Camp is Here!

The Cardinals opened their 2009 camp Saturday in Naperville with just under 140 players on the roster. Over the next two weeks, the team looks to rigorously prepare for their 2009 campaign and their season opener against the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University on Saturday September 5th. Coming off of last years undefeated regular season, North Central looks to continue their success in the CCIW and in the national playoffs.

Stay tuned for more posts from camp including player profiles, coach reports and highlights of camp activities that the Cards will be participating in.

Another Preseason Honor!

Yesterday D3Football.com released their 2009 Preseason rankings. The list found the Cardinals ranked 4th in the nation behind only National Champion Mount Union College, national runner-up Wisconsin Whitewater University and perennial powerhouse Mary Hardin-Baylor. This is the third separate publication that has ranked the Cardinals in the top ten nationally for the upcoming season.

Cardinals Honored

Four Cardinals were honored earlier this week as D3football.com announced thier annual Preseason All-American teams. Senior quarterback Aaron Fanthorpe was named a first team selection on offense and senior linebacker Matt Wenger was named a first team defense selection. Both Fanthorpe and Wenger were honored as CCIW players of the year for their efforts during the 2008 season. It was Fanthorpe's second consecutive year winning the award.

Senior defensive back Derek Sulo was picked as a second team defensive selection and junior offensive lineman Kyle Antos was also named to the second team on offense. Both Sulo and Antos notched places on the All-CCIW team last fall with Sulo earning a first team defense selection and Antos a second team selection on offense.

The Cardinals report to training camp on August 15th and open their 2009 season in Ada, Ohio against the Ohio Northern Polar Bears on September 5th.

Switzerland Recap

Now that we have been back (to reality) from Switzerland for almost a month, it has given us all time to look back upon our great trip. For me, it is the completion of an almost two year planning process, from the initial meetings with Leo and Patrick at Global Football, to being in Switzerland watching our players being catapulted from boats into a ragging river with class IV rapids!

There were a number of highlights on the trip, including: the first day "man's" hike up the Junfrau mountain range, Nick Hicks floating down the river while "rafting," the day excursions across Switzerland, all the way to the many memorable moments during the game including listening to our countries national anthem being played pregame.

But to me, the memories that last the longest are the friendships that formed and strengthened throughout our team, coaching staff, support staff, and family members....that is what these trips are all about! And if we can spread the American culture and one great piece of it (football!) to a small piece of the world then I will always view our trips as a great success.

Thank you to all those who made this trip happen, we can't wait to travel in three years!

Coach Spencer

Switzerland Day Five: Lucerne

The fifth day of their trip found the Cardinals touring the city of Lucerne.

After exploring the city for a few hours, the team was taken across Lake Lucerne on a boat and brought to the base of Mt. Pilatus, a renowned tourist attraction and one of the highest peaks in the alps.

After ascending to the top by way of train, we were greeted with one of the most beautiful views one could possibly imagine.

The descent down the mountain came by the way of cable car, offering even more sights for the Cards to capture while heading down into the valley.

With a few days remaining, the Cards look to enjoy the rest of their time in Switzerland by canyoning as well as other outdoor activities.

Switzerland Day Four: Bern

Day four of their trip found the Cardinals venturing into the Swiss capital of Bern.

The name Bern is German for bear, and the city itself, until recently, featured many bears in pits along the river.

The river Aare runs through the center of the city and contains water from melted glaciers that rest up in the alps.

The city provided a nice relaxing afternoon for the Cards fresh off of their victory.

Switzerland Day Three: Game Day, Cards Victorious in Europe!

After a full nights rest on Thursday, the Cardinals departed their hotel in Interlaken on Friday morning for the town of Chur. Overall the ride took about three hours and took us through numerous winding mountain trails and tunnels. The city of Chur consisted of two parts, a modern industrial half and a medieval, historic half.



Upon arriving in Chur we were greeted by the head coach of the Landquart Broncos and given a tour of the medieval district of Chur. Its narrow streets and numerous shops provided some nice sightseeing and shopping for the early afternoon. After being treated to a delicious team meal, the Cards headed to the athletic complex where the game would be played.



The Broncos, who are currently in first place in their Swiss league, featured an American head coach as well as a number of American players in skilled positions. After a hard fought effort, the Cardinals were able to handle the Broncos fairly soundly with a 29-7 victory on foreign soil.



With the conclusion of the game and yet another victory in Europe under their belts, the Cardinals settled down for a post game barbecue with the host Broncos and their fans, who were more than welcoming and accommodating. The team itself would like to thank the countless number of people who have helped support this trip and given the Cardinals an opportunity to play overseas. The events of yesterdays game will be something that the players, coaches, and family members in attendance will never forget. After arriving back at their hotel late last night, the team will travel to the Swiss capital of Bern today for what should be another day of amazing sights and experiences!

Switzerland Day Two: A Day on the Water

The second full day of their trip found the Cardinals exploring the lakes and rivers of Interlaken. After a morning practice, several of the players and coaches opted to go whitewater rafting with the guides from Outdoor Interlaken, a company that specializes in extreme sports. The town itself has been dubbed the "outdoor sports capital of Europe" and is known for its many adventurous activities that test the bravery of tourists. Aside from rafting, Interlaken offers sky diving, hang-gliding, para-sailing, canyoning (which many of us will be partaking in on Monday), and the perhaps the most unique of all zorbing. Zorbing places a person inside a giant rubber ball and has them bounce down a slope of a mountain. Once everyone returned to the hotel and cleaned up, the Cards were treated to a sunset cruise of Lake Brienz, one of the two lakes that Interlaken sits between.



