The disappointment of losing the semifinal has ignited the players’ and coaches’ motivation.

Everyone is doing their best to individually improve. The coaches have travelled to the US to gather knowledge and the players are going to the gym to work on their physique. The essential question now remains: Will the Towers improve enough to go all the way in 2009?

A key factor in predetermining how far the team can go next season is the addition of new senior players. Eight players from the 1989 junior generation will now move up to play senior level. 

The junior teams’ last season reflects the future for the Towers. Coach Ice’s Purple troops finally broke a jinxed pattern. Having lost the semifinals in 2006 and 2007. As we know, the junior team unfortunately ended up losing the Mermaid Bowl. Regardless, they earned everyone’s respect and proved what vast talent the team comprises of.

Although the juniors didn’t win the Danish championship, it would be safe to say that it is one of the teams in Denmark with the most potential talent. This has certainly been confirmed by several players going to the US - Shujaa Benson, Robert King and Andreas Schneider (has returned). Benson and King are not expected to play for the Towers in a long time, as they are both pursuing their football dream of hopefully receiving a scholarship from a university. 

In a short-term perspective, it is obviously a loss not to have Benson and King playing for the Towers. Still it seems clear, that the senior team will eventually benefit the most by the experience the two players will bring home some day. 

Luckily, Benson and King are not the only talents that the juniors have in store for the seniors. A group of eight players are turning 19 and will therefore move to senior level next year. Amongst them are an equal number of defensive and offensive players.

A general problem for all the players is that they are either slightly or significantly undersized. This will almost certainly cause problems for most of them. For others the issue will rather be the increased speed and higher intensity. It will not only become a challenge for the players but certainly for the coaching staff who will have the responsibility of preparing the juniors to make the adjustment.

Let us have a look at the juniors that are expected to appear on the senior roster in January.

	MLB Jacob Zajdenfeldt Zajdenfeldt is the junior player with the most experience. He has played for 6 years and has played for the national junior team. Jacob has demonstrated excellent skills at the junior level; a guarantee for stopping runs up the middle. He has great tackling-technique and often delivers hard hits. He is great at reading the game and thereby filling gaps. Jacob has suffered from many injuries over the past season. Hopefully he will be able to recover from these. On the physical part he is the junior player who will make the easiest transition.
	S Rasmus Bergholt At first glance, Rasmus Bergholt is not the most intimidating character on the football field with his physical numbers: 174 cm and 75 kg. Regardless, he is not to be underestimated. He was picked for the U19 national team in 2008 - and for a good reason. The short guy, has a great overview, and often makes tackles far from his area of responsibility. Moreover, he has often proved his skills in the air making several interceptions as a junior. Bergholt is not the guy you can rely on to make big hits but is trustworthy to make the important last-man-tackles. To take in to consideration is the large group of safeties he will compete with. With this in mind, a significant improvement from Bergholt is imperative if he intends to earn a starting position.
	QB Kasper Skyum ”In the first round of the 2008 draft, the Towers select QB Kasper Skyum” If the Towers were drafting in the NFL, they would probably be anxious to pick up an extra quarterback. The Towers suffered a great loss with the ending of QB Michael Knudsens career this season. With only one QB left (Anders Nicolajsen) the Towers are critically fragile to injuries. The adding of Kasper Skyum as a secondary or potentially starting QB is highly significant to the team. Kasper Skyum was the initial starter on the quarterback position for the national team in Sevilla. He has played very solid for the junior team and has developed noticeably over the past years. Despite this, the starting spot at QB seems to belong safely to Anders Nicolajsen, whose experience supersedes Skyum’s talent. In his first year it will, however, be exciting to see how much experience he can accumulate. Kasper adds healthy competition for the QB position.
	OLB Mikael Fordsman Mikael Fordsman has been a starter for the junior team for several years now. What he lacks in size and power, he compensates with speed and technique. Will this be enough on the senior level? Time will tell if Fordsman has got the motivation and dedication to constantly develop. He will surely bring a competitive spirit to the linebacker contest.
	TE Tobias Trige Trige is a dedicated player who never misses practise. From the beginning he has demonstrated will and desire to constantly improve. He struggles a bit on the physical part which may force him to convert into a WR instead. For those who doubt his ability to break tackles – look at the proof in the pudding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVgFC6QsoQ
	WR Søren Busk Busk is a persistent and intelligent WR. He is fast and has solid hands but may lack in physique to compete at senior level. If he is able to put on weight, he can become a threat on the ground, to gain extra yards after the catch. Should he remain in his present figure, will he especially be a vital asset to throwing safe and short passes on 3rd down.
	DE Jonas Bolvig Football runs in the blood of the Bolvig family. Like his brother, Jonas has a passion for football. Add to this a great amount of talent. At the junior level, he has surely been able to dominate the opposing offensive linemen. How will he respond when they gain 30-40 pounds and become faster and stronger? He has played senior football occasionally and has shown that it will become a surmountable task for him. It’s only a matter of time before D-line Coach Rob Scotland will yell one of his rhetorical catch phrases: “I am telling you Bolvig, this Sunday, you are UN-BLOCK-A-BLE”.
	OL Robin Robin started playing only one year ago. He immediately got a starting spot at the center position because of his physical attributes; 120 kg and 186 cm. All year he did well because he could outweigh his opponents and thereby dominate them physically. He has shown great strength and an ability to absorb as much information and experience about the game in the short time he has played. At senior level Robin is expected to have a hard time in the beginning. He will not be able to dominate players physically and technically and speed-wise Robin still has to develop notably. There is definitely a lot of potential in Robin. Is he able to continue developing as much as he did in his first year, will he surely become a factor on the field in the years to come.

