The ink was barely dry on his Dartmouth diploma when former Dartmouth football captain Pete Pidermann '10 headed across the Atlantic Ocean to follow his passion for football. The former Dartmouth safety earned a spot on the Monchengladbach Mavericks of the German Football League, helping the team to go undefeated and win its sixteen straight games during this summer season.
Pidermann, who said he knew he wanted to continue playing football but wasn't sure how, became interested in playing overseas after reading the John Grisham novel, "Playing for Pizza" (2007), a novel about a third-string NFL player who, as a last resort, decides to play football in Italy.
"I also heard about a wide receiver from Harvard that I had played against during my freshman season that went to play in Italy." Pidermann said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Pidermann decided to play in Germany because of the German league's high level of play.
"Germany has the best football in Europe, so I was always interested in going there," he said.
Things were made easier thanks to Pidermann's Swiss citizenship.
"I randomly have Swiss citizenship because even though my parents were born in Cuba, my great grandfather was Swiss and since I have the same last name, I could become a citizen," he said.
His citizenship proved helpful because each German Football Team is only allowed to have three American's and three European players ("imports" as they are called) on the roster. With Pidermann's Swiss citizenship, he could count as a European import, which was helpful since the team already had three Americans.
Pidermann played alongside five other imports, three American and two Canadians.
The American imports included John McCardle of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Colin Clancy of Colorado State University-Pueblo and Alan Darlin of Oregon State.
The other two European imports were Tyler Smith and Alex Hoad.
The German Football League (GFL) consists of four leagues and the Monchengladbach Mavericks were the first team in the history of the GFL to move up from fourth in the league to first in the league over a span of just three years.
"Going undefeated was an incredible experience." Pidermann said about his season with the Mavericks.
Transitioning from a being a successful safety at Dartmouth, Pidermann had the opportunity to play positions on both offense and defense for the Mavericks, allowing him to prove his versatility on the field.
"Because of the weird import rules and some injuries, the Mavericks needed a guy who could do everything," he said. "I started games at corner, safety, wide receiver, punt and kick returner, and even got some plays at running-back."
Despite playing unfamiliar positions, overall, Pidermann did not have too hard of a time adjusting to football in Germany, he said.
"The German Football League uses NCAA rules and all the plays are in English, so that aspect of the game wasn't much different than playing in the United States." he added.
He did feel, however, that the competition at Dartmouth was much higher than in Germany.
"Playing such smart players in the Ivy League is so different than most football players," he said. "I felt like I had a much better grasp of the game mentally, which let me help coach up some of the German players."
Even though Pidermann spent a lot of time on the field practicing and competing in games, he did manage to have some fun over the course of the summer.
"I was in Pamplona, Spain watching the Football World Cup with Spain playing the Netherlands and after Spain won we went running with the bulls, which was incredible," he said. "Pamplona was just packed and was one huge fiesta."
As soon as he returns to his home in Florida, Pidermann plans on working at a law office while studying for the LSATs. He hopes to attend law school next year.
"It's been an awesome experience and an opportunity of a lifetime," Pidermann said.
He did say, however, that he isn't going to hang up his helmet anytime soon and will probably play one more season before he gives it up for good.
