2013 European Football Camp
In 2013, 267 players and 40 coaches attended the 26th annual European football camp held at Ansbach. The 4-day camp hosted 9 DoDDS schools and 9 European teams from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Russia.
2013 Divisional Breakdown
Independent League
Division III (9-man) was discontinued this year due to costs and the limited schools available. Brussels, Menwith Hill, and the Woodham Warriors from England and the Lakenheath JV composed the "Independent League" to provide 9-man opportunities for the small schools. Brussels "ran the table" by sweeping all comers in an undefeated season.
Division II
Division II (13 teams) was still the largest division in 2013. Division II was split into a North conference of 7 teams and a South conference of 6 teams. The North absorbed former Div. III schools so the conference was comprised of regulars Bitburg, AFNORTH, ISB, and SHAPE, in addition to newcomers Alconbury, Baumholder, and Rota. In the South, returning teams like Ansbach, Hohenfels, Aviano, Naples, and Vicenza were joined by a hybrid team from "about to close" Schweinfurt and Bamberg. Bitburg and Ansbach were conference champions, but their anticipated match in the finals was not to be, as each suffered their first defeat in the semi-finals. Hohenfels topped Bitburg and SHAPE shocked Ansbach. Hohenfels' new coach, a transfer from Heidelberg (Larry Daffin), led the Hohenfels Tigers to a comeback victory in the Super 4 to win their first championship since 2005! In 2013, Bitburg established a new win streak of 36, eclipsing the old record by Ansbach of 31, which was set in 2009.
Division I
Division I (6 teams) was very competitive this year. Ramstein ran through the regular season undefeated. Kaiserslautern had a solid season, making the playoffs for the first time in many years. Wiesbaden bounced back from a down year in 2012 to make the 2013 playoffs and face Ramstein in the championship game. The game was outstanding with Wiesbaden pulling away in the latter stages of the game to win 38-21.
"Super 4" and "All Stars"
The SUPER 6 finals format was changed to the Super 4 and the site was moved to Kaiserslautern's new turf field from the traditional grass field at Baumholder the past decade. For the 5th consecutive year, AFN broadcast the game on the Pentagon channel and AFN Radio, as well as streaming it on AFN 360. Attendance was good even though the weather was rainy and cool at times. The high temperature for the day was 51 degrees. Game #1 was rainy, but the weather improved for Game #2. Both games were exciting and competitive. The Wiesbaden community hosted the North-South All-Star game. A total of 64 players were chosen from 23 schools. It was an exciting week of practice and a great game won 14-9 by the North.