Hampus Hellermark: Staples football leads to European honors. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Hampus Hellermark, the Swedish running back who was a standout player on Westport’s Staples High School football squad last year, won most valuable player honors in Europe this summer and now is looking forward to playing U.S. college football.
Having learned much from Coach Marce Petroccio and his Staples teammates, he returned to his native Sweden last fall and played for the Sweden national team in the under 19 European Championship in Sevilla, Spain this summer.
Sweden had a great tournament and won a silver medal after a tight final (9-6) against the German national team in the competition organized by the European Federation of American Football .
Hellermark won the most valuable player for the tournament as the best junior player in Europe, playing with No. 6 as he did for Staples.
Sweden is ranked second in Europe and is now qualified for the Junior World Championships to be played in Canton, Ohio in the summer of 2009.
“Now I plan to finish my studies, and then go and play in a college in the USA,” Hellermark said. “I have already gotten some scholarship offers.”
