Berlin Thunder sign youngest offensive coordinator in history!

The biggest coaching talent in Europe is getting his well deserved promotion. The now 23-year-old, Schlegel already worked for the Berlin Thunder as Head of Scouting and Quality Control coach.

Rising star in the world of coaching

The young German started coaching in 2019, after playing as a wide receiver for the Hildesheim Young Invaders for two years, when he took over the U19 wide receiver group. Schlegel showed promise early on and got promoted to offensive coordinator in the same season. Additionally, the then 20-year-old became an assistant coach for the Invaders Men’s team and for the Niedersachsen Mustangs, the regional youth all-star team.

In 2020, Schlegel still coached as the U19 offensive coordinator, but got promoted to t be the Men’s team linebacker coach and offensive coordinator for the Mustangs. He joined Shuan Fatah with the Berlin Adler the following year, where he served as defensive assistant and assistant linebacker coach. Following his season with the Adler, the young standout got offered a volunteer position at Division I FCS Bethune-Cookman University.

Henry Schlegel is the biggest coaching prospect in Europe. ©Eric Mühle

Familiar faces for Schlegel

At Bethune-Cookman Schlegel took over the tasks of a graduate assistant and was responsible for breaking down film and writing the scouting report for the defense. One of the coaches he worked with was now Sea Devils head coach Charles “Yogi” Jones, who was the defensive coordinator at BCU.

After returning to Germany, the now 23-year-old was already a highly touted coaching prospect and received multiple offers from European League of Football teams, but decided to sign with the Berlin Thunder for the 2022 season.

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"Although I had high expectations, he surpassed them all"

Berlin Thunder head coach Johnny Schmuck is more than happy to work with the coaching talent again: "Before the start of last season, I already said that Henry is one of the biggest coaching talents in German American Football for me. Although I had high expectations, he surpassed them all. I am a fan of giving players and coaches the chance to develop and that is the case here. Despite his age, Henry is the perfect guy to lead our offense. For me, his promotion means that I can focus on my job as a head coach even better now, because we have two coordinators in Chris and Henry that I can trust 100%."

Schlegel is looking forward to this new opportunity: "I am grateful for this chance and the trust put in me. This year we laid the foundation to take our whole offense to the next level. I am looking forward to our further collaboration and upcoming challenges!"