The influx to the departments seems to continue unabated despite the Corona break –
1 hour ago
Pyro, flag, strong guys: when the Hemhofen Gechers stormed onto the pitch, there was always a big show.
11.12.2020
Pyro, flag, strong guys: when the Hemhofen Gechers stormed onto the pitch, there was always a big show.
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The first round table in American football between the city of Erlangen and the district must take place virtually. Theofanis Triantafillos, head of department at Hemhofen Gechers, wears a Christmas sweater in the Zoom conference and drinks Coke. Niklas Benz from the Herzo Rhinos created a background with the club logo. Sabrina Deckert represents the Erlangen Sharks in the group as team manager without a lot of frills.
Hundreds of spectators, big halftime shows: the football derbies of recent years have brought a lot of life to local sport. Will something like this still exist after the crisis?
Niklas Benz (Herzo Rhinos): I am convinced of that. Of course the situation is not easy, the start of the season was imminent. For us it would have been the first season in the national league. Then came the lockdown.
Sabrina Deckert (Erlangen Sharks): I also believe that as soon as the sport is generally possible again, we will have well-attended match days again. More and more teams are sprouting, the region is becoming more and more networked in football.
Have your teams lost players?
The Sharks derby is the one against the Franconian Timberwolves.
10.12.2020
© Sonja Och, NN
The Sharks derby is the one against the Franconian Timberwolves.
10.12.2020
Photo: Sonja Och, NN
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Theofanis Triantafillos (Hemhofen Gechers): In the time between lockdowns, when everyone wanted out, we got 15 new players. But at “lockdown light” times there is a little problem again. That is understandable, because there is currently no goal.
Deckert: Many have joined us. And that although no full contact training was possible. We are very popular thanks to the university. Our team is renewed with every semester. The enthusiasm is still there.
Benz: It is the same with us. Despite Corona, we have a brisk influx and hardly any departures.
“Many underestimate the effort”
It was always said that American football attracts people who otherwise haven’t played that much sport. Is that still the case now that the sport is more established?
Deckert: The fact that American football is so versatile is sure to motivate people who would have fallen through the cracks in other team sports. Personally, I wouldn’t go to ballet either because the body mass index doesn’t fit. But it’s not that you only have new players who have never played sports. But many underestimate the effort.
Benz: It is not for nothing that football advertises with the slogan of finding a position for everyone. But I agree that many underestimate the Position Line. In the professional league, people weigh 140 kilos. But they run 40 meters in five seconds.
Deckert: Sometimes people come who are thin and I think: Wow, he has to be quick. And then after 40 yards he’s already panting. And there are guys who weigh 120 kilos and run up and down for two hours and then can train for another hour.
Does that mean that the supposed casual athletes weren’t the first to jump off during the crisis?
Deckert: At least not with us.
Triantafillos: The good thing is that it’s not just our sport that is paralyzed. This means there aren’t many opportunities to try different things.
Football is a very tactical sport. Is it that easy to get started again?
When the Rhinos play, there is always a lot going on at ASV Herzogenaurach – also in terms of spectators.
10.12.2020
© Thomas Welker, NN
When the Rhinos play, there is always a lot going on at ASV Herzogenaurach – also in terms of spectators.
10.12.2020
Photo: Thomas Welker, NN
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Benz: You need six to eight weeks. You can also do a lot of theory online. Normally you would never have that much time for that, that’s also an opportunity.
Deckert: Six weeks, that would be twelve training sessions, that’s the minimum. I think three months is more realistic. Right now is the best time to take such a playbook apart. With many teams this is so complex that newbies cannot figure it out.
Doesn’t that annoy the players that they haven’t been able to run over anyone for months?
Deckert: When contact training was possible in between, hearts opened up everywhere (laughs).
“The region is big enough”
The WhatsApp group that organized this meeting was already joking. How big is the rivalry?
Deckert: Rivalry I don’t know. What sometimes comes across is when advertising is being done across the board, but that’s just fun for each other. Our referees love going to the Gechers. The demand and the region are big enough.
Triantafillos: Each club has its own identity and pays attention to different things. Every player can choose what he likes. The first derbies against the Rhinos, of course, we built it up a bit, we want to show what our sport can do and put on a little show.
