On Sunday, the bears wake up from their hibernation and the new American football season begins. For the AFC Grizzlies Stockerau an away game in the AFl Division III at the Blackvalley Wild is on the program.
The Stockerauer team around chairman Christoph Kaiser is looking forward to the second season of their club’s history: “We can hardly wait, the preparation was very good, especially very intensive.” The focus was on physical fitness, true to the club’s name most players now have bear strength thanks to three training sessions a week. At a camp in Telki, Hungary, the men around head coach Andreas Kreuter got the finishing touches and are ready for the start at the Schlöglmühl sports facility in Payerbach in the Neunkirchen district.
The goal for this year is clear: This time it should go to the play-offs, which were just missed in the previous season. To do this, the Lenaustadt team must finish in the top two of five teams in their division (see info box on the right). “We want to achieve that and we communicate accordingly,” Kaiser clarifies, who is already thinking one step further: “We’re also dreaming a little bit about the final.”
Kreuter has a 50-strong squad available for this, which is starting the season with a new quarterback: Philipp Zuhla. In 2022 he was already a backup, this time he will be a starter. But the most important thing will be to motivate the fans to visit the Alte Au stadium: “We want to make every home game a happening in order to further establish our sport in the region,” Kaiser clarifies.
