Croatia: John Trana New “Virtual” Coach of Zagreb Patriots

John Trana has accepted the head coaching position with the Zagreb Patriots, returning to the club he helped coach to a championship in 2012.

Although contacted by several teams after his departure from the Limhamn Griffins in Sweden, he decided to return to the Patriots as they are preparing for the playoffs in the Alpe Adria football league.

Trana on returning to Croatia;

“I am very excited to be working with the Patriots. Knowing most of the players and the board is a big reason why I accepted this position so late in the season.”

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The Patriots will take on the Belgrade Blue Dragons this Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Trana will be the Virtual Coach for the first game.

“I am putting together a game plan for the game this weekend but I will not be able to physically get to the first game. I think the Virtual Coach could be the next evolution of coaching in Europe. Breaking down film and developing a game plan is very time consuming which many European coaches just don’t have.”

As a virtual coach, Trana will not be on the sideline this weekend but coaching the Patriots all week from his home in the United States and keeping up with and coaching the team through the use of his computer.

He does not plan on making any changes to the offense or defense but simply work within the systems that are already in place.

“Being familiar with the players is a huge advantage for me when working on a game plan. I am trying to put them in the best position possible to let them use their skills to our advantage.”

Coach Trana plans to be in Croatia for the Alpe Adria Football League championship game that will be held at the end of June.

Roger Kelly is an editor and a writer for AFI. A former PR Director the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League for 7 years, he now lives in Sweden writing about and scouting American Football throughout the world.