Thank-You Letter To the Søllerød Gold Diggers

To the SGD Family aka Søllerød Gold Diggers American Football Club,

First, words can not begin to express how grateful and thankful I am for the opportunity to work, play for, and represent the Søllerød Gold Diggers this past season. The club took a chance on bringing me over and I can not be more appreciative. I spent my time in Denmark trying to do everything I could to represent the club to the best of my abilities both on and off the field, and I sincerely hope that I met your expectations as an Import. The past seven months have been some of the most unbelievable of my life. My time in Denmark has been a unique opportunity for personal growth, and also a once in a life time opportunity to spread my passion for the sport I love.

Coming to Denmark I honestly had no idea what to expect. I knew no-one in Copenhagen and had a very limited understanding of how American Football in Denmark/Europe worked before I arrived. From the moment I landed in Copenhagen on March 14 the club has been like a family to me.  A special thank-you to: Bob and Sarah (and the whole Groot Nielsen family!) letting me stay with them in their apartment and helping me get acclimated to Danish life; Sanne Ewé for taking care of me when I moved out to Gl. Holte; Kim Ewé, Troels Vestergaard, John Hansen, Lars Pedersen, and Jonas Christiansen ‘J.C.’ for doing everything they could to make me feel comfortable in my role as the Import; the players on the Senior Team, U19, and U16 Teams for making feel like I was part of each of the teams.

The Gold Diggers are a special club filled with people who are passionate about the game of football. The focus on player development at all levels will only continue to raise the level of football in Denmark and across Europe. I hope that during my time here I was able to contribute to the club’s goal of developing the best Danish football players by disseminating some of what I have learned from playing the game back in America. Although at the Senior level we did not achieve our ultimate team goal of playing for the Mermaid Bowl, I take solace in knowing that playing this season with “The Team” was one of the most fun experiences in my life. Coaching the youth teams was a unique way to both test my communication skills and understand the passion that it really takes to coach American Football. Finally, the opportunity to represent both Denmark and the Gold Diggers at the ‘A’ European Championships as a coach was truly an honor.

As I move on to the next stage in my life, my time in Denmark will become more and more a series of fond memories, but there is no denying that my time in Denmark will and has already shaped my life moving forward. I am profoundly thankful for everything! Best of luck in the future! Thanks SO much SGD Family!

Vi ses,

Dylan Drake #99

Diggers Come Up Short Versus Towers

In a highly anticipated Semi-Final battle between two of Denmark’s most successful clubs over the past ten years, it was the Copenhagen Towers who emerged victorious over the Sølleroød Gold Diggers by the score of 33-8. The Copenhagen Towers came into the game heavy favorites and played up to their pre-game expectations. The Towers scored the first 18 points before the Gold Diggers got on the board with a fade pattern from QB Kenneth Stender to WR Phillip Holm. Following the successful 2pt play the Gold Diggers closed the gap to 18-8, but that as close as the game would get in the second half. The Towers reeled off the next 15 points to seal the game and advance to the Mermaid Bowl on October 11 (Versus Aarhus Tigers) . The game was characterized by hard hits from both defenses, but in the end penalties and mistakes doomed the undermanned Gold Diggers.

The end of the 2014 National League season marks the beginning of a transition for the club. Saturday’s game marked Head Coach Kim Ewé’s last with the club. He will be taking over as the head coach of the Castelfranco Cavaliers in Italy. Offensive Coordinator John Hansen and Defensive Coordinator Troels Vestergaard will be taking over as co-head coaches of the National League team next season.

 

WR Jonas Bo Hansen make a one-handed grab in the 2014 NL Semifinal. (Tina Carstensen -Photo)

 

Offensive Onslaught Propels Gold Diggers to Win

Coming off two sub-par offensive performances in a row, the Søllerød Gold Diggers’ offense was looking to make a statement on Saturday when they traveled to Holbæk to take on the Red Devils. Putting 46 points on the board certainly sent a message as the regular season in the National League begins to wind down. Behind the arm of QB Kenneth Stender and a punishing running attack the Gold Digger offense imposed its will with a combination of sustained drives and big plays. The offense finally began to show signs of matching the potential that was seen earlier in the season.

