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The history of the Kaiserslautern Pikes
began in September 2003 when the club was officially registered and recognized
by the city. The Pikes were formed by nucleus of football activists, who had a
common goal of building a well-rounded organization in Kaiserslautern. The key was to combine the
strength of the two former local football teams (the Warriors and the Cougars)
to dominate the season and begin a program that was successful from day one.
Showing support for Kaiserslautern,
the city symbol, the Hecht or translated “Pike” (Northern Pike) was chosen as
the symbol for the team. To show further allegiance, the city’s colors, Red,
White, and Silver were chosen as the team’s colors. “This is to embrace the
spirit of being the city’s only American Football team,” stated President of
the Pikes organization, Stefan Braeuning. The Kaiserslautern Pikes are a
privately run organization funded by local sponsors and activists.
The joining of the two former city teams
brought an immense amount of experience to the program. A total of seven German
Football League (GFL) players stepped out of the professional league to assist
in the building of the high quality program. Thanks to this bundle of
experience along with a group of talented players from last year, the Pikes set
a high goal for the organization…in 5 years to be playing in the 2nd
German League Division or Semi-Professional League.
Together with the assistance from the
former NFL Europe, the Pikes held a “Flag Football Clinic” for the interested
physical education teachers from the Kaiserslautern
area. Twenty-two participants showed up and were taught football theory and
rules by two coaches from the Frankfurt Galaxy. The opportunity for big and
little people to play football is what makes it so exciting. Every person has
an important place and role on a football team and the sport affords the city
and its adjoining schools an opportunity to offer the students a sport that
everyone can participate in. The students that enjoy the sport will have the
opportunity to learn and play on the full contact youth team as they develop,
which is exactly what the Pikes are counting on…“the spawning season” that will
increase the interest and continue the development of the program.
The Pikes history, although short (four
seasons), is rich in success. In the past four seasons, the Pikes have won the
league championship two years and the division championship one year which
ended in a defeat in the championship game in the final seconds. The Kaiserslautern team plan
on this continued success and are setting their goal to win the league
championship again in the 2008 season and move into the semi-pro ranks.
Phillip Rinaldo, German-American
Liaison/Manager for the Pikes states, “we have had great success in building a
great German fan base but we have had considerable problems in the previous
years getting the word out to about our team to our military community”. Phill
continues by saying, “but we are determined to break this barrier and give our American
members an opportunity to experience and enjoy the excitement of football
during the spring and summer seasons”.
If you have questions about the team or
interest in playing for the Pikes, please feel free to contact Phill Rinaldo:
E-Mail:
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Phone: 0162-205-4216
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or use our contact form
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History 
