in German sports teams. Because of that he is a lot more than just a "trainer". He is mentor, teacher,
fatherfigure and even a little bit of a friend. And despite the dictatorial toughness players usually love their coaches - and vice versa.And
players understand the principles of football and even discipline themselves!
Is This Foundation possible in the German Club Culture?
So is the for football nessessary military-like discipline possible in Germany so that the nessessary virtues are developed? Can a head
coach be the undisputed "dictator" as single head of the entire football program - without interference of others? Can coaches demand
mandatory practices and commitment, make strict rules and dismiss players who break rules and do not commit? Sadly the general answer is
a clear NO!
One of the main reasons is the German club system itself. A club is a legal structure with equal voting rights and descisionmaking rights . And
social Laws and regulations given by the government and the sports authorities generally do not allow American type football. I guess all
those things formed a German sports mentality that brings it very far from even grasping what real football is!!!
1) German laws speak against real football:
German social law §11 states that “youth shall partake in decision-making” and “ youth shall govern itself” !!! Exactly the opposite is needed
for real football. High commitment and discipline and mandatory practices are impossible if a youth has the power of decision-making.
2) Club laws are against real football:
German social life is dominated by clubs...A club is a legal entity for people to follow the same interests together. So people who share similar
interests form a club to follow their hobby together. There are stamp collector clubs, garden clubs, crochet clubs, cooking clubs etc...and
there are of course sports clubs. All those clubs are under the German club laws and the fundamental idea is a like-minded union with equal
rights for each member. Putting one member above another is generally NOT allowed!Clubs are based on equal rights. The club leadership
has to adhere to the will of the membership. So no matter if players or coaches or team president – they all have the same rights!!! And who
are the members of a club? The players themselves!!! So the will of the players always trumps the will of the coaches simply because there
are more players than coaches…
3) Sport Fed and “Ministry of family, children, youth, culture and sports” guidelines are against the foundation of football:
"Forbidden factors of youth sports are structures based on authority with power given to team leaders" - Excuse me?!? That is exactly how a
team sport, especially football, functions!!! The guideline asks for a rule package with the following regulations:
- "Nobody will be forced to participate in an exercise or practice" - So exercises and practices are optional and not mandatory for those on
the team. So if a player feels like he does not want to participate in an exercise or even the entire practice he has the right to do so without
being penalized for it. This is a slap in the face of what football is.
- "Coaches are not allowed to enter the locker rooms" - Excuse me?!? What about safety? An adult should supervise the kids at any time for
their own protection! This clearly shows the mentality that kids are entitled and empowered to do as they please without adult supervision!
But even more important for football: Team building like love, spirit and character takes place in the locker room. The locker room is the heart
of every team and is as important for forming a team than the field itself is!!! So the team leader is not allowed to be in the heart of the team.
That says a lot!
- "Special practices have to be allowed by the club`s board and only with parental consent!!!"
- "Personal feelings of the youth comes first and a coach assists the youth in his or her self-fulfillment" - Wait, what?!? Football teaches that
the team comes first, an important life lesson is to put personal wishes and feelings behind the team needs for the good of the team. Exactly
the opposite is demanded in German youth sports!!!
- "Practicing physical, psychological or mental violence is strictly forbidden - Football is a violent sport. Football players are expected to be
tough, mentally as well as physically! So that toughness needs to be practiced!!! But not in Germany…
So a coach is not the boss, the coach is merely an exercise helper, he can only “suggest” but not demand" - There is no commitment, no
duty, no responsibility and no obligation! Practice is optional and not mandatory! And the coach is not the leader (boss, dictator). Is is simply
an exercise-helper. However a popular saying in the USA is: Football is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship of the head coach!
4) Club hierarchies generally do not allow real football:
Club hierarchies call for a certain distribution of power! And even though the membership itself is the head of the club those hierarchies are
completely against what is needed in football!
5) Club structures go against what is needed in real football
A club usually has several teams (adult and several youth teams divided by age). This makes it as good as impossible to shelter the team
from outside influences. Closed practices are nearly impossible. In fact in Germany it is not even desired to separate the teams, instead the
will is to be one big “family” - so building a team identity is impossible!
