Already in the past season, in which their U19 in the GFLJ only lost narrowly in the semi-finals against the Berlin Adler, Lukas Kolter was active as offensive line coach. He has been coaching with the Crocodiles since 2019 and previously played 4 years in Division 1 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, better known as UMASS.
In his youth he was 3 years in a row in the NRW selection and was 2011 and 2012 German youth champion with the Cologne Falcons. In the defensive line of the youth national team, he was captain in 2013. From 2013 he prepared for college with the Crocodiles, where he played successfully from 2014 to 2018.
Now he leads the U19 as a new HC in the 2023 season.
“I already know most of the guys and coaches very well. I’m really looking forward to the task and hope that we can compensate for the departure of the 22 seniors as well as we did last season. There is a lot of work ahead of me and the staff until we start winter training on our new artificial turf pitch. The conditions are excellent and I can’t wait for it to start!”
Head Coach Lukas Kolter
“Lukas Kolter has great success in his football career. He was German Youth Champion, played in the GFL and in the youth national team as well as four years at the UMass in the States. He knows the youth program of the Crocodiles very well and will consistently push it forward. With his father Frank, I played myself in 1984. I am very pleased that Lukas is taking over the responsibility as Head Coach for the coming season.”
Sporting Director Dirk Ghadamgahi
With Lukas Kolter we get an U19 head coach who is very experienced and knows football at the highest level due to his time at a US college. I am sure that he will get a very high level of motivation out of the U19 players, especially the seniors, and thus create the best possible conditions for a successful U19 season, but also for the transition to the GFL men’s area. I am looking forward to a good cooperation with Lukas and the U19 coaches in 2023.”
David Odenthal, Head Coach GFL
We would like to thank Jürgen Lengling for his work in the past season and are very much looking forward to the 2023 season under the direction of Head Coach Lukas Kolter.