Finland: Tampere Saints sign Texas native Jake Hale as HC

| American Football | 11/15/2018

The Tampere Saints from Finland’s Maple League have announced the signing of Jake Hale as their new head coach.

The 26 year old Hale, from Houston, Texas, has served as defensive coordinator for the back-to-back Swiss champions, the Calanda Broncos (2017, 2018) where his teams allowed an average of 10 points a game over two seasons. Over the course of those two seasons, Calanda had a 23-1 record going unbeaten in 2018 in the Swiss league.

Despite his young age, Payne has accomplished a great deal as a coach and football administrator. He spent two years as Director of Football Operations at Howard Payne University (NCAA Div. III) in Brownwood, Texas. Prior to that he was the defensive line coach at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas (NCAA Div. II). where he also handled a range of other duties. He started his coaching career at William B. Travis High School in Austin, Texas as offensive line coach.

Tampere Saints player representative Ilkka Minkkinen, who participated in the head coach selection:

“We believe that Jake Hale’s leadership is just what we need as a team to take the next step.”

Hale will be taking over a team that finished last in the Maple League in 2018 with a 2-8 record.

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