After receiving the opening kickoff the offense went to work with a 7 play drive capped off with a 10 yard throw from Stender to WR Dylan Drake to make the score 7-0 Diggers (PAT Good). It looked as if the Red Devils were poised to respond on their opening drive, moving the ball to the 5 yard line when DT Lars Froholdt intercepted a screen pass, his second INT of the season, and returned it 35 yards. Although the Diggers would move the ball throughout the first quarter, they were unable to find the end zone and the score stood at 7-0 at the end of one quarter. In the second quarter the Diggers were able to extend their lead with a 6 play scoring drive capped off by another Stender to Drake connection to push the score to 14-0 (PAT Good). While the offense was establishing the tempo of the game in the second quarter, the Digger defense showed strong resolve, a trait that has become a trademark of the 2014 defense, forcing several 3 and outs and creating their second turnover of the game on a INT by Casper Olufsen. The Diggers were able to add to their lead with a successful 2 minute drive spanning 8 plays highlighted by a 1 yard run by Frederick Knudsen as time expired (PAT Good). The Diggers led 21-0 at the half.

In the second half the Diggers picked up where they left off. Big plays made an appearance on the offensive end, and the defense continued their strong play allowing just one first down. On the opening kickoff the Gold Diggers recovered a fumble and two plays later Knudsen scored again, this time on a 21 yard scamper. (28-0 PAT Good). The Red Devils were able to get on the scoreboard on the ensuing kickoff with a nice kickoff return. (28-6 PAT No Good). Later in the 3rd quarter Stender again found Drake for a scoring play. On 1st and 10 on their own 38 yard line Stender hit Drake on a post route, Drake then out ran the Red Devil defense for a 62 yard score to push the lead to 34-6 (PAT No Good). A few drives later Mikkel Halborg Soerensen got in on the action with a 52 yard TD run of his own to extend the Digger lead to 40-6 (PAT No Good). The rain began to pickup in the 4th quarter causing both offenses to turn to their run games. The Red Devils found little success, and failed to pick up a first down in the quarter. The Diggers were able to find the end zone one more time with Per Andersen scoring on a 7 yard run. He was the third Digger running back to score on the day.

The team effort saw the Diggers’ defense force six 3 and outs over the course of the game, and 4 different players scored on offense highlighted by 3 touchdowns on 114 yards receiving by Dylan Drake. The Gold Diggers close out the regular season on September 14th with a showdown against the Triangle Razorbacks who narrowly defeated the Diggers in May. The game will have significant impact of playoff seeding, as both teams look to position themselves for the postseason tournament.

Also in other news it was announced that DC Troles Vestergaard and OC John Hansen will take over as Co-Head Coaches for the 2015 following the departure of Kim Ewé. For more information on the new head coaches and their vision for the club checkout www.sgdfootball.com 

Tina Carstensen image- Quarterback Kenneth Stender

 

Gold Diggers vs Red Devils  <—- Highlights!

 

Fourth Quarter Comeback Comes Up Just Short

Herlev- Two late touchdowns are not enough as Gold Diggers fail to overcome 22 unanswered points and fall to the Herlev Rebels 24-23.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon the short handed Gold Diggers took on the Herlev Rebels in the first game for both teams following the summer break. The Gold Diggers opened the scoring on their second offensive drive with an 11 play 75 yard drive capped off by a 27 yard field goal by Casper Reinhardt, who came out of ‘retirement’ to kick in the game. The Rebels got on the board following a high snap on a punt resulting in a safety. The score sat at 3-2 in favor of the Gold Diggers after 1 quarter of play.

