American Football
US import for the St.Gallen Bears: A professional quarterback has recently been pulling the strings in the game of the NLA newcomer
The American-Bulgarian quarterback David Keogh is the only professional on the St.Gallen NLA team. How the 25-year-old has settled in in St.Gallen.
Professional footballer David Keogh joins the St. Gallen Bears in their first NLA season.
Image: Walter Burk
This season, 25-year-old David Keogh, who is allowed to work as a professional athlete in Switzerland as an EU citizen thanks to his American-Bulgarian citizenship, is joining the St.Gallen Bears in their first NLA season. Not only his playing ability, but also his basic attitude should support the Bears in their development: “Enjoy the work that it takes to achieve a goal.”
Keogh began playing flag football, the non-contact version, at age five, but switched to tackle football in third grade. After playing center and defensive end, he moved to the quarterback position two years later. His father, a lacrosse player, actually wanted his son to play ice hockey and got him on the ice when he was three years old. But instead of playing the puck with his stick, David took it in his hand and threw it across the ice. This throwing ability also convinced his father, who now let his son play football and baseball – as a pitcher.
The playmaker as team manager
David Keogh’s family has a migrant background: his grandfather came to the States by ship from Calabria, and his mother is Italian. Keogh is an Irish name (pronounced “Key-oh”), his father is half Irish, half Italian. When David was two and a half years old, he was adopted from a Bulgarian children’s home – which was also a stroke of luck for him when it came to food. “My mother is a fantastic Italian cook.” During high school at two private Catholic schools, David Keogh realized that quarterback was the position he wanted to play. Not primarily because of his throwing ability, but because he felt that he could manage his teammates well and talk to them well. «This game is about respect. And if you have respect for your teammates and vice versa, then that’s the best formula for a good team,” explains Keogh. And he also felt this mutual respect when he arrived at the Bears – which led to a good collaboration right from the start. For Keogh, who has already played in France and Spain, this feeling is new – being part of the family from the start also makes playing easier, he is convinced. And he is also sure that this feeling will help him and the team have a good season.
At Curry College in Massachusetts, David played in NCAA Division III, in which smaller universities compete against each other. He also completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics – not an easy thing in an education system in which sport is so important. “Playing games in front of thousands of spectators increases school pride – you need a lot of self-motivation in order to also find the energy for your studies.”
Keogh completed a master’s degree in logistics and supply chain management at SUNY Maritime in New York – and had his best time as a footballer there. In nine games he achieved over 2,000 yards, an impressive figure. However, since less than one percent of all football players make the jump to the NFL professional league after their college years, Keogh, like many American football players, chose the path to Europe.
For the other players it’s a hobby, for him it’s a job
In Nice he made it to the final with the Nice Dauphins and was runner-up before briefly moving to the Lisboa Bulldogs for an autumn tournament. And now he’s on the Bears team, where he feels like he can be himself – a feeling he didn’t experience in France and only experienced intermittently in Spain.
Keogh feels well integrated into the team and in all matters relating to his sport and is happy about his teammates’ initiative to take him hiking or to an FC St.Gallen game. «The players take their sport seriously, even if it’s just their hobby – for me it’s my job. And the staff is also committed and competent,” says the quarterback, describing his new employer and sees this as the reason for the surprising victory in the opening game against the Thun Tigers.
Keogh looks for the development potential in the Bears’ game within himself: “I have to get better. Besides, the only ones who can beat us are ourselves.” In comparison to business, his role in the team is interpreted as a manager who is willing to get his hands dirty from time to time. And with his basic attitude mentioned at the beginning, he is convinced that the three hours of the game can be enjoyed even better.
American Football. NLA. Saturday, April 20th, 6:00 p.m.: St.Gallen Bears – Geneva Seahawks (Neudorf).
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2024-04-18 16:47:26
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