IFAF World Team head coach Greg Marshall

Coaching a team in an international event can be a challenge for any coach, regardless of the sport.

Bringing together the top players from one country means scouring your native land for talent and molding a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds into a team in a short period of time with the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

Now imagine trying to coach a team and achieve that goal when your recruiting territory covers 95 percent of the planet.

That's the task facing Head Coach Greg Marshall as he prepares to lead the International Federation of American Football's World Team against the United States under 19 National Team in next week's International Bowl in Austin, Texas.

For Marshall, the key to the World's success is building a solid, experienced coaching staff that also spans the globe. The 13 World Team coaches and nine IFAF Development Team coaches represent 13 different countries.

"I think the biggest challenge is the background in football that everyone is coming from," Marshall said. "Some of the schemes that are used in Europe are different than what we might use here.

"We have to get everyone on the same page in a very, very short period of time because in one week we've got to make sure we're teaching our players and speaking with a singular voice. Coming from different cultures and different languages that can be very difficult."

While they might speak different languages, the bulk of the staff will recognize the men they're working with. Seven of Marshall's 12 assistants on the World Team staff return from a year ago so the learning curve is much shorter this time around.

"Whether you're coaching your own high school team or university team or one game like this, continuity is important," Marshall said. "Last year we put together a very good international staff and we wanted to have some continuity with that group. There are some language issues and system issues you need to overcome. We did that last year and I think we can build upon it this year."

The staff also boasts five members who have led either the senior or junior national team in their respective countries - World Team coaches Shinzo Yamada (Japan), Tuomas Heikkinen (Finland), John Leijten (Australia) and Paul Manera (Australia) and Development Team assistant Oliver Moret (France). Six other members of the staff have served as assistant coaches for their national teams or with past World teams.

Marshall and his staff will begin the week with a 44-man World Team roster and an IFAF Development Team roster of 59. Six of the development players will play their way onto the World Team with their performances in practice and scrimmages with the World Team over the next few days.

Keeping 103 players involved and attentive is yet another challenge but one that Marshall deals with on a regular basis in his full-time job as the head coach at the University of Western Ontario.

"With my university team back in Canada we have 100 players and only 45 are going to dress for any given game," Marshall said. "Everyone has different roles and it's important that everyone understands that their role is important to the success of the team.

"For the Development Team it's about making them understand that this is a worthwhile experience - continue to grow, have a great experience here and next year they might be a part of this game."

And Marshall hopes to be coaching those young men in next year's International Bowl.

"These international kids don't get this opportunity very often. So to experience something like this is amazing and it's a game we need to continue to build upon. I'm glad I'm a part of it and I hope I can continue to in whatever role because I really believe in it."