AN AMERICAN FOOTBALLER IN THE MAKING?

Name: Nehémie Etchu
Age: 16
Location: Allen, Texas

DC: How long have you lived in the US?

NE: Like 8 years now

DC: What do you remember of Cameroon, if at all anything?

NE: He laughs...not a lot...I only have memories of our house...just the building and the family members.

DC: If the world was to be re-created by God and you had the chance to govern Cameroon, what would you FIRST do?

NE: Erm... I would make everyone more equal

DC: Is that financially?

NE: Yes

DC: What is the difference between growing up in Cameroon and in the US?

NE: Life is more easier in the US than in Cameroon. You have food to eat, you dont have to go far to go to school etc

DC: Do you think you have more opportunities in the US to be who you want to be?

NE: Yes

DC: How did you get into the American football scene?

NE: Erm...by watching it on TV and by hanging out with my friends who were playing it made me interested.

DC: Did you know much about it in Cameroon before you came to the US?

NE: No, I had no clue

DC: What position do you play?

NE: I am a noseguard.

DC: What does a noseguard do?

NE: My job is to protect the line backer from our attacking opponents.

DC: What skills / talent do you need to play American Football?

NE: Well...it is not all about playing but you have to be mentally and physically strong and fast...every player has their own task to make sure the team wins. You have to be a good team player.

DC: Is it different from the football we know, what you guys call “soccer”?

NE: Yes, a lot different. Soccer seems like an individual game, one person can carry the whole team while American Football is more team based, everyone has to work

DC: What are the rules to the game? How do you score points?

NE: The game official flips a coin before the game starts..team that wins in the coin flip gets to choose to be either the defense or the offenseIf you choose to be an offense, the other team will kick the ball from their 30 yard line all the way to the offense side as high as they can and the rest of the team including the person that kicked the ball has to run towards the offense side and try to tackle the ball carrier.To score points, you have to run into the end zone with the ball. Just by running into the end zone you score 6 points and you can also get extra points by either kicking a field goal or running a two point conversion.

DC: Were your parents supportive of your choice to play this game?

NE: Erm...not at first but now they are ok. The reason why African parents are skeptical is that they view the game as too violent but you have to understand and watch it to know how it works.

DC: How much training do you have to do?

NE: Depends on the time of the season. During the season, we practise for 2 and a half hours playing and then we do a bit of conditioning. During off seasons, we practise for 2 and half ours and we do more conditioning which is a lot harder. Before summer comes up, we have spring ball..which is to evaluate how every one is doing before the season begins. We also watch films..term for our past games and games of our opponents we are likely to meet during the play offs

DC: How does this fit with your school work?

NE: It affects my school work.in a positive way...it motivates me to work harder because if you fail you cannot play the games till you start to pass again.

DC: Would you then like to pursue this as a career?

NE: Nooo I wouldn't!

DC: So why are you doing it?

NE: It is the highlight of my high school!

DC: What would you love to do as a career?

NE: Right now I am looking at working in ER...maybe working as a medic in the marines.

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DC: What are the qualities needed to succeed in life in your opinion?

NE: You have to be disciplined and respectful.

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DC: Thank you

NE: Thank you!

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DC: Dulce Camer

NE: Nehémie Etchu

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ps: He wore number 99 for the Junior Varsity and is now wearing number 96 for the Senior Varsity. Allen Eagles, his team won the State games this year in Houston so they are the best team in Texas and the 3rd best in the nation!!

Hope you enjoyed reading.

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Let us keep our youths' dreams alive by supporting and encouraging them to try at whatever their talent lie....at least they are doing something, making us all proud!

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Stay sweet

Dulce

xxx