Brett Baker

Bryce Alderton

Spending five-and-a-half months in Europe was beneficial, but Brett

Baker is glad to be back in familiar territory.

The 23-year-old Newport Harbor High star tailback, cornerback,

punter, kicker and kick returner flew back to Newport Beach Sept. 9

after spending nearly the last half year in Hanover, Germany, where

he played for the Hanover Musketeers, an American Football Club in

the German Football League.

The Musketeers went 7-2 and finished in second place out of six

teams, with Baker as the starting safety along with returning

kickoffs and punts. The Musketeers were supposed to play 10 games,

but one team ran out of money and had to fold, Baker said.

Baker, who holds the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo record for

single-season tackles with 115, also got his first crack at coaching

the defensive backs on the finer points of the game in Germany.

“I was really excited to see them get better,” said Baker, the

1997 Newport-Mesa District Most Valuable Player after racking up

2,993 all-purpose yards and nine interceptions in 13 games. “Seeing

the guys at the beginning of the season with their technique being

far behind reminded me of how much we take for granted [in the United

States]. We practiced every day in high school.”

Baker finished a stellar collegiate career with 304 tackles, third

on the school’s all-time list, to go with eight interceptions and a

36.4-yard average on 22 punts. He returned 28 punts with an 8.5-yard

average.

Baker said the biggest difference between football in the U.S. and

Europe is the time dedicated to practicing and training.

The Musketeers practiced for two hours, two days a week, a stark

contrast to the daily attention football receives in the U.S.

“Football is something that needs repetition,” said Baker, who

often found himself working out during the day before practices began

at 7 p.m.

There was also a five-and-a-half-week span when the Musketeers

didn’t play a game, allowing Baker the opportunity to tour the

European landscape. He welcomed the respite, but said it was

difficult returning to a football mind-set.

“You need to play football every week to get better at it, so it

made it hard for me,” he said.

Baker almost didn’t get the chance to play overseas. It was only

when the Musketeers’ starting quarterback quit after getting involved

in a brawl with a teammate that Baker got a phone call from Musketeer

coach Joe Roman offering the former Sailor a spot on the team. Dave

Brown, the linebackers coach at Cal Poly, had played in the GFL and

alerted Roman about Baker.

Roman called Baker around March 20. Five days later Baker was in

Germany.

“I was ready to go to Costa Rica to surf for three to six months,”

Baker recalled. “I talked with [Roman March 19] and had a plane

ticket for Costa Rica. But I had this feeling to wait [until March

20] and it turned into a blessing.

“It was a lucky deal for me.”

Pete Hogan, who finished his career at Colorado State last season

after starting at defensive end and a Newport alum, visited and

traveled with Baker and ended up playing two games for the

Musketeers.

“I introduced [Hogan] to [Roman] and he ended up starting two

games,” Baker said. “All the Germans liked Pete and I had a best

friend to travel with. It couldn’t have worked out better.”

Baker received roughly 500 euros, which he said is equal to about

$550 per week. He used that money on leisure since most of the hotel

room, food and car were already paid for by sponsors.

Some teammates paid to play, so Baker was fortunate.

“I was definitely lucky to have some of my own money and a credit

card,” Baker said. “But the money goes very quick when you are

traveling in Europe.

When Baker would stay in Hanover, he would save about $200 a

month. But he wouldn’t have traded in traveling.

“I saw Italy and every country around Germany at least once,” he

said.

Baker, who received his degree in agricultural business from Cal

Poly last December, is already working to pay off some of that debt.

He has begun to assist father, Jeff, at State Farm Insurance.

Baker said he wants to speak with Hogan in a few months to

determine if another year in Germany would be feasible.

“The offer is there and they want Pete to come back,” Baker said.

“It would be hard to go back with a full-time job. But it is a good

thing to have on the sleeve.”

For Baker, the opportunity to put the pads on in Europe allowed

him to continue playing a game that has given him so much.

“A lot of guys before me in college wanted to go to the NFL so

bad,” Baker said. “To see them do so much training and nothing

happens and they still are going for it ... I didn’t want to end up

like that. I had an offer to try out for the [Canadian Football

League], but that was too much for me.

“I didn’t go out there because I wanted to play in the NFL. I was

there to play, help the team, coach and be friends with the players.

[Football] is not something I need to play. I’m just blessed to be

playing, traveling and meeting some cool people.”