First Contact as an Eighth-Grader<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s not just a pipe dream. Benedikt has a plan, and he’s sticking to it. After joining Steinm\u00fchle in eighth grade, a classmate took him to a football practice. The sport isn’t exactly gentle. But that didn’t stop him from continuing to train. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Important Companions<\/strong><\/p>\n Benedikt played more and more often and made the U18 Hesse select team. He connected with players from Bad Homburg, joined the Sentinels, and played in the GFL-Juniors\u2014the youth Bundesliga of the American Football Association of Germany (AFVD). He also came to see the team\u2019s coach, Markus Hackenberg, as a mentor: \u201cHe helped me develop as a player.\u201d In 2024, Benedikt Mons was named to the U19 national team. <\/p>\n Benedikt Mons must have continued to do something right, because in early 2025, the next step was on the horizon: a move to the Frankfurt Galaxy and the transition to professional sports in the European League of Football. This was a decisive step for the humble Steinm\u00fchle student\u2014who took advanced courses in political science and math\u2014who is grateful not only to Steinm\u00fchle for supporting his athletic career, but also to others, such as the sports director of his current club, Thomas K\u00f6sling. \u201cHe motivated me to balance my high school diploma and training\u201d\u2014training four times a week, no less. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reaching Full Potential in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n Logistically, things will get a little easier for Benedikt now that he has his high school diploma in hand. After the season, he\u2019d ideally like to attend college in the United States. “I definitely want to keep playing, and I want to do it in the U.S. Everything about the sport is much more professional there, from training all the way to the individual support athletes receive. To reach your full potential in this sport, you have to go to the U.S.” <\/p>\n When it comes to this step and his athletic career, Benedikt Mons knows his parents have his back: \u201cThey support me.\u201d Whenever possible, they even sit in the stands at his games. The high school senior regularly competes against his brother in sports. But his brother is better at hockey and tennis. \u201cI\u2019d rather stick with football,\u201d Benedikt says with determination. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A lot of practice and talent, too<\/strong><\/p>\n When asked about his career goal, the former boarding school student replies, \u201cTo make a living from sports.\u201d Benedikt views being tied to equipment like a helmet and shoulder pads as a temporary phase. \u201cI want to retire in my mid-30s and have made my money in the NFL by then.\u201d Then he could imagine being a good father and helping to make the sport more attractive in Europe: \u201cThe market is growing tremendously; there\u2019s a lot of potential.\u201d Until then, however, Benedikt says it will take a lot of courage, a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a lot of training. <\/p>\n You have to run; you have to be fast. \u201cIt\u2019s a sport for physical types,\u201d says Benedikt Mons, describing the rough-and-tumble nature of football, while acknowledging that he himself is \u201cgenetically blessed\u2014and grateful for it.\u201d He\u2019s ideal for the tight end position in football; the rest he\u2019s earned through hard work. <\/p>\n But he knows that a certain amount of talent is definitely part of it. Angela Heinemann<\/em><\/p>\n Follow Benedikt Mons on Instagram: benedikt.mons<\/em><\/p>\n The annual Super Bowl, the championship game of the U.S. National Football League (NFL), fills the coffers and empties the beverage shelves in supermarkets. Many fans in Europe are also eagerly following the action. Benedikt Mons, who just graduated from Steinm\u00fchle Boarding School with his high school diploma in hand, remains one of the biggest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":46898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,89,85,88,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-former-students-alumni","category-life-at-boarding-school","category-news","category-sports-health","category-talent-development"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51598,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46897\/revisions\/51598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/53946260257_b4985559d2_o1_k-666x1030.jpeg\")
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