Benz: A healthy rivalry in the county is not a bad thing. Each club can only get the maximum out of it for itself. Sport lives from this. The rivalry between Gechers and Rhinos did something good for both clubs at the home games.
And there are always new teams. Is there room for all clubs in the city and district?
Benz: The region is economically strong enough. Football is still an exotic sport. So it’s important to have a solid main club that is passionate about it and is happy when 500 to 800 spectators come to the home games. In the end, the club that has the best program wins.
Sabrina Deckert is team manager and former player with the Erlangen Sharks. The men in the football department of SpVgg, which was founded in 2003, want to compete in the Bayern League again in the coming season. There is currently no women’s team after the Erlangen Rebels split off.
11.12.2020
© Photo: private
Sabrina Deckert is team manager and former player with the Erlangen Sharks. The men in the football department of SpVgg, which was founded in 2003, want to compete in the Bayern League again in the coming season. There is currently no women’s team after the Erlangen Rebels split off.
11.12.2020
Photo: Photo: private
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Deckert: You definitely need the support of the club. With the SpVgg, we have a very established club in Erlangen. There is enthusiasm for every sport. In terms of planning, it is of course not as easy for us as with the ASV. Football is the biggest there, right?
Benz: Yes. With football, we are now a two-division club at ASV. We started with 20 people in 2018 and are now around 180.
Deckert: We have to coordinate with the footballers who make up the largest department. But there is a lot of willingness there. Two years ago we had the semi-finals of the 2nd women’s Bundesliga. The footballers canceled an important game so that we could have the stadium.
“It may be a little more difficult in the village”
How is it in Hemhofen in the country?
Theofanis Triantafillos is head of department and co-founder of the Hemhofen Gechers. After two years, they signed up for the regional league. “We had to fight forever because the coach actually wanted to register for the ELF (European League of Football),” he says – joking of course.
11.12.2020
© Photo: private
Theofanis Triantafillos is head of department and co-founder of the Hemhofen Gechers. After two years, they signed up for the regional league. “We had to fight forever because the coach actually wanted to register for the ELF (European League of Football),” he says – joking of course.
11.12.2020
Photo: Photo: private
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Triantafillos: I was just very surprised that football is the largest division at ASV. Because there are many youth teams in football. We now have 140 members and are the second largest department after football. It may be a little more difficult in the village. In the beginning, a guy came with the lawnmower and said: What are you doing, I wanted to prepare the pitch for football? But the club suits us very well. And the long-time residents also respect what we have built.
Deckert: Footballers also bring a different mentality to clubs. When you see what has happened to the Rhinos in Herzogenaurach. Before the footballers came, no one was interested in the beautiful old goal on the pitch. Everything has now been set up. If you get involved, you can get rid of the barrier with the older men. If you do well with this Cosa Nostra (laughs) that every club has, then you can make progress.
The Rhinos now have a women’s team. I hear half the Rams team has switched to you, Mr Benz?
Niklas Benz has been head of the football department at ASV Herzogenaurach since Herzo Rhinos was founded in 2018. He is also responsible for defense in the coaching staff as a defensive coordinator. The Rhinos have registered their men’s team for the state league, the women for the 2nd women’s division.
11.12.2020
© Photo: private
Niklas Benz has been head of the football department at ASV Herzogenaurach since Herzo Rhinos was founded in 2018. He is also responsible for defense in the coaching staff as a defensive coordinator. The Rhinos have registered their men’s team for the state league, the women for the 2nd women’s division.
11.12.2020
Photo: Photo: private
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Benz: That is the free decision of the players. Nobody can influence that. There are enough other teams in the area that they could have gone to.
When will the Gechers get a women’s team, Mr. Triantafillos?
The other two laugh.
Triantafillos: We haven’t looked at the topic yet, to be honest. We weren’t lucky enough that 20 players decided to come to us at once. Jokes aside, mega-strong work that Herzogenaurach has put together. We’ll let that happen to us. When the time comes we will take good care of the girls.
Deckert: Women are the fringe group of a fringe sport. It is even more difficult to get a team together. But it would be very cool, that would enlarge the 2nd women’s Bundesliga.
Benz: And we could play the derby in a double pack.
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