Brookfield Central grad Moro overcomes ill-timed injury and tragedy to become football star in Europe

The National Football League has been working to expand its sport into Europe for some time, with four London games scheduled in 2017. The sport of American football is now officially recognized at UK universities and schools, and the NFL cited research that showed 40,000 people age 14 or older play regularly in the United Kingdom.

Jack Moro isn’t officially part of the NFL blueprint; in fact, his own NFL dreams were dashed by an injury as his college career wound to a close. He also doesn’t play the game in England, but his very presence on the football field has been part of the game’s growing profile in Europe, first in Sweden and most recently in Austria.

Moro, a 2009 Brookfield Central graduate and current assistant football coach at Waukesha West, is among a handful of American imports still playing the game he loves in an unusual environment. He’s had to overcome more than one injury in his career to stay on the field – not to mention unimaginable personal tragedy.

Dragon slayer

Moro spent his 2017 season, running roughly March to July, in Vienna, a far cry from his previous years with the Carlstad Crusaders of Sweden.

“Vienna was huge compared to Carlstad,” Moro said. “Carlstad was more family oriented, with a real tiny feel. Vienna is massive. There are two teams right in the heart of Vienna and three teams in the main city.”

Playing with the Danube Dragons, Moro led the league in interceptions (six) and bounced back from the ACL injury that cost him most of 2016 with Carlstad. He underwent surgery in Sweden and stayed around the team for the season's remainder.

“They were nice enough to keep me over there and continue to pay me,” Moro said.

“(Your role) is to play but also to help teach the game and help guys learn. You’re as much a coach most of the time as a player.”

Moro said the game looks identical to its American counterpart, though players range in age from 18 to 40, and many hold full-time jobs away from the field. With teams typically restricted to two American players, he finds himself serving a number of roles. Primarily a safety, Moro also returns kicks, plays receiver and punts.

“That versatility is what they look for over there as far as a skill player goes,” Moro said.

With Moro, Carlstad won back-to-back Swedish Super Series championships and went on to win the European Champions League in 2015.

Collared

Moro was a standout at St. Cloud State, finishing his career as the program’s all-time leader in career interceptions (21) and breaking a single-season mark that had stood since 1970 when he hauled in 11 as a junior. He was twice named to the American College Football Association’s All-American Team.

But his final year took an unpleasant twist when he fractured his collar bone in the regular season finale against Minnesota State-Moorhead. He missed the Huskies’ playoff appearance in the national quarterfinals, and though he was able to participate in the University of Minnesota Pro Day and went to an NFL regional combine in Indianapolis, the injury complicated his quest to get noticed by NFL scouts.

“You have to be top notch at your pro day, so that kind of hurt, training wise,” Moro said. “I still wanted to do my pro days and stuff while having another option to keep playing, and that’s how (the overseas opportunity) came about.”

Unthinkable tragedy

As ill-timed as the collarbone injury was, Moro had already endured something far more difficult.

In 2010, traveling home from St. Cloud State with his girlfriend, fellow Brookfield Central graduate and University of Minnesota student Holly Stahl, Moro’s vehicle was struck by a semitrailer truck traveling on a snow-slickened Interstate 90. The truck crossed the center line and spun Moro’s car into the median.

Stahl, 19, was killed in the crash. 

“It took a long time,” Moro said of overcoming that night. “As the day comes up every year, obviously I think about it and reflect on it. The big part that really helped me was that I had football to go back to. Obviously, my family was great support at that time, but for me I think having football and having my teammates really helped keep me mentally. It wasn’t anything I ever expected to happen. Just getting back into some type of schedule, having school and football, having that time with the family then going back to do something normal and not just sit at home … that really helped.”

With Waukesha West

Through a connection with family friends, the MacCuddens, Moro now patrols the sidelines for Waukesha West, where he oversees the wide receivers and defensive backs for a second straight season.

He doesn’t know where he’ll play next. American players usually latch on with European teams through interpersonal connections and even websites dedicated to pairing players with programs.

“I’m keeping it open, training get my body healthy, recovering from the season,” Moro said. “Teams start recruiting pretty hard in November; that’s when it really starts to ramp up.”