Sehr Gut!: Trip to Berlin "Very Good" for Mercer's Hoffman

MACON, Ga. - Most people know that the internationally-recognized signal for help is referred to as a “May Day.” On Sunday, April 26, Mercer University men’s basketball head coach Bob Hoffman answered a distress call of sorts and – in the process – ended up in Berlin, Germany by the following weekend.

Hoffman was relaxing at home and just looking to wrap up his 2010-11 Mercer recruiting class. However, a phone call from longtime friend Mike Sigfrids – who was organizing a Coaches’ Clinic in Berlin through the Christian athletics outreach organization Athletes in Action - turned what should have been a “winding down” time into a whirlwind week for the Bears’ mentor.

“At first I received a text message from Mike saying he needed to talk to me immediately,” explained Hoffman. “Usually when you get a message like that from a friend it means something is up.  I was just hoping it was nothing bad.

“It ended up providing me with a great opportunity.”

One of Sigfrids’ two scheduled moderators for the April 29-May 2 clinic – Dana Altman – the head coach at Creighton University at that time, had just been hired as the new head coach for the University of Oregon and would be unable to make the trip. With thirty German coaches already slated to attend the clinic, as well as a fairly expensive airline ticket already paid for, Sigfrids dialed up Hoffman at the last minute with nowhere else to turn.

“I made certain with Mercer that it would be alright to take the time away to make the trip,”  said Hoffman. “The administration was more than supportive. It came at a time when we had no recruits coming in so that part of it worked out well.

“Family wise, I had to rearrange a few things, but my wife has always been great about any opportunity like this for me to be involved in a ministry situation. She knows it’s a passion of mine.”

So, later on that Sunday evening, Hoffman told Sigfrids that he would be able to join Indiana State head coach Kevin McKenna in conducting the AIA Berlin Coaches’ Clinic. Hoffman had just two days to get ready for everything which goes into international travel prior to the April 29 departure date.

Hoffman had previously traveled with Sigfrids for AIA events in Kosovo, Macedonia, Lithuania and Bulgaria. Now Hoffman – who is of German descent – would get the opportunity to make his first trip to the land of his ancestors.   The icing on the cake for Hoffman would be the fact that the purpose of the trip revolved around two of the most important things in his life: his faith and coaching basketball.

“Sports is a great vehicle to capture someone’s heart,” reflected Hoffman. “Language barriers are not so important. It seems like when sports are involved, people are always more willing to listen about your own personal faith and where your strength comes from.”

The clinic was the first-ever attempt to hold a coaches’ clinic by AIA in Germany. The participants were instructed in basketball philosophy and techniques by McKenna and Hoffman, as well as hearing each coach’s personal testimony on their faith and how it relates to basketball. After the final clinic session on Sunday, the entire group and coaches joined AIA’s director in Berlin, Kevin Wood, for a luncheon.

Hoffman, along with McKenna and his family, found time to take in some of Berlin’s historic sites, as well as just absorb the general ambiance of the city itself. The group visited the site of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate, while also soaking in the city’s rich tradition.

“I’d go back to Berlin in a minute,” said Hoffman. “It was tremendous! Seeing the old and the new; the architecture is amazing.

“Just to see where history took place was so special. It makes you realize the impact our military and our country had on that part of the world.”