I got in touch with junior Head Coach “Ice” to get his take on how he thinks the juniors can influence the senior team.

How big an influence did the “89-generation” players have on the u19s success this year?

They’ve certainly played a vital part of our success. This year they were of course our most experienced players, and therefore they created stability.

How would you describe the 89-generation compared to the others?

I think it’s an unfair comparison to make. Let me explain you why: The sport is in constant development and growing in popularity. Therefore each year brings a larger group of players, and players that have since an earlier age.

In other words, the players you get every year have better football knowledge and are better players technically. Furthermore there are a lot more junior coaches nowadays than there were just 5-6 years ago.

In short outline, the 89-generation consists of players that are more complete in terms of knowledge, strength and technique.

What is the junior teams’ secret recipe to fostering talent?

The secret is something I like to call the “Ice Factor” - no, just kidding!

I think you need to create a good environment for the young players. As a coach you need to let your players know that you are there for them; that you have the passion and dedication. I live by the philosophy - what you give to your players, they will give you in return.

I’ve had great help throughout the years as a coach. Kasper Pyndt, Peter Herbild og Steve Jobin just to mention some of the people that have helped me.

How big a leap is it for players to take from junior to senior level?

For most players it is a huge leap. The senior players are faster and stronger. Once in a while there are a few players that adjust quickly. Frederik “Sunshine” Frandsen, Peter Møller and David Bolvig are some great examples of players that have been able to play at senior level when they were still eligible to play junior-ball.

Do you think any of the rookie seniors will have an impact on the team immediately?

I could imagine Kasper Skyum (QB), Jacob Zajdenfeldt (LB) and Rasmus Bergholt (FS) do well as starters for the senior team next season. Whether they will have an actual “impact” I don’t know.

Do you think the senior team is a candidate to next years’ Mermaid Bowl?

That’s a tough question. It was obvious that they had the level this year even though they lost in the semi-final. I’ve tried the similar thing with the juniors - losing in '06 and '07 to a team in the semifinal which we had already beaten. If the seniors can hold on to the players they’ve got now, and adjust the new juniors quickly enough, I think they will be able to go all the way to Mermaid Bowl, yes!