Over the course of the three hour cruise, we enjoyed the scenery of the towns and chateaus that lined the picturesque shores of Lake Brienz. Aside from the scenery, the food on the cruise was outstanding. Dinner included fresh vegetables and barbecued steak and bratwurst. The lake itself had the clearest water that one could ever imagine and was a beautiful sight to behold once the sun started to set and the clouds cleared for a brief moment. Tomorrow is game day and all are excited to have the opportunity to play against European competition!



The game against the Lanquardt Broncos will be played at 6:30 PM in a small Swiss town called Chur, which is about two and a half hours outside of Interlaken.

Switzerland Day One: "The Top Of Europe"

After what seemed to be days of traveling, we finally arrived to our Swiss destination of Interlaken on Tuesday at about 7 PM, which is around 1 PM local time. The first night was spent settling ourselves in and becoming adjusted to the time change. Our first full day had us taking a short train ride to the base of the alps and then another train ride up to the town of Wengen, a small village that can only be reached by train.



Wengen, which sits at the base of the Swiss alps, was a small and quaint village and provided great opportunities for breathtaking photos of the alps. Splitting into two different groups, we then proceeded to hike a long trail up the Kleine Scheidegg mountain. While our tour guides Leo and Yurick warned us that the trail was somewhat difficult, I think a majority of our group was surprised at just how difficult a hike in the alps can be. The high altitude and thin air made it a struggle to climb more than a hundred yards or so without having to stop due to fatigue. In all, the hike took around two and a half hours, much of which was up a steep incline.



The hike ended with another small tourist friendly village with an absolutely stunning backdrop of the snow capped alps. Words cannot describe just how immense and majestic the Swiss alps are. I think the hike served as a great team bonding activity and gave our team an appreciation for mother nature. The Swiss have been extremely friendly and welcoming thus far and I am looking forward to what the rest of the trip has in store.

Cardinals Arrive in London!

After an overnight flight from O'Hare airport, the Cards spent a five hour layover in London's enormous Heathrow International Airport. After the layover, they will be on their way to Switzerland and Zurich Airport.

Switzerland is here!

After over a year of planning and coordinating by Coach Spencer, the Cards are finally ready to embark on their trip to Switzerland. Over the course of the next seven days the Cardinals will be travelling the cities, lakes and mountains that the country has to offer, highlighted by their exhibition football game against the host Swiss team the Landquart Broncos. Be sure to follow along as we provide day to day updates and photos of the trip.

Countdown to Switzerland

Only 3 Days until Switzerland!

Countdown to Switzerland

Only 10 days until we leave for Switzerland!

Cards Ranked Nationally

In two separate publications, the Cardinal football team has been ranked nationally for the 2009 preseason. The Cardinals are ranked third in the Lindy's Sports Preseason Division III Top 25 Poll, along with a No. 8 preseason national ranking by The Sporting News. The team opens its 2009 campaign in Ada, Ohio against the Ohio Northern Polar Bears on September 5th.

Countdown to Switzerland

Now just 17 days until Switzerland!

Countdown to Switzerland

Just 23 days until Switzerland!

Feed My Starving Children

As part of a team organized service project last Thursday, a group of over sixty players and coaches of the North Central College Cardinal football team volunteered two hours of their time to pack meals for an Aurora based organization named Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding starving children in more than sixty countries worldwide. In about two hours, the Cards packed 139 large boxes of food which consisted of thousands of meals. These meals are enough to feed 83 starving children for an entire year. For more information about Feed My Starving Children and how you can volunteer your time, visit their website at http://www.fmsc.org/Page.aspx?pid=361.

Countdown to Switzerland

Now, just 30 days until our Swiss adventures begin!

Recruiting Update

I would like to start by welcoming another talented recruiting class into the North Central College Football Family! As of today, May 8th 2009, 56 athletes have put down a deposit and are committed to playing for the Cardinals! In addition, there are 5 more recruits who have verbally committed. This is especially exciting as we have just added a 9th freshmen game. Beginning on September 13th, our newcomers will participate in game competition each and every week through November 8th! As the recruiting coordinator, I would like to publicly thank all the coaches, admission counselors, players and administrative staffs that have helped these fine young men enjoy their recruiting experience and make the decision to attend North Central College.

With next season’s team returning 17 key starters that are seniors or juniors, it was imperative to follow up last season’s recruiting class with another very talented group. As the recruiting season comes to a close, the coaching staff feels our last 2 classes have solidified our future at each and every position. This should allow the Cardinals to continue to be the winningest program in the CCIW! (25-3 over the last 4 seasons)

This years recruiting class features 7 players from out of state and brings our team total up to 18 (FL -5, MO-3, MI-3, IN-2, AZ-1, CA-1, KS-1, NJ-1, WI-1). To find out more about each new player, you can visit our web page at: http://northcentralcardinals.com/index.aspx?tab=football&path=football and link to “2009 Recruits” on the right hand side of the page.

As we finish up spring ball and get started on the Switzerland practices, I want to invite any and all recruits to stop out to the stadium and watch a practice. (And if you stop out, bring the best junior player from your high school team to come with you!)

Enjoy your summer and keep working hard.

Coach Ponx
Assistant Head Coach
Recruiting Coordinator
reponx@noctrl.edu

Countdown to Switzerland

37 days and counting until Switzerland.