Helvetic Guards

Last updated

Helvetic Guards
Helvetic Guards Logo.png
Founded2022
Folded2024
Based in Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland
Home stadium Lidl Arena Wil
Head coach Norm Chow
General managerToni Zöller
League European League of Football (ELF)
Website helveticguards.ch
Uniform
Helvetic Guards Uniform (2023).svg
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2023 Helvetic Guards season

The Helvetic Guards was an American football team based in Switzerland that played in the 2023 season of the European League of Football (ELF). [1]

Contents

History

The entry of the newly founded franchise into the professional league was announced on 13 May 2022, during a press conference to open the 2022 ELF season by the team's general manager Toni Zöller. Together with co-owner Mukadder Erdönmez and others they established the first ELF franchise in Switzerland. [2] [3]

On 26 August 2022, the team announced Norm Chow as the head coach for the European League of Football 2023 season. [4]

On 30 October 2022 the front office announced that they will play their home games in the Lidl Arena in Wil, Switzerland, about 25 miles (40km) east of Zürich. [5]

On 2 December 2022, the team signed Collin Hill to be their starting quarterback. [6] They added fellow US-American running back and wide receiver Silas Nacita on 17 December 2022. [7]

On 4 April 2024, the team announced the end of operations, to be replaced by another Swiss ELF entry. [8] On 11 April 2024, the new team name, the Helvetic Mercenaries, and the logo was announced. [9]

Roster

Reference [10]

Helvetic Guards roster
Quarterbacks
 Flag of the United States.svg 
  •   Richard Wartmann
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Running backs

  •   Kevin Audétat
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Dmitri Gfeller
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Ibony Mbungu
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
 Flag of the United States.svg 
  •   Moritz Stein
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Wide receivers

  •   Cayman Bailey Jr.
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Xavier Baudraz
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Gregorio Calonego
 Flag of Italy.svg 
  •   Timo Hager
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Anton Jallai
 Flag of Sweden.svg 
  •   David Marty
 Flag of Germany.svg 
  •   Pascal Rüegg
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Tight ends

  •   Igor Mašlanka
 Flag of Slovakia.svg 
  •   Theo Stirnimann
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
Offensive linemen
  •   Federico Ferretti
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Wilson Ferretti
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Pascal Hollenstein
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Filip Kovljenic
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Amos Laoye
 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg 
  •   Niels Meier
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Matthias Münger
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Gabriel Rodriguez
 Flag of Spain.svg 
  •   Timothy Schmid
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Jürg Stalder
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Raffael Wachter
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Defensive linemen

  •   Abdur-Rahman Elabed
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Yannick Friedberg
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Tim Hänni
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Philipp Leimgruber
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Dominik Liechti
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Emmanuel Kabengele
 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg 
  •   Michael Kimpiabi
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Milos Panic
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Michel Sousa
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Luca Steiner
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Dalibor Vuckovic
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
Linebackers
  •   Andreas Buri
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Julien Conus
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Jonathan Falk
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Adrian Fiedler
 Flag of Germany.svg 
  •   Fabio Rothmund
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Timothy Schürmann
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Fabian Strahm
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
 Flag of the United States.svg 
  •   Ludovic Vincent
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Defensive backs

  •   Labinot Arapi
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Macéo Beard
 Flag of France.svg 
  •   Fabian Bruhin
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Ken Hike
 Flag of the United States.svg 
  •   Olivier Marty
 Flag of Germany.svg 
  •   Dominic Mischler
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Chaska Rémy Perron
 Flag of France.svg 
  •   Hendrik Rutishauser
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 
  •   Florian Ziegler
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 

Special teams

  •   Nils Jonkmans
 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 


Rookies in italics
Roster updated 14 February 2023
4 A-import, 6 E-import, 47 homegrown
57 active

Staff

Helvetic Guards staff

Front office

  • Owner – Mukadder Erdönmez
  • General Manager – Toni Zöller
  • Head of football operations – Zeki Öztürk
  • Head of administration – Ferhat Kahraman

Head coach

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Jim Ward
  • Defensive line – n/a
  • Linebackers – Don Clemons
  • Defensive backs – n/a
  • Defensive assistant – Khaled Bassyouny, Armin Waldherr, Chris Krattiger

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams coordinator – Pete Metzelaars
  • Special teams coach – Glenn Chase


Strength and conditioning

  • Athletic Director – Matt Hammer, J.C. Williams


Staff updated 14 February 2023

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Zürich</span> Professional association football club in Zürich, Switzerland

Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup ten times. Their most recent titles are the 2022 Swiss Super League and the 2018 Swiss Cup. The club plays its home games at the Letzigrund, which has a capacity of 26,000 for league games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Wil</span> Swiss football club

FC Wil is a football club based in Wil, Switzerland. They play in the Sportpark Bergholz, which has a total capacity of 6,048. The club has consistently played in the Swiss second tier since regaining promotion in 1992, aside from two seasons in the Nationalliga A between 2002 and 2004. They won the Swiss Cup in 2004 their only major honour.