6) The German sports culture goes against football
In Germany sports is mainly viewed as a hobby on the side without any commitments. The “coaches” are (in pretty much all cases) simply
volunteers, also without commitments in most cases. Maybe there are a few exceptions, I don`t know any though. If a youth in a small or mid
size town wants to be serious about sports he or she can just about forget about it because of the typical German sports mentality: Parents
want their kids to play a little sports on the side, without commitment and without having to attend every practice. Enforcing practice
attendance is not really do-able in the German mindset. Forcing players to come to every practise would be too much to ask since -
according to the typical German understanding - sports is only supposed to be a little hobby on the side and not taken seriously.
Unfortunately people here don`t realize what they keep from the kids here! My players for example would not have it any other way now that
they know what real Football is!!! Because Football is commitment, everything else makes a joke out of the sport! Everybody who know what
football practice demands will confirm this! But it seems like coaches over here are content with missing their players for grandma`s birthday,
grandpa`s birthday, parents birthdays, siblings birthday, doctor`s appointments, or when it is to warm outside or to cold outside. And then
there are always school functions! And school is always more important than sports. Unfortunately the schools do not respect the sports
clubs at all. They schedule a lot of functions at night during club times and players miss practices or even games because of school plays,
project week, week-long school trips etc. Some players even have regular school until 5.30/6.00 PM on weekdays! And that prevents them
from attending practice! So a good player who would have a future career in sports is robbed of that future because school does not allow
him to practice on the regular bases!!!! While in the USA practice is part of school! So much for supporting athletes in this country...And what
I don`t get is this: In this country sports is done outside of school in the spare times in the afternoon / night (that in itself has a lot of
disadvantages as I said earlier). So at least the school should respect the club time – but they don`t…instead clubs are viewed as minor...
because sports is viewed as unimportant (just a little hobby without commitment) and school is always superior. As long as club sports is
viewed as a hobby and school is more important then you can pretty much forget about real football in Germany! Now I am not saying that
football is more important than school BUT: Football can make much better people out of students than schools will ever be able to!!! You
read that right, let me say it again: Football makes much better people out of students than schools will ever be able to!!! Any of my current
players will attest to that!!! And it has been proven that football makes students better in school Read it again: Football makes students
better in school! People in the US know what can be achieved by playing football – even in school! Al this is possible because of what defines
football!!! If Germans would only understand the possibilities!!! I highly recommend to read the two books I recommend at the end of this
page for a better understanding of what football does!!! Unfortunately here exactly the opposite is wanted! But let`s look at the German
sports mentality from a different angle: How is it possible and tolerated that a team practices hard for months and months and then when it
counts the team misses key players because of a school trip during gameday! The team worked hard but blood, sweat and tears are
“wasted” because the state championship is lost because the school planned a trip during the weekend of the state championship! And those
trips are not mandatory in most cases. However it is normal that parents send their kids on those class trips. Because here they don`t know
commitment, love, team spirit, discipline etc Instead they view the team as a hobby on the side. They do not understand what a perfect
season or a championship would mean for the team or the kid. The efforts of the (volunteer) coaches and players are in vain from a sports
standpoint. German society will never take a football game over a school trip that is not even mandatory. They don`t understand that – if
done right – players would love their team mates much more than they would love their classmates! But here it is quite normal… Why is youth
sports here not done in school like in the USA?!? There would be so many advantages (see section "high School Football at the start).
Instead sports is not taken serious, it`s just a little hobby...I am so proud of my players though! All of my current kids have understood what
football is all about! And they are mighty proud of it! None of my boys would change with a player who`s team does not demand
commitments! But I guess we are the absolute exception in Germany when it comes to love, willpower, team spirit and discipline.
7) Representative teams go against real football and teach exactly the opposite of what real football teaches!
