CHAD KLASSEN
The Peak Sports Editor (Simon Fraser University)

BURNABY, B.C. (CUP) ”“ The shock of Bernd Dittrich’s sudden passing this week shook Simon Fraser University to the core.

The SFU Clan’s second-year starting quarterback left the world with the same spirit and determination that took him from his home in Vienna, Austria, and landed him at SFU — all in the name of pursuing the game he died for.

Dittrich, who was suffering from a shoulder injury, was working to rehabilitate himself in a swimming pool on SFU’s campus, where his body was found. The young Austrian was trying to do everything in his power to make a recovery for the team’s Nov. 21 trip to Seattle, which has been called off under the circumstances.

An undetected, enlarged heart condition ended the dream for the young man whose big heart was known to anyone who had the pleasure to watch Dittrich the last two seasons.

“He was an awesome athlete but his athletic ability was half of what his character and the type of kid he was. He was a special young man,” said an emotional Dave Johnson, head coach at Simon Fraser, on Nov. 11.

“The word I heard at the hospital was that his heart was too big. I said, ”˜Well, heck, I knew that,’” added the Clan head coach.

“Bernie,” as his teammates called him, approached every snap and every day like it was his last. He never did anything without genuine determination — whether it was talking with the equipment manager, staying up late to study, watching game film or just chasing his football destiny thousands of kilometres from home.

While most young Austrians yearned to win gold on the ski slopes, Dittrich’s dream was playing college football. His drive to achieve this dream, unwilling to surrender until he realized the final destination, epitomized what he was all about as an athlete and person.

Growing up in a country where American football is not extremely popular, there were doubts about his chances. Even the sports personality of his own household — filled with track athletes, including his mother who is a track and field coach — stacked the chips against him.

Yet, Dittrich’s unrelenting drive to lead a college football team just wouldn’t let him fail, even if it meant leaving friends and family behind to make it happen.

The fearless athlete packed his bags and began his trek to North America, where his chances of being recruited would be greatly boosted. Dittrich ultimately achieved his dream, finding a home in eastern Oklahoma before garnering attention from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II program.

After his time in Oklahoma, he followed his Austrian football influences to SFU, where he started with the Clan in 2007 — joining close friend Daniel Stanzel and former Vienna Vikings head coach, Shawn Olson, who serves as the Clan’s offensive coordinator and worked closely with Dittrich every day.

In his first start with the Clan, Dittrich torched the University of British Columbia for 315 yards in a 24-10 victory on Aug. 23, 2008, provoking sincere emotion from the man who went the extra mile — both literally and figuratively — to help SFU break its lingering 25-game losing streak and make the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The miraculous turnaround of 2008, a 5-3 season that included a road playoff win in Saskatoon en route to the Hardy Cup final, will forever embody the efforts of Dittrich as a true football player and Clan athlete.

For now, Clan football can find solace in all the inspiration and positive energy that Dittrich provided everyone who has been connected with the program over the last three seasons.