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Jan Jenmert, a football coach from Sweden whose team will be competing in the International Federation of American Football Junior World Football Championship, is interviewed after a news conference on Friday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. 8 countries from around the world will be competing in the event. (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

IFAF cup brings world to region Representatives visit Canton in preparation for junior tournament

By Jonas Fortune Beacon Journal sports writer Published on Saturday, May 09, 2009 CANTON:

There has been a lot of planning in the past year for the first International Federation of American Football's Junior World Championships at Fawcett Stadium. With less than two months before the event starts on June 27, the championships moved a step closer to reality Friday. There was a flag-raising ceremony in Canton and an accompanying luncheon at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ''The feeling is so surreal,'' said Jan Jenmert, who will coach Sweden. ''In a couple of weeks we are going to be here with my kids, and we are going to play actual football in the first ever world cup, here at Fawcett. It is so surreal feeling that I have to pinch myself at this point still.''

 Representatives from the eight competing teams were in attendance; the first time Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, Germany, Sweden, France and New Zealand were all in Canton in preparation for the event. ''Bringing a team to Canton is a tremendous step for us,'' said Peter Springwald, the director of Youth Operations for Germany. It is a big step for many of the coaches. The luncheon gave some of them the opportunity to tour the hall of fame for the first time. ''I love this game and to be here where the football is born. So many legends are here.

This is so exciting for me,'' Mexico coach Ernesto Alfaro Del Villar said. A few minutes later, he was spotted perusing the numerous exhibits, video camera in hand. ''Nowadays we have [American football] on TV, but that is only a couple of years; before we didn't have anything,'' said Jenmert, who was making his second visit to the hall of fame. ''When you come here and when you come to the heart of football and embrace and get the history in your face, it is breathtaking.''

The biggest perk of holding the first Junior World Championship in Canton isgiving everyone the opportunity to be enriched by the history of professional football at the hall of fame. ''These kids, coming from all over the world, enjoying the game, being able to walk through the halls and being able to see all the video clips and the uniforms and all the mementos that are there. That is going to be something they will remember their whole life and just inspire the game of football for them,'' United States coach Chuck Kyle said. Kyle, who has coached Cleveland St. Ignatius to 10 Ohio High school state championships, pointed out that most of Team USA has never seen the Hall of Fame either. His roster will consist of mostly incoming college freshmen who could redshirt this season at their respective colleges from the Big Ten, Big 12 and other major college conferences. Ohio State will have two players on the roster: Newark Licking Valley linebacker Storm Klein and Toledo St. Johns center Jack Mewhort.

Some players might not fully appreciate the history of the game before visiting Canton, an understandable situation with so many different backgrounds and cultures colliding at Fawcett Stadium. ''I don't know [team Japan] anticipate this hall of fame as such a special place,'' said Shinzo Yamada, the Japan-American Football Association Delegate. ''They don't know what the hall of fame is like. I will tell them, how special it is and they will realize when they come here that it is a really special place.''

But in a world that continues to grow closer through technological advances, many of the foreign players will speak the same language as the Americans. ''If we don't have football in media or TVs, we do got Madden. We do got PlayStation,'' Jenmert said. ''Our kids, they really know their history. I cannot even talk to them. They know way, way much more about football then I do, as far as history, players and stats. They are really into it.''

Jonas Fortune can be reached at [email protected].