Bjoern Werner
I am incredibly blessed to have achieved my goal of competing in the National Football League. My journey began as a 12-year old playing flag football with the Berlin Adlers in Germany. At 16 years old, I made the most difficult decision of my life, I left my family and friends to move to the United States to attend boarding school in order to play football at the highest level poss
ible. After earning my high school diploma from Salisbury School, I received multiple Division I Scholarship offers and ultimately chose to attend Florida State University. After a decade of hard work and commitment, on April 25, 2013, the Indianapolis Colts made me the first German-born player to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Overnight, all the hard work and risks I had taken since leaving Germany as a 16-year-old student-athlete paid off as I became a professional in the NFL. Throughout my experience, I committed to working hard in every aspect of my personal growth to assure I could achieve my dream. Even with all that hard work, I know that I could not have completed the journey without the help of great coaches, teachers, and teammates. I am excited to team up with many of those very same people in launching Gridiron Imports. I look forward to helping the thousands of international players fulfill their dreams of playing American Football at the highest level. Chris Adamson
I have come to know well the incredible opportunities created by the game of football. The life it created for both me and my family is something I will forever appreciate. In my career, I have worked extensively with International Student Athletes. This has strengthened my conviction that there are many great players outside of our U.S. borders waiting to make a major impact on High School and College Football. Over the years, I have coached players from Germany, Canada, and the UK and I have run camps and clinics for players and coaches in Costa Rica. Most recently, I worked with a high school team from Japan for two weeks here in the United States. In March, I will be leading a team of American High School All Stars to China for a game in Shanghai. In my 19 years as a teacher, coach, college counselor and in admissions at the College level and in Private High Schools, I have gained the experience, knowledge and network of contacts required to be an asset to players and families from around the world interested in chasing their football dreams in America. I am excited to work alongside Bjoern and the rest of our team to create opportunities for international football players here in the United States, in addition to introducing American teachers and coaches to the many outstanding young people we will be sending their way! Football was instrumental in my journey from a small school in Oklahoma to a life changing experience playing and eventually coaching in the Ivy League at Dartmouth College. My passion for football and education opened doors for me to work at two of the top Independent Boarding Schools in New England - New Hampton School and Salisbury School. In eleven years at those schools, we were fortunate enough to win several New England Championships and guide more than 100 players to opportunities and scholarships in college football including more than 40 at the Division 1 level. Seven of those players succeeded in creating careers in professional sports, including Bjoern Werner and three others in the NFL. My work over the past 6 years as a head coach and admissions associate at a private high school in California has helped me gain more insight into private school admissions and a deeper network of contacts on both the high school and college level around the United States. The chance to help generate access to the educational opportunities the game of football can offer is something that continues to motivate me as a football coach and in my work with Gridiron Imports.
