A young American football mastermind on the rise: Henry Schlegel
Tim Hanswillemenke
© ©Sonja MatysiakNo matter if it is coaching players, scouting the next opponent, or being responsible for an offense on gameday, Henry Schlegel did it all by the age of 22!
“I would say that I am the coaching staff's Swiss army knife”, Schlegel jokingly explained in an interview. Hired by the Berlin Thunder as the head of scouting, Schlegel pointed out that he is responsible for multiple areas: “It is hard to narrow it down to certain responsibilities because I will do anything between coaching position groups, game-planning, hosting meetings and some days I will just lock myself in the film room and break down film”.
The start of a promising journey
Schlegel started his coaching career with the Hildesheim Young Invaders where he took over the role of the offensive coordinator when he was 19.
The young coach and scout touched upon the reason he started his coaching career at such a young age: “I started coaching when I was 19 because I fell in love with the tactical and analytical aspects of the game more than I loved playing. I always viewed myself as a teacher and as someone who wants to help people become the best version of themselves. Coaching football is what I am destined to do, and I am glad I realized that at 19 years old”.
After his first stunt as an offensive coordinator for the Young Invaders, he coached for the Niedersachsen Mustangs. Schlegel then took over as the linebacker coach for the Hildesheim Invaders in 2020, before coaching for the Berlin Adler under head coach Shuan Fatah.
Next stop: Florida, United States
At the beginning of the 2021 college football season in the United States, Schlegel made his first experiences on the highest collegiate level: “I was a volunteer at Bethune-Cookman University [and] took over the responsibilities graduate assistants would normally have, because BCU didn't have any in that year. […]”. As Schlegel further pointed out, graduate assistants usually scout opposing teams and take over the responsibilities of quality control.
Despite his young age, those experiences perfectly prepared him to be the head of scouting for the Berlin Thunder franchise in 2022.
Welcome to the European League of Football!
Since Schlegel is working for the Thunder in the European League of Football, he has many roles to play: “The head of scouting is mainly responsible for the scouting of opponents and the preparation against them. I am analyzing and breaking down film to prepare coaches and players for opposing teams in every way imaginable”. He added: “Most of my time during a normal day of a game week is spent on watching film, creating scouting reports, game-planning and even coaching”.
When being asked on what he specifically focuses on when he scouts an opponent, Schlegel explained that it heavily depends on the team they are facing: “[…] In general we always try to take away what they do best. This can mean taking a look at what the quarterback does or a receiver's route tree in certain situations […]. The main goal is to identify their tendencies and try to anticipate what they are going to do against you so you can always call the best play.
Those tendencies then translate to the football field on gameday. During our conversation, Schlegel even outlined a simplified example:
“Let's assume you are game-planning your blitz package for the game. You start to focus on a situation like 3rd and 10 and see what kind of plays they like to run. If they are primarily passes you take a look at what their favorite protection scheme is and choose your blitzes, that have a chance to beat that protection. Then you take a look at how long the quarterback needs to get rid of the ball, some pressures take longer to develop, and you don't have a chance to sack someone who doesn't have the ball, and again filter out blitzes that are not good in that situation. Obviously, you evaluate the weaknesses of the offensive line and line up your best matchups accordingly. Based on their favorite route concepts, you pick the best coverages for that situation. Now, you add that blitz and coverage to your call sheet for the 3rd and 10 situations, along with other options. This is how scouting translates to the field.”
With that kind of analytical football knowledge combined with his experiences as a coach, Schlegel will surely be of help for the Berlin Thunder once the season kicks-off this upcoming summer!