Receiver Philip Holm attempts to stiff-arm a defender. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)

In the second quarter continued the defensive struggle continued. After several defensive stands from both teams, the Gold Diggers came up with a huge defensive play to extend their lead. About midway through the second quarter on a 2nd and 10 from the Gold Diggers 38 yard line, the Rebels dropped back to pass when the quarterback was blindsided by defensive lineman Dylan Drake. The jarring hit sent the ball squirting across the field where it was picked up by Mads Halborg Sørensen and returned 62 yards for a touchdown. After a successful PAT the Gold Diggers’ lead stood at 10-2. After the Gold Diggers defensive touchdown, it was all Rebels for the next two quarters as they reeled off 22 unanswered points. The Rebels tied the score on a 40 yard touchdown run late in the second quarter (2pt conversion good). In the 3rd quarter the Rebels took the lead on a 52 yard touchdown pass, and extended their lead with a defensive score of their own later in the 3rd quarter to push the score to 24-10.

Mads Halborg Sørensen returns a fumble for a score to give the Diggers a 10-2 lead in the 2nd quarter. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)

Trailing by 14 points at the start of the 4th quarter, the Gold Digger offense had failed to get anything going since the second drive of the game. Facing a must score drive with around 5 minutes left the Gold Digger offense came to life. Quarterback Kenneth Stender lead the offense on a 6 play scoring drive highlighted by 23 yard catch and run on 4th and 8 by Dylan Drake and capped off with a 12 yard touchdown catch by Drake 2 plays later (PAT was good).  Following a quick 3 and out by the Gold Diggers defense, the offense got the ball back on their own 36 yard line trailing 24-17 with a little over 2 minutes remaining. Again Kenneth Stender lead the offense on another sustained drive this time covering 64 yards in 13 plays. The offense found pay dirt with :20 left when Stender completed a 7 yard pass to Drake who was able to get a foot down in the back of the endzone while securing the pass with one hand in double coverage. It was Drake’s second touchdown reception of the day and brought the Gold Diggers with in one point. However, the ensuing PAT was blocked leaving the score at 24-23 in favor of the Rebels.

The Gold Diggers celebrate a touchdown catch by Dylan Drake with :20 left in the 4th quarter to bring the score to 24-23. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)

The excitement was not over, as the Gold Diggers recovered the onside kick and would have one last shot. After a short competition to make a Hail Mary feasible, Stender threw up a pass to the end-zone which  went uncaught. But the game was not over, the Rebels prevent defense got a little handsy and they were flagged for interference. With the 15 yard penalty the Gold Diggers decided to attempt a 40 yard field goal with no time remaining. The attempt came up short and the Rebels walked away victorious avenging a 55-12 thrashing at the hands of the Gold Diggers earlier in the season.

The loss moved the Gold Diggers to 4-3 with 3 games remaining in the regular season. Next up is the Aalborg 89ers the weekend of August 23.

Quarterback Kenneth Stender finished a run with authority in the Gold Diggers 24-23 loss to Herlev Rebels. (Photo Tina Carstensen / Touchdown Photography)

Final Thoughts on the European Championship

As Germany celebrated their second consecutive American Football European championship around 10:30pm local time in Vienna last Saturday with a 30-27 victory over host nation Austria, the near general consensus seemed to be that the real winner was the game of American Football in Europe. The final game was attended by an estimated crowd of 27,000 people, and all throughout the week loud, and passionate fans filled the stadiums in St. Pölten and Graz for group play. The excitement surrounding the sport in Austria was certainly an encouraging sign if you are someone that would like to see the sport continue to grow in both participation and quality throughout Europe.

The European Championship was billed as the six best American Football playing nations competing for not only the right to be the European American Football champions, but also a spot in the Am. Football World Championships next year in Sweden [note: the top 3 teams qualified, in addition to Sweden, who was an automatic qualifier as the host nation]. The teams were split into two groups [Austria, France, and Denmark playing their games in Graz. Germany, Sweden and Finland playing their games in St. Pölten] and in order to win the tournament a team had to successfully navigate their two group games and win the championship game against the winner of the other group. Austria advanced from the Graz group with a 49-7 victory over Denmark and a 28-9 victory over the French national team. Germany represented the St. Pölten group with wins over Finland (47-7) and Sweden (52-40).

