The game plan is set. As in the past two years, Frankfurt Galaxy will start the 2024 season of the European League of Football (ELF) on June 2nd against Rhein Fire. There are still more than four months until then, but preparations are already in full swing. The first tactics training and team training are coming up. At the start, Galaxy head coach Thomas Kösling spoke to his new team via video link on Tuesday.
It is a team that has changed significantly compared to last year. Players who had led the way in word and deed for several seasons, who were and in some cases still are among the best in Europe, have left the franchise. Quarterback Jakeb Sullivan, receivers Reece Horn and Lorenz Regler, linebackers Sebastian Silva Gomez and Wael Nasri or tight end Kevin Mwamba – they are all no longer available to Kösling. The list is incomplete.
Galaxy game becomes more risky and spectacular
It’s still not a new beginning, says Kösling. He speaks of a “transformation” of his team, especially the offensive department. Not only is the personnel different, with the new offensive coordinator Frank Roser and the new quarterback Luke Zahradka, an unfamiliar style of play will also be introduced. Zahradka is known for throwing particularly far, farther than his predecessor, the error-minimizing Sullivan. The attacks will become riskier and more spectacular. Kösling has already announced “highlight throws” to the fans.
But a long throw only becomes a highlight when someone catches the ball at the end of the long trajectory. At Galaxy, this was primarily Reece Horn’s job. In the past two seasons he was the primus inter pares of Frankfurt’s pass receivers, and his colleagues admired Horn’s athleticism and charisma. If Sullivan had remained Galaxy’s quarterback, Horn would not have been available. Because Kösling didn’t trust the wide receiver to run fast enough to get into position in time for Zahradka’s giant throws, Horn had to look for a new team. He lost his job in a domino effect.
The faster Horn is called Markell Castle, is also American and stood out for the Munich Ravens in 2023. Castle came third on the league’s own list of the top 100 players last season. He scored 17 touchdowns and 1,580 receiving yards, more than anyone else in the ELF. And that in his first year in the league. The fact that he has already played successfully with Zahradka also spoke in favor of his commitment; in 2022 they reached the final of the Italian championship with the Milano Seamen. The two are training together again.
Big investment in the O-Line
In order for Zahradka to be able to throw to Castle or someone else in the purple jersey in peace, he will need as complete protection as possible. The offensive line is supposed to take care of that, the bar of big boys, as they are called in football jargon with some affection. Last season, Kösling often had to notice that other coaches’ boys were fatter. Especially after the loss of Yannic Kiehl, who injured his biceps during strength training, the group was the Galaxy’s weak point.
In 2024, Kiehl is set to make a powerful comeback alongside Frank Atunlese. They will receive reinforcement from a high-class newcomer. The Dane Steven Nielsen, over two meters tall and weighing almost 140 kilos, comes from the Raiders Tirol. Linebacker Sebastian Gauthier, who has been in Frankfurt since 2018, says of Nielsen: “He is potentially the best O-liner we have ever had here.” Gauthier is even convinced that the newly formed O-line can be as dominant as it is that of the Galaxy conquerors and title winners Rhein Fire last season. It was almost impossible to break through.
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It is already clear internally that Sebastian Gauthier will also play another season in Frankfurt. Running back Thomas Fischbach is also staying with the Galaxy for another year. The franchise will announce both extensions shortly. Gauthier and Fischbach are part of the backbone of a team that has taken shape. “The squad is 90 to 95 percent ready,” says Kösling. It’s time for him to devote himself to other tasks. The trainer feels like going back to the training field: “The tingling sensation begins.”