In NRW this team is called “Green Machine”. Those kind of teams practice during the season (about 10 weekends a year) and it does not
matter if the local teams of the green machine players have their own games or practices, the green machine expects every player to be
there! With that Green Machine encourages the breaking of team rules essential for real football and letting down your own team! Discipline
means keeping team rules and team spirit means not letting your team down and putting the teams needs over your own needs. That is why
there is no such thing as representative teams in Football. Think about it: If the best players would play on a national team then Tom Brady,
JJ Watt and them would have to be in that team – but a team like that does not exist! (USA Football has what they call "Team USA" but no
current NFL, College or High School players are on the team! Of course not. It is rather a "hobby team" consisting of former minor college or
high school players)There are All Star teams that practice once or twice AFTER the season and then they have a game! Nobody would ask a
high school coach, College coach or NFL coach to give up their best players during the season and no high school player would let down his
team ! Here however exactly the opposite is true and also proves that there is a definite lack of discipline and team spirit! Teams here brag
about their players making the green machine and players proudly show off Green Machine jerseys, jackets and caps – even during their
own teams functions. The homepage of the NRW Football Association showcases Green Machine events, news are dominated by green
machine and not regular league play… The way Green Machine is celebrated while the local teams are unimportant also proves how
misunderstood the sport is over here! "Green Machine" is against every foundation of football - and yet everybody here is proud to be a part
of it! Players wear "Green Machine clothing to the practices of their own team!!! !Another prove that they do not understand football!
Further reasons against real American football in Germany
a) There are usually several teams within a club (in fact oftentimes demanded by sports authorities here). Usually a club has adultteams and
several youth teams (divided by age). So blocking off a team and developing a team identity is not really possible.
b) Youth teams generally play a minor role in German sports clubs, the adult team are called "First Team". Youth teams are low level inferior
and the reason for the teams are to provide the adult team with new players. That alone shows the lack of football understanding here..
c) Players can chose what club / team they want to join. In the US that would be quite difficult because of school zoning.
Players can`t just switch teams because they disagree with something or have issues with the coaches. And that creates the fundamentals
needed in football. Players learn to suck it up! In Germany however it is common to test clubs/teams and then decide where they want to
play! And when they dislike something afterwards or have issues with coaches they just switch teams! This is also a perversion that mocks
the fundamentals of football! It also makes it hard to build the necessary toughness!
d) What is done during high school football remains important for the rest of players lives.. Most will never play football again after high
school, only a small percentage will make it to play college football. So the time in high school is where memories for life are made! In fact the
legacy of what happened on the football field stays with a player his entire life in American towns! This also shows the importance of high
school football. But it is hard to comprehend for somebody who never experienced high school football in the U.S. himself! Those 3 or 4
years of high school football mean a lot and players count down towards the end. Coaches use this for additional motivation! Playing for a
short period of time gives the sport a certain meaning different from being able to play half your life! In Germany players can play as long as
they want to or as long as they stay healthy! But this makes football a joke: How can you give the sport 100 percent commitment for 40
years?!? Impossible!!!
e) In the US, sports fields belong to the high schools, college or pro teams! In contrast: In Germany sports fields are usually not owned by the
clubs (remember, basically everybody can form a club) but are owned by the city or town. Therefore fields have to be shared with other
clubs. Oftentimes there is only one field available for 4 or 5 clubs! That means practice capacities are extremely limited (I have already
explained the disadvantages of limited field availability with regard to professionalism). So most teams practice twice a week. And in bigger
cities they do not even have the entire field available. For example where I coached I only had ½ the field most of the time. But that was even
pretty good, during our practices the other half was used by 2 (!) soccer teams, each only had ¼ field! And having several clubs using the
same field and therefor having the right to be there during football practices causes issues that are also against real football – because they
have the right to be at the field while football practice takes place! And that goes against fundamental needs of football!!! In the USA Head
Coaches usually close practices to the public for the following reasons:
- Team building via isolation: This is self explanatory!
- Avoid distractions: a practice field is like a classroom where players learn and small distractions can have huge influences
- Plays have to be a secret: But if a member of one of the other clubs practicing on the same field is friends with members of another local f
football team he can easily expose our secrets…and keeping plays a secret is fundamental! But near impossible in Germany!
f) Coaches in Germany are usually called "exercise leaders" by the sport authorities and lawmakers! Therefore coaches are not the head of
the programm but merely leaders during practice. This alone shows the German mindset that is transferred to German football as well...
So as you can see with all those facts - Geman football is very, very far away from the foundation of football...and that breaks my heart
because football is so much more and Germans are robbed of it!!!
Back to my personal story as coachin Germany HERE