Latest news with #Kerstin
Chicago Tribune
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville's Jackson Kerstin to ‘stay grounded' at South Dakota State as work resumes after teammate's death
Jackson Kerstin is handling his college football career the old-fashioned way. There have been no rides through the transfer portal, and chasing riches in the new era of name, image and likeness is not on the 2023 Naperville North graduate's agenda. Instead, the 6-foot-4, 285-pound Kerstin has embraced the challenge of climbing the depth chart as an offensive lineman at perennial Division I Football Championship Subdivision power South Dakota State. 'It's been nothing but a good time, and I'm just learning as I go,' he said. 'I'm not disappointed in how things have gone. There's endless support from my teammates. I'm just really excited for the season, and I'm trying to compete as hard as I can to get reps.' Watching, learning and working, Kerstin hopes to become a starter for a team with high expectations and a deep well of talent to meet them. The Jackrabbits have won a combined 51 games in the past four seasons, including back-to-back FCS national championships in 2022-23 with former Neuqua Valley star Mark Gronowski at quarterback. Five South Dakota State players were drafted by NFL teams from 2022 to 2024, and three of Kerstin's 2024 teammates signed NFL contracts in the spring. One of those players, Pittsburgh Steelers starting guard Mason McCormick, provided a good example for Kerstin to follow. 'It was valuable to see how seriously he took everything, and he was just as much of a coach as a teammate,' Kerstin said. 'His work ethic was apparent in how he attacked things. With all of those guys, you could tell they were different.' Kerstin, who wants to be part of that exclusive club, is taking reps at both guard and tackle during the preseason. He was a tackle in his three varsity seasons at Naperville North, but he has spent the most time at guard at South Dakota State. Versatility can only benefit Kerstin as he attempts to make a favorable impression on a staff that includes new head coach Dan Jackson and new offensive line coach Mike Bangtson. 'A lot of guys who had more time at tackle left, and things play faster out there,' Kerstin said. 'Because of the speed, pass protection is easier at guard. My goal is to play there, but I'll get work wherever I'm asked to.' Kerstin's athleticism is one reason he's able to flip between those two positions. It flashed enough for Naperville North coach Sean Drendel to elevate Kerstin to the varsity team when he was a sophomore and saw it in the multiple ways that Kerstin helped the offense maximize its efficiency. 'By the time he was a senior, he was pretty dominant as a masher,' Drendel said. 'But he was very athletic, too, and that allowed him to do a lot of things well, whether it was on screens, down-blocking or our outside zone game. He has a great desire and intensity when he plays the game.' A lot of Kerstin's desire has been pooled toward improving all parts of his game, not least of which is his physique. He has gained more than 40 pounds of muscle in college. 'If he continues to grow and works like I know he will, I could see him being a special player for them and even getting a chance at the next level,' Drendel said. A tight bond among teammates makes Kerstin's wall-to-wall work easier. He and several others traveled to Alaska earlier this summer to see where linebacker Jack Nash grew up. They also faced a difficult test after running back Nate White died June 25. 'That's been really tough because he was one of my good friends,' Kerstin said. 'I remember praying afterward that if something that bad can happen, then something good has to come of it. So far, the guys have been working hard to fight for the brother we lost. We play for him every day.' South Dakota State is a consensus top-five pick in preseason polls, which has become commonplace. 'It's a little different here than everywhere else,' Kerstin said. 'The culture is incredible, and the standard is the standard. I'd obviously love to be starting every game, but there's still a lot I need to work on to do that effectively. 'At the end of the day, I try to stay grounded in the present and not think about the future.'
