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Where EAST meets the Northwest
THEY LIKE TO HIT. Yoon Kim (No. 28) and his teammates pose at Orme High School in Mayer, Arizona. (AP Photo/The Daily Courier, Nathaniel Kastelic)
From The Asian Reporter, V17, #44 (October 30, 2007), page 8.
Asian players carry school football team
By Brad Fuqua
The Daily Courier
PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) — The thought of becoming an American football star never entered his mind.
As a youngster in South Korea, Yoon Kim tested his athletic skills on a soccer field. Growing up, he had never even seen American football on television. It was simply a sport played by foreigners halfway around the world.
With those days of soccer long gone, Kim is definitely Americanized. He’s making a habit of bursting through opposing defenses on his way to the end zone. Although Orme High School in Mayer, Arizona plays on an 80-yard field, Kim is averaging around 150 yards per game through the first half of the season as the main threat in the Warriors’ double-wing attack.
"My parents and I decided to come here because America has a better education system," Kim said. "I didn’t know anything about football until I came here."
Making friends and embracing a part of American culture, Kim grew to love the sport. Before long, he asked some of his Asian buddies if they’d like to try it out.
"I told them it was fun and all that," he said. "They got interested and when we started playing catch, they wanted to try."
Now a senior, Kim is one of six players from South Korea in the high school football program. A seventh is an eighth-grader and it seems natural that he’ll continue at the next level. Orme also has a player from Taiwan.
"It’s difficult getting them used to the American football game, but as far as work ethic, they all have excellent work ethic," Orme coach Ricardo Oliveras said. "We’ve had some growing pains at times with them being out of position when stuff doesn’t go exactly as it had in practice. It’s hard for them at times to use their athletic ability to make a play."
As a six-foot, 180-pound senior, Raymond Wu — the player out of Taiwan — sees time on varsity as an offensive lineman.
"I like the physical thing so I can hit people," Wu said with a smile. "When I’m playing defense, I get to tackle someone ... that’s what I like."
As in South Korea, not a lot of American football can be found in Taiwan. It’s a tad more visible, with a few colleges fielding teams and the Super Bowl getting on the tube each season.
Paul Yang, a 17-year-old senior, has played for a couple of years. Now a defensive end, Yang started out a little apprehensive about playing the game.
"I was kind of scared I could get injured," said Yang, thinking back to his sophomore year. "I saw many people that broke bones and things. But since I’ve started, I’ve had a lot of fun playing football."
Besides Kim, Wu, and Yang, the others see limited time on varsity.
"They’re all pretty much playing special teams right now," Oliveras said. "We’re pretty young with freshmen and sophomores."
Oliveras is referring to sophomores Ephie Park, Danny Park, and M.K. Kang, and freshman John Kang. They get in on those special teams to supplement their position player roles on junior varsity.
"It was kind of hard my first year because I couldn’t understand," said Danny Park, who said his favorite player is LaShawn Bain, a senior lineman from the Bahamas. "I’ve learned a lot and it’s a pretty cool game. I like hitting, that’s the best part."
On occasion, the challenges of communication come up between coaches and players. Oliveras laughs when thinking about a moment in the 34-31 victory over Williams earlier this season.
"I was yelling for a kid named Paul to come out of the game," Oliveras said. "A couple of the Koreans thought I was yelling ‘punt.’ They were the only group that ran out there so I was yelling at them trying to explain ... ‘Paul, Paul, not punt, punt.’ We got a penalty."
But Kim is the star. He’s on the verge of his second straight 1,000-yard season for the Warriors. Last year, he finished with 1,086 yards on 174 carries and scored 16 touchdowns.
"Yoon Kim is a leader by example," Oliveras said. "He’s actually pretty boisterous and the other kids follow his lead. They all work pretty hard."
Many players — South Korean or not — look up to Kim.
"The real reason I played football at first was Yoon Kim," M.K. Kang said. "He runs fast and he’s big and strong. He told me how to hold the ball and not fumble and to stay in position. I want to take his spot next year, that’s my dream. I want to get better and I want to become like Yoon."