The red, white and blue uniforms a contingent of football players from Viewpoint School will wear on the field next weekend will have a different patriotic symbolism than the jerseys the high schoolers wear on fall and winter Friday nights.
Instead of lining up in front of opposition with “PATRIOTS” adorned across the front of their tri-color jerseys, the nine Viewpoint players will be wearing gridiron gear that shows they are part of America’s team, specifically Team Stars & Stripes, a group of high school football players organized by Global Football. The Viewpoint players and the 18 other athletes from high schools across the country will take on a team of Chinese football players from China’s American Football Academy in the 2017 Global Ambassadors Bowl on April 8 at Yuanshen Stadium in Shanghai.
Viewpoint senior linebacker Noah Cohen said the slight change in the meaning of the national colors will be exciting.
“It will be cool to represent my country playing the game of football,” the 18-year-old said.
Cohen’s teammate, junior offensive and defensive lineman Zak Boyce, said he is ready to hit the field in China.
“I’ve been playing football my whole life, and I never thought I would be representing America in China,” the 16-year-old said. “It feels like football is spreading across the world and it’s great.”
Team Stars & Stripes’ other Viewpoint players include freshmen Connor Blake and Trevor Hylen; sophomores Aiden Rodriquez, Campbell Beattie, John Watanabe and Michael Rhodes; and junior Matt Villanueva. The Patriots’ teammates on the American team hail from the Milken School in Los Angeles, El Camino High in San Diego and schools in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Washington.
Coach Chris Adamson, who led Viewpoint to a CIF playoff berth in 2016, was named Team Stars & Stripes head coach in November. Adamson, who has experience coaching international players and leading scrimmages against foreign teams, sent an email to all the wPatriots last winter informing them he would be coaching in the U.S. vs. China bowl and asked who wanted the chance to score touchdowns or make big hits in a road game that is 6,479 miles away.
Adamson said the group of Patriots heading to China is a mix of experienced players and newcomers. He said all should be prepared.
“We have four of our starting five offensive linemen going,” he said. “That gives us some continuity on the offensive line.”
Cohen, playing college football for the University of Puget Sound in Washington next season, said having Adamson manning the sidelines in China makes the trip easier for the Viewpoint players.
Sophomore running back and linebacker Aiden Rodriquez, 15, said it will be good to see Adamson on the sideline.
“It’s familiar to have Coach on the sidelines coaching us,” he said.
Boyce said he is excited to take the field with Viewpoint teammates, and is ready to meet his Team Stars & Stripes teammates from other states.
“So, I can see how important football is to them and how much they care for it,” Boyce said.
This is the ninth Global Ambassadors Bowl, and China is the 28th country to welcome Global Football travelers. Global Football sets up the events to provide student athletes of all ages, their coaches and families the chance to travel, learn, see different cultures and play football. The organization says it is the world’s largest exporter and producer of American football outside the country.
Team Stars & Stripes’ trip doesn’t just encompass the bowl game in a venue that can hold 16,000 spectators. The group’s trip is from April 1-9. In the days before the contest, the Americans will have a few practices and lead football clinics in Shanghai and Beijing.
Boyce said he hopes to educate burgeoning Chinese youth football players on the importance of “footwork and pad level.
“And just not being afraid to use your hands as a lineman,” he added.
Rodriquez said he wants to spread knowledge about football.
“I want to tell them about football being about brotherhood and leadership,” he said. “I hope they take on those traits when they learn how to play the game.”
The gridiron group will also do some sightseeing. A few players mentioned they were excited to see the Great Wall of China and the buildings constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
“I want to see all the culture there,” Rodriquez said.
Adamson said he and his assistant coaches have not had a chance to talk about a game plan with the players since they are spread across five states, but noted the players are all are good athletes from good schools that will represent the USA well.
“The team we are playing is pretty green,” he said. “From a football standpoint and a skills standpoint, we are going to be way ahead of them, but we have to execute.”
Cohen said he is ready for the game against China’s American Football Academy. He said playing in front of an unfamiliar crowd wouldn’t bother him too much.
“It’s just a really long road game,” he said.
Boyce said depending how the trip goes, playing in the Global Ambassadors Bowl could be his No.1 football experience.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said.
Adamson said the trip is “a once in a lifetime situation.”
“Everyone is excited to put on the stars and stripes, and to play a game that is really America’s game,” he said.