There were several take-aways from the tournament and my first exposure to international American football. First the gap between the top three teams [France, Germany, and Austria] and the other three Scandinavian countries was apparent in both terms of physical size and talent [read depth]. That is not meant to take anything away from anyone who competed in the tournament, but Germany, France and Austria had tremendous advantages that manifested themselves trough out the tournament. The AFL [Austrian Football League] and GFL [German Football League] are considered the strongest club leagues in Europe. This allows for tremendous talent development that was manifested in an extremely deep and talented 45 man roster for the Austrian side. The top end talent in the other A group European leagues are close to the AFL and GFL, but there is not nearly the overall depth. Another advantage enjoyed by France and Germany is the use of dual passports. In order to be eligible to play for a country you must hold a passport for that country. All citizenship laws through out the EU are not the same. Germany has a large American military presence, and Americans born to military families in Germany are eligible for a German passport. So, in theory Germany could have some Americans on their team. The same increase in the talent pool exists for France, except French-Canadians holding dual passports can [AND DID!] play for the French Team. [Note: USA and Canada are considered the two best American football countries in world, so you can see the possible advantages of using players from those countries] The second major take away from the tournament was that a football tournament with six teams played over 8 days is CRAZY! The idea of playing three football games with a 45 man roster over a week’s time is insane. Outside of NFL teams playing on Sunday and then again on Thursday night [and look at the quality of play in those Thursday night games], I have not herd of anywhere at high school or above that plays more than one game in a week. It just does not seem safe. Football is a tough, physical, and violent game. Injuries happen and bodies need time to recover. I do not think that it was a coincidence that German and Austria who had the most rest time [the four other teams played both group games in a 48 hour period] made it to the championship. Adding rest days to make the rest/recovery time more equal for all teams and expanding the rosters to 53 [like the NFL] are two ways that the tournament could improve the quality of play and better account for the safety of the players.

Coaching the running backs on Danish National team was a tremendous experience. It was an awesome opportunity to gain and share football knowledge with an extremely talented and dedicated coaching staff committed to putting the national team players in the best possible position to succeed. It was my first opportunity to gain experience coaching, and I learned a great deal. I could not ask for a better first coaching experience, the players I coached [and play with or against back in Denmark] were awesome, enthusiastic about football, and committed to the success of their teammates. Certainly we [Denmark] did not achieve the results that anyone hoped for going into the tournament; however, DAFF’s first experience at the European A level offered a glimpse into what kind of system/program must be put into place in order to achieve success at Europe’s highest level. The most encouraging thing to emerge from the players, coaches and staff following the tournament was the desire to put the work in necessary to make the so called ‘next steps.’ Although I will [most likely…never say never!] not be living in or coaching for Denmark in four years, I will be following closely. Those of you on the National team staff and players that read this thanks so much for the memories and experience. #vierdanmark

Photo Gallery 2014 European Championships-Austria

On May 26, coaches reported at Copenhagen Airport at 5:00am

The running-backs and their coach following the Sweden game.

Hjalte Froholdt, the youngest player on the Danish National Team (17 years old). He is a four star recruit committed to play college ball at Arkansas

An absolute torrential downpour during the France v. Austria game in Graz

Pre-game Denmark v. France June 2, 2014. Graz, Austria

Trip to St. Pölten to scout Sweden.

EDGE!

Pre-game ceremony France-Denmark

Vienna from the JUFA (the Team Hotel)

View From the coach’s box at UPC Arena in Graz, Austria

EAT THE BALL! The tournament’s name sponsor.

Game Day in the Booth

Team Meetings at the Courtyard Marriott Graz.

Taking our talents to Austria

Formerly named Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. The name was changed when Arnold allowed executions to take place while Governor of California

It was hailing for a good 20 minutes during the Austria v France game.

RB’s enjoying their post-tournament McDonalds!