GERMAN: Am 29.03.2023 haben die Leipzig Lions ihren neuen Head Coach Mike Sholars auf dem Flughafen empfangen. Coach Mike Sholars wird in der kommenden Saison die Geschicke der Regionalliga Footballer in Leipzig übernehmen. Zudem wird er die Jugendarbeit zusammen mit dem bestehenden Trainerstab der Leipzig Lions nachhaltig weiterentwickeln.

Sholars trainierte bereits die Düsseldorf Panther (2017) und Schaffhausen Sharks (2019). Zuvor betreute er die München Rangers (2022) und blickt auf eine beachtliche internationale Trainerkarriere zurück. Mike Sholars entschied sich nun zur neuen Saison für den freigewordenen Headcoachposten bei den Leipzig Lions, um strategisch den Football in Leipzig wieder zu etablieren.

„Wir sind froh einen erfahrenen und zielstrebigen Trainer für unsere Herrenmannschaft gefunden zu haben“. Coach Carsten Kunz und Coach Dirk Remer freuen sich auf die Zusammenarbeit und wollen den bestmöglichen Erfolg rausholen.

Wir begrüßen unseren neuen Headcoach – Mike Sholars (Kontakt: coach@mikesholars.com)

Mike Sholars persönliche Vorstellung (English Version):

„Hello Lions family.

After spending the majority of 2022 in the USA working and coaching, I am grateful to return to work as the chieftrainer, for the Leipzig Lions, here in Germany, where I believe American football has the highest overall standard in Europe.

I sincerely appreciate the efforts of the Lions board and players have put forward to make sure that everything has been done the correct way and helping to arrange my accommodations. This is the foundation to ensure a long-term relationship..

initially came to Europe as a professional American football player in Sweden, and begin to coach my very first year. Towards the end of my playing career, I was working as a playing head coach. Over the years I have been a head coach at the highest level in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Poland, and Czech Republic, Egypt, United Kingdom, and spent some time coaching the top players, while in Iceland. And once a lower level team in Switzerland.

Over the course of my pro player and coaching career I have accumulated multiple championships in multiple countries including 4 perfect seasons in 3 different countries, one of them being Germany.

Although I’ve only been in Leipzig and for 2 weeks, and we do not have enough time to install my playbooks, the players and coaches are responding well, and I saw at our scrimmage practice yesterday against the Franken Knights, the team potential is great, and we took a step forward in our journey to become a real championship contending team.

Also, good job to the U-19 players and coaching staff, I was on the sidelines and we definitely have some great talent that will be joining the senior teams in the seasons to come.

This is a full contact sport, where the average play lasts 4.5 seconds, and you literally have 22 men in full pads going full speed; therefore timing and knowing your responsibility is everything, each teammate, depends on their other 10 teammates on the field knowing their responsibility.

Because of his fact, training attendance is crucial, if you, as a team, have realistic championship aspirations.

The 2023 season will be tough, we only have four weeks to prepare for game one against the Dresden Monarchs II. But the sport of American football normally attracts a certain type of personality, that not only can handle such a challenge, they look forward to it..

Our team will only be as good as the people who support us, because that’s who we play for. This will be only the 2nd full 12 game season in 11 years for the Lions. Such a season is very demanding physically and mentally, and to help lead the team after only arriving 6 weeks before the season begins, will easily be one of my most challenging coaching efforts in my career..

But as mentioned above, I look forward to that.

LIONS FOOTBALL🦁🏈❗️“

(Interview vom 16.04.2023, Geschäftsstelle Leipzig Lions, Am Sportforum 3, 04105 Leipzig)