Henry Schlegel (* July 24, 1999, in Hildesheim) is a German American football coach. Most recently, he served as the offensive coordinator for Berlin Thunder in the European League of Football (ELF).[1] Schlegel took on this position for the 2023 season, becoming the youngest coordinator in ELF history at the age of 23.[2]

Career

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Schlegel began his coaching career in 2019, after playing as a wide receiver for the Hildesheim Young Invaders for two years. Initially responsible for coaching the wide receivers in the U19 team, he was promoted to offensive coordinator in the same season[3] and led the team to an undefeated championship.[4][5] Additionally, the then 20-year-old Schlegel became an assistant coach for the Invaders men's team and the regional youth all-star team, the Niedersachsen Mustangs.[6] In 2020, Schlegel continued as the offensive coordinator for the U19 team, while also being promoted to linebacker coach for the men's team and offensive coordinator for the Mustangs. The following year, he joined the Berlin Adler, where he served as a defensive assistant and assistant linebacker coach. After his time with the Adler, Schlegel took on a volunteer role for one season at Bethune-Cookman University, a Division I FCS program.[2]

In 2022 Schlegel was recruited by the European League of Football team Berlin Thunder as head of scouting. In the following 2023 season, he was promoted to offensive coordinator[2] and the team reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.[7] In the 2024 season, under Schlegel's guidance, quarterback Jakeb Sullivan led the league in passing yards, while wide receiver Aaron Jackson recorded the most receiving yards in the league[8] and was nominated for Offensive Player of the Year.[9] After the 2024 season ended, Schlegel announced his departure from Berlin Thunder.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Team". Berlin Thunder (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  2. ^ a b c "Berlin Thunder sign youngest offensive coordinator in history! | ELF". europeanleague.football. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  3. ^ "Young Invaders – Hildesheim Invaders" (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  5. ^ "2. Liga U19 American Football aktuell - Ergebnisse, Abschlusstabellen Regionalliga U19 2019". www.football-aktuell.de. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  6. ^ "Wir – Niedersachsen Mustangs". mustangs-football.de. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  7. ^ "Berlin Thunder make playoff appearance for the first time | ELF". europeanleague.football. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  8. ^ "SportsMetrics". www.sportsmetrics.football. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  9. ^ "The Nominees for Offensive Player of the Year | ELF". europeanleague.football. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  10. ^ "Henry Schlegel - Instagram". www.instagram.com. 2024-09-30. Retrieved 2024-10-15. I have made the difficult decision to not be a part of Berlin Thunder in any capacity moving forward.