Krefeld Ravens remain in the fast lane

American Football
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Krefeld Ravens remain in the fast lane

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The Ravens founders Aldo (3rd from) and Dino (4th from left) Volpe with four of their top newcomers: Justin Kort, American Shay Netter, Robin Grillmeister and Jonas Beckmann.
Photo: Krefeld Ravens/krefeld ravens

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Krefeld After promotion to the Oberliga NRW, the footballers are preparing for the new season. In order to go up a notch again, the team has also been strengthened with players from overseas.

The American footballers of the Krefeld Ravens will remain in attack mode in the new year. After three promotions in a row and a flawless record in their entire history – the team founded in 2017 has never lost a competitive game – the black and yellow have now arrived in the fourth division. “The leap from the fifth to the fourth league is big. We will now meet lots of teams that also have large squads, prepare themselves professionally and bring a lot of quality,” said Ravens founder and sports director Dino Volpe immediately after the third promotion season 2021, which was extremely shortened by Corona confusion and game cancellations.

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Accordingly, it was his goal to strengthen the team selectively and to find a replacement for the retiring top quarterback Andreas Trebski (end of career, switched to the coaching staff). It was clear early on: The Ravens would look overseas for him. “We spent a long time looking to see if there were any German alternatives. But in the end you have to train them yourself. Good quarterbacks rarely change teams,” says Volpe today. That’s why those responsible decided to bring in an American for this central position in the form of Shay Netter, who has experience of Europe. “Shay is a strong QB who has already proven his quality in Germany. He can also play other positions,” explains the Ravens maker.

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If the US boy doesn’t work or is injured, there are two strong backups: Justin Wiedelbach, who has already been in the team, and newcomer Jonas Beckmann. He is actually planned for the position of tight end, but can also be used as quarterback, which he has already proven at the highest level: he played in the GFL, the highest league in Germany, for six years and is described by Volpe as a “Swiss army knife”. In other words, as a player who, in principle, can play almost any position.

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But there are other players too. Just like Justin Kort, the offense liner, who also comes directly from the GFL, or the other import players. Their five are in the squad. Four may appear on the match report at the same time. And all are of great quality. Cornerback Lorenzo Terry III was once even in the combine, a kind of performance show for the NFL draft, and put in good results here. Most recently, he played professionally in a minor US indoor league. Defensive colleague Ramon Franco, who is supposed to play as a defensive liner or linebacker, was the most valuable player in the entire first Portuguese league even before the Corona break.

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For the offensive also come in wide receiver Marion Leach jr. and running back Darion Neil more real guns. In total, there are more than a dozen new players who are considered top-class across the board, strengthening a team that had not given a third division relegated chance in the test before the previous season. This shows: The ravens from Sprödental continue to have only the highest ambitions.

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Incidentally, this applies not only to, but also off the pitch. In the future there should be an electronic scoreboard at the games. The Internet live stream broadcast via partner Sporttotal, which already earns top marks, is to be further upgraded with additional statistics and overlays. The youth was further strengthened and new coaches were hired and a women’s team was also created. All of this shows that the Ravens don’t just want short-term success. The medium to long-term goal is called GFL. The makers work on that every day and the team for the coming season would probably have nothing to do with relegation in the second division. They are the top favorites in the regional league.

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