Cultural Barriers Broken Down As
International Teams Meet in Jacksonville; First Round
Games Begin Wednesday
January 31, 2005
LANGUAGE AND cultural barriers were broken down and new
friendships formed on Monday night when players from five
countries and three continents met for the first time
in Jacksonville.
The 36-man rosters from Team USA, Japan, France, Mexico
and Canada, along with their coaches and host families
from four Jacksonville high schools enjoyed a welcome
banquet to kick off the events leading up to the NFL Global
Junior Championship IX.
The players took center stage as a captain from each team
delivered a message to teammates and opponents at the
Schultz Center in Jacksonville. Team USA quarterback Riley
Skinner of The Bolles School summed up the feeling of
all the student athletes, saying: “We are all very
proud to be representing our country. I’m am especially
honored to welcome these visitors from other countries
to play football in my home town.”
Skinner will lead Team USA at the Skinner-Barco Stadium
that carries his family name at the Bolles School on Wednesday,
February 2. France and Mexico will kick off a series of
10 games played over two seven-minute halves at 2:00 p.m.,
with the Mexicans having won the option to possess the
ball first by winning a coin toss held during the banquet.
Each team captain called either heads or tails to decide
who controls the opening possession and France won three
out of four compared with two each for USA, Mexico and
Japan and one for Canada. “These are short games
that will pass very quickly, so the opportunity to have
the ball in our hands and control our destiny from the
beginning is important,” said French quarterback
William Oteng-Gyang, who made the successful calls.
Following the opening game Japan and Canada meet at 2:50
p.m. before USA takes the field for the first time at
3:40 p.m. against France. The full schedule of games,
which will run until 10:00 p.m. can be found at www.NFLHS.com/GJC/.
The top two teams in the standings after Wednesday’s
play will meet in the Championship Game at 4:00 p.m. on
Saturday, February 5.
The head coaches and captains from all five teams will
face the Super Bowl XXXIX media on Tuesday at a NFL Global
Junior Championship IX press conference at the Prime Osborn
Media Center in Jacksonville at 4:30 p.m. |