Peter Henry Metzelaars is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills, the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions. He played college football for the Wabash Little Giants and was selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the 1982 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milano Seamen</span> American football team based in Milan, Italy

The Seamen Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy that competes in the European League of Football. Prior to that, they competed in the Italian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UEFA Women's Euro 2025</span> 2025 edition of the UEFA Womens Football European Championship

The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2025 or simply Euro 2025, will be the 14th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national teams of Europe. The tournament will be played in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July 2025. It will be the third edition since it was expanded to 16 teams. The tournament will return to its usual four-year cycle after the previous tournament was delayed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European League of Football</span> Professional American football league

The European League of Football (ELF) is a professional American football league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2021, and has 17 teams in the 2024 season. Teams are located in Germany, Austria, Spain, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, France and Denmark with plans to expand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuttgart Surge</span> American football team in Germany

The Stuttgart Surge are an American football team based in Stuttgart, Germany. They play in the European League of Football (ELF) as part of the league's South division. The team plays its home games at the Waldau-Stadion which is currently the oldest sports stadium in Germany still in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin Thunder (ELF)</span> European League Football Team

The Berlin Thunder are an American football team in Berlin, Germany. They play in the European League of Football (ELF) Eastern Conference.

Jakeb Jon Wayne Sullivan is an American football quarterback for the Berlin Thunder in the European League of Football. He played college football for the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers, a Division II program in Rapid City, South Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fehérvár Enthroners</span>

The Fehérvár Enthroners established in 2007 are an American football team from Székesfehérvár, Hungary. The Enthroners are competing in the Hungarian Football League. The team starts in the 2023 season in the European League of Football (ELF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munich Ravens</span> American football team from Munich, Germany

The Munich Ravens are an American football team based in Munich, Germany. The team starts in the 2023 season in the European League of Football (ELF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 European League of Football season</span> Sports season

The 2023 ELF season is the third season of the European League of Football, a professional American football league based in Europe. Seventeen teams from nine different countries will participate and will compete for the title at the Championship Game in the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena Duisburg, Germany on September 24, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lidl Arena</span> Football stadium in Wil, Switzerland

Lidl Arena is located in the city of Wil in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen and is the home ground of the football club FC Wil and formerly for the Heveltic Guards. The football stadium is owned by the city of Wil.

Collin M. Hill is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He is a double transfer and played college football at Colorado State as well as South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Leipzig Kings season</span> Season of European gridiron football

The 2023 Leipzig Kings season is the third season of the Leipzig Kings in the European League of Football history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paris Musketeers</span> Professional American football team in France

The Paris Musketeers are an American football team in Paris, France, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF) in the Western Conference.

The 2023 Helvetic Guards season is the inaugural season of the newly founded Helvetic Guards in the European League of Football for the 2023 season.

Silas Nacita, nicknamed the Swiss Army Knife, is a former American football running back. He played college football at Cornell Big Red, before leaving the program and transferring to walk on at Baylor where he earned playing time during the 2014 season rushing for 191 yards and three touchdowns and a 6.2 yards per carry average. Nacita would be ruled ineligible by the NCAA and not allowed to play at the college level. He would first sign to play professionally in the German Football League (GFL) for the Marburg Mercenaries and Frankfurt Universe. He has also played for top-level teams in the Italian Football League and for the Danube Dragons in the Austrian Football League (AFL). He finished his career playing for the Helvetic Guards of the European League of Football (ELF). He has been one of the most versatile players in Europe for several seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 European League of Football season</span> Sports season

The 2024 ELF season is the fourth season of the European League of Football, a professional American football league based in Europe. Seventeen teams from nine different countries will participate and will compete for the title at the Championship Game in the Veltins-Arena Gelsenkirchen, Germany on September 22, 2024.

The Helvetic Mercenaries are an American football team based in Switzerland that plays in the European League of Football (ELF).

References

  1. "European League of Football - Neue ELF-Teams: Mailand, Zürich und Budapest steigen in European League of Football ein". www.ran.de (in German). 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. "ELF adds Milano Seamen, Fehérvár Enthroners, and Zurich for 2023". American Football International. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. Marco Ackermann (23 June 2022). "Mit dem Geist der Schweizergarde – wie in Zürich ein Hotspot für American Football entstehen soll". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. "Helvetic Guards announce changes in the coaching staff with Super Bowl champions | European League of Football News".
  5. "LIDL Arena Wil announced as Homefield". helveticguards.ch. 30 October 2022.
  6. "Helvetic Guards sign Collin Hill at quarterback | European League of Football News".
  7. "Helvetic Guards sign running back Silas Nacita | European League of Football News".
  8. "Die Helvetic Guards stellen den Betrieb ein - Ersatzteam steht in den Startlöchern". 4 April 2024.
  9. "Schweizer Footballteam heisst neu Helvetic Mercenaries" (in Swiss High German). 12 April 2024.
  10. "ELF: 2023 Helvetic Guards – A Complete Roster Breakdown". American Football International.