Irish Times
08-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
‘For Germans, everything is forbidden unless it allowed,' in contrast to the Irish
Germany has had a magnetic draw for Adrian O'Sullivan since he first visited there as an 18-year-old in 1988. The Clonakilty native was taking time out back then after his Leaving Cert to travel around Europe before planning to study law at UCC. O'Sullivan picked up a job as a dishwasher at the Sheraton Hotel in Munich and phoned his 'poor unfortunate mother' to tell her he wanted to defer for a year as he was enjoying himself so much. 'I often say that that's the best job I ever had, because I never woke up at 3am worrying about dirty dishes and I never took any of it home,' he says. O'Sullivan progressed to other roles within the hotel group, instilling in him a desire to explore a life outside of Ireland. After a year back in Cork studying European Affairs, he found himself back in Germany in early 1990. READ MORE It was a time of great transformation there, with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and reunification of the two parts of the country. A chance meeting with an auctioneer led him on the career path he has pursued ever since as a property investment specialist and entrepreneur. O'Sullivan has mixed property, with ownership of bars, restaurants and night clubs in Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and the US, as well as an online training company, the Olive Group, while living and working in Ireland and Germany at various times. He met his German-born wife Kerstin while living in Ireland and, in 2004, they made a permanent move to Berlin with their young family where he established European Property Investment with a number of partners. The firm created investment vehicles, primarily for non-German investors, including many clients from Ireland. 'When we were having the boom years in Ireland in the Noughties, Germany was in recession. Prices were very cheap, relative to Dublin. You could buy an apartment block with 10 apartments here for what you would pay for one large apartment in Dublin. 'By the time the crash came, we had about €500 million of property under management.' Sometimes Irish people have come here thinking they can do things the same was as they can in Cahersiveen, but that doesn't work Such was the frenzy for property investment, O'Sullivan recalls placing an ad in an Irish Sunday newspaper for one commercial opportunity and receiving 150 calls the following morning. 'I remember one solicitor who wanted to know where he could send a cheque straight away for €250,000. There was a huge fear of missing out.' While German property experienced steady growth in the following years, many of these investors – regular business owners in Ireland – came under huge pressure at home when the crash occurred as they were highly leveraged. Many were forced to sell up their German assets before they had the chance to grow significantly, he explains. O'Sullivan and his partners downsized the business and pivoted into property development. 'Property is a long-term investment. From 2007 to 2012, property went up by 25 per cent, and from 2014 to 2020, property went up by 300 per cent. It you can stay in, it will generally come right for you.' O'Sullivan acknowledges, however, that prices have fallen around 40 cent since Covid. 'It's not making headlines but the building industry in particular is in recession, along with there being problems in the wider economy. We've a new government here now so let's see what that brings.' [ An Irishwoman in Portugal: 'Blue skies, bilingual children and a flight home in three hours' Opens in new window ] Having spent the last 20 years in Germany, O'Sullivan has noticed subtle changes in the culture, with the increasing influence of US culture on younger people and more mid-Atlantic accents. 'There's been a lot of change in that time and I would say that I prefer the Berlin of 20 years ago, but then most people would say they preferred the Dublin of 20 years ago too.' There is also less formality now than there once was, but there is still a lot more bureaucracy than in Ireland and rules are strictly enforced. 'When I came here first, what I often remarked upon was that, for Germans, everything is absolutely forbidden unless it allowed whereas, for the Irish, everything is allowed unless it is absolutely forbidden. Sometimes Irish people have come here thinking they can do things the same was as they can in Cahersiveen, but that doesn't work.' O'Sullivan enjoys the cultural attractions of Berlin and remains close to the Irish community, including strong involvement in one of the city's GAA clubs, Setanta Berlin. He has also served as president of the German Irish Council. [ 'There is so much to do here especially in the summer when there are festivals and open-air cinemas in the Plaza España' Opens in new window ] He has no plans to return to live in Ireland in the foreseeable future. 'Berlin is a fantastic city that comes into its own in the summer with the Tiergarten (a huge city park featuring a zoo and cultural attractions) providing a great lung. While I enjoy visits back to Ireland regularly, I always feel happy when the plane lands back in Berlin – except for the terrible airport.'
