Marcel Dabo, Precious Ogbevoen, Lukas Ruoss, Leander Wiegand, Jannik Lörcks, Daniel Duah or Florian Eichhorn. Players who played, still play or will play in the European League of Football all count on the words of Chris Mohr. With good reason. Mohr played in NFL Europe for Berlin Thunder and Rhein Fire, also managed to make the step over to the NFL to play for the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns and was one of the first German players who managed to become pro despite never having played a down of college football in the United States. As World Bowl Winner in 2004, he knows what it takes to step on the field in the NFL. After coming back from the U.S., Mohr completed his diploma in Sports Science and opened his MPC (More Power Concept) Gym in Aachen, Germany.

Multisport athletes & connectedness

And Mohr is not focusing on American Football alone. “The MPC Gym is an Athletic Performance Gym and consists of several parts. The professional area, where I coach boxers like Felix Sturm and Christina Hammer, UFC Fighters like Ottman Azaitar, soccer players like Mehmet Can Aydın from FC Schalke 04 or Turgay Gemicibaşi from Austria Klagenfurt or as mentioned football players, and a CrossFit and Open Gym area for everyone. Our oldest member is 75 years old. We are all about showing people how to stay independent through fitness and achieve longevity,” says the former NFL pro American football player.

Stuttgart Surge player Precious Ogebevoen looking more sharp than ever:

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"If we look at football as a basic building block it has a big carryover to soccer as well. Backpaddles, man-to-man coverage, change of direction as well as lateral movements are the order of the day. In a career as an active player, I did a lot of martial arts to compensate for my deficits in mass," says Mohr, who weighed 114kg and was 1.98m tall at that time and tries to incorporate these different sports into his concept.

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He also speaks directly about the fascination of so-called multi-sport athletes and refers to the study of trackingfootball: "Almost 92% of the 2020 Superbowl participants were so-called multi-sport athletes in high school. 58% were active in track athletics, 54% in basketball, 15% in baseball, and under 5% in other sports. Of these, 8% specialized in football alone. 51% played two sports, 34% played three sports, and as many as 8% even played four sports."

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According to Mohr, the MPC Gym is built on a great foundation. "Movement quality and coordination are the basics. We always talk about a performance pyramid. The broader the base, the higher the top can get. We built the base further away from the season, then we can get more specific as we go along."

Preparing Marcel Dabo for the NFL

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Among the players Mohr coaches, are German football players Aaron Donkor, who has already made the step up to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, and European League of Football Defensive Rookie of the Year Marcel Dabo, who Mohr helped to prepare for his athletic testing. Dabo had outstanding stats at the Pro Day in Arizona after mastering the NFL International Combine in London. 4.42 on the 40-yard dash, 21 reps on the bench press, 11`3-inch broad jump or 40.50 inches on the vertical jump. The work with Mohr seems to be bearing fruit. Maybe we could see Dabo in the German NFL game coming in November, when he could be taken in the NFL Draft from April 28th to 29th. "Marcel Dabo probably has one of the highest ceilings as far as potential goes that I have personally encountered. On top of that he is a very intelligent young man that is able to take coaching advice and put it to work. I can see a team pulling the trigger and draft him. I would not be surprised if we hear his name within the first 5 rounds. But drafted or not this is just the start of Marcels NFL journey and I will be more than happy to cheer for him on Sundays." said Mohr about Dabo.

NFL preparation

Donkor is also making big strides according to Mohr. "Aaron just started football six years ago, played basketball for years before that. That's helping him now. A sense of rhythm and movement in space are especially important for tight ends and other positions, for example, to be able to position themselves well and execute movements properly."

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There have been three players in the NFL combine since 2000 who weighted 240lbs or more, ran a 4,46s on the 40-yard dash or faster, jumped 39 inches or more vertically, and posted at least 22 bench press reps. Aaron Donkor would have been number four.

A man amongst boys

Also under his wing is Leander Wiegand, offensive lineman for the Cologne Centurions. "Leander is the first athlete from Germany to receive a full scholarship to Division I without the college ever seeing him play before. It was purely about his athletic ability, which is currently at an NFL level," Mohr explains enthusiastically about his protégé, who decided to stay in Europe for personal reasons. "Leander has the potential to make the step into the NFL's IPP program. But this also enhances the European League of Football, which manages to increase that steppingstone for young athletes. I see it as a task to develop such players. Iron sharpens Iron is what I preach. The European League of Football is where the best athletes meet, and that's what I try to ensure in my gym."

Talents & mentors

Another talent is Marius Landsfeld, among others. The 18-year-old could also play a prominent role in German football in the coming years. "23 reps bench press. 33 inches vertical as an 18-year-old athlete are insane. Here in the gym, I can let him compete against players like Leander to work on the basics." Mohr is looking forward to the upcoming European League of Football season, in part because he has special relationships with some people. "Jim Tomsula, new head coach of Rhein Fire, is also my mentor. I think personalities like that move the sport and the league forward. The fans are eager to be able to support such teams again, that may fill a void after the elimination of the NFL Europe. That's where the European League of Football has stirred up a hornet's nest." Mohr offers courses to athletes not only in Aachen but has athletes throughout the league. "I also offer online courses. I am proud that I have athletes from Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Vienna or Stuttgart training with me, who also know each other very well." Interest in football is growing, Mohr notices and the European League of Football plays a major role in that.