I wrote this for AFS USA, because they trying to find a stories. It might be expired for now since but it's still a good feeling to remember what we've been through and make me feels appreciate more about myself.
There is one thing that I promise I will always tell future exchange students to do when they doing this, JOIN A SPORTS TEAM! Yeah, sport is the best thing that I got here, I can’t imagine my life without my football team. I’m hosted in Silver Creek, NY. I love American Football and all I want before I came here just watch the game and have fun, because I know most of American school doesn’t allowed Asian exchange student to join the football team, because it’s a tough sport and most Asian have small posture. But fortunately, I’m a big boy with willingness to try and get hit, so the coach allowed me to join the team, and here I am! American Football player!
Why is it so important? Isn’t it just sport and just play and win or lost and that’s it? No, it’s more than that. Football is everything for me. I learn friendship, family, care, strong, teamwork, popularity, willingness and even love from Football. One special thing when you join a sport is you know somebody before the school start because usually sport season start before the school start. I remembered my first football practice and I can’t go practice because it’s Ramadan (fasting month for Moslem) and I’m fasting so I just come to watch the practice and the coach shake my hand and said, “Welcome to the team”, and then the players come to me and ask my name and we get along really well. When the school started, the football team are the one that always help me with everything, if I don’t know where to go, if I have some problem and also sit with me at lunch and I’m not even practice yet!
Everything’s going well and finally after Ramadan end I can practice and I remembered how proud I am to wear the football helmet and proctector and go practice. And finally one day, it’s a home game versus Sherman and it’s 4th quarter, the coach said, “Adit, get in there!”, and I’m officially an American Football player since that second, a day that I will never forget in my life.
We are pretty strong team so we keep going to the playoff and finally we have a sectional championship game at Ralph Wilson Stadium (Buffalo Bills Stadium). We played against Randolph, which is last year champion so it will be a tough opponent. But finally we won! After an amazing and really close game we won 21-14 and we are the champion of Western NY! Can you imagine how I felt? An ordinary guy that playing with rubber American football in Indonesia and all he wanted just watch a football game now a champion in an NFL team stadium! It was amazing and special day, the best day in my life, when my dreams come true.
Unfortunately, I missed next game because I had to go to Virginia with my cluster for a trip, so all I can do just watch the game from the computer. And what a bump for me when I know that they lost the game, and the worst thing is I can’t be with my team in the last day of football this season.
Later on, we have a banquet, a football banquet. Everyone come with their parents and of course I come with my hostmom. The Senior come up and the coach talked about each of us. He told me about a secret, that he didn’t expect me to do this good at all at first. When my host family asked him that there is an Indonesian exchange student that never play American football in my life and want to join the team but he can’t practice until for a month because he had to fast all he think just, “What am I supposed to do?”, so he just accept me to the team and he thought I just gonna be one of the player that just come to one practice and left because it’s too hard. But he said that, what he got is a student that really want to learn and never stop to try even thought he knew he’s not good enough to be a star player. And he said that if I was born in America, I would be a good Football player. I just feel amazing and special, speechless. I don’t what I should say to him, he just the best coach in the world. But the excitement didn’t finish yet, they gave me a football with the entire team signature, and that’s 1 of 3 football that we used at Ralph Wilson Stadium. I just can’t ask for more, I love this place and I love my life. And when the trophy come, I see my name carved on it, forever. And at that moment I know, I’m not just exchange student for one year here. I am part of Silver Creek, and I will always love Silver Creek, and everytime they see the trophy they will remember that I’m always there.
Football, it's one of the most important things in my exchange year.
Yep, tips utama kalo kalian adalah exchange student, yang pertama kali harus kalian lakuin adalah MASUK SPORTS TEAM DI SEKOLAH KALIAN!
Terutama buat cowok, karena itu adalah kunci buat nyari temen, dan dengan dapetin temen kalian bakal dapetin banyak temen baru lagi. Juga karena kegiatan sports udah dimulai sebelum sekolah mulai, jadi waktu sekolah mulai kalian udah kenal beberapa orang dan itu bakal bikin sosialisasi kalian jadi jauh lebih gampang waktu sekolah mulai.
Hari senin tanggal 6 Desember 2010 lalu ada football banquet, whiches closing dinner for family and player after football season ended.
Kayak standar gathering di Amerika, dari pihak club nyediain roast beef, tapi semua orangtua yang dateng bawa dishes buat di-share sama yang lain. Habis itu kita langsung makan, orangtua dulu baru yang muda2.
Habis itu dipanggil pemain2 yang berprestasi di tiap angkatan, saya pastinya gak akan dipanggil karena kebayang biasanya parah senior paling enggak udah main 6 taun dan saya baru 3 bulan jadi gak level euy :D
Habis itu dipanggil satu persatu pemain, mulai dari Sophmore (10th grade), Junior (11th grade) dan akhirnya Senior (12th grade). Kita semua dikasih patch dari NYSAA sebagai tanda atlit, juga cd yang isinya video sama foto2 pertandingan.
Tapi buat para senior agak beda, berhubung itu tahun terakhir kita jadi emang senior selalu lebih istimewa. Pertama Coach Helmer cerita tentang pendapat dia tentang kita satu2, terus kita dapet kayak helm kecil gitu buat pajangan yang ada nomer jersey sama last name kita.
Tapi bagian paling mengagetkan adalah waktu pembagian bola. Coach bilang emang sayang dia gak bisa ngasih football buat semuanya, jadi cuma dikasih ke beberapa orang yang emang berjasa banget aja yaitu Frankie Sterlace, Cody Hehir, Andrew Lanphere, Roland Jimerson, Larry Kaminski dan Zach Williams. Saya ya pasrah karena emang tau gak cukup waktu buat bikin banyak banget jasa, tapi di akhir Coach Helmer ngeluarin bola yang ditanda-tanganin semua player, tadinya saya pikir itu buat ditaro di pajangan, tapi ternyata dia bilang "this football is for Adit, you always be with us"
Oh my god! That's the most amazing thing that I always wanted! Tadinya saya emang rencananya mau beli football dan minta tanda tangan semua pemain football, tapi ternyata mereka malah ngasih bola yang kita pake di Ralph Wilson Stadium (Tim NFL Buffalo Bills Stadium).
Habis itu saya bilang terimakasih sama coach, terus kita dapet 3 buah sertifikat sama jaket juga kaos Champion.
I LOVE FOOTBALL! I LOVE SILVER CREEK!
I promise I will tell the world that I played with the most amazing team in the world!
Saya sekarang bener-bener lagi suka american football, tapi masalahnya di Indonesia susah banget nyari yang suka dan bener-bener ngerti sama permainan ini. Masalahnya adalah menurut saya american football tuh salah satu olahraga yang paling rumit di dunia, hahaha.... Jadi buat yang suka american football tapi masih belom ngerti, ini ada panduan buat pemula, enjoy it!
Beginner's Guide to Football
One 11-man team has possession of the football. It is called the offense and it tries to advance the ball down the field-by running with the ball or throwing it - and score points by crossing the goal line and getting into an area called the end zone.
The other team (also with 11 players) is called the defense. It tries to stop the offensive team and make it give up possession of the ball. If the team with the ball does score or is forced to give up possession, the offensive and defensive teams switch roles (the offensive team goes on defense and the defensive team goes on offense). And so on, back and forth, until all four quarters of the game have been played.
In order to make it easier to coordinate the information in this digest, the topics discussed generally follow the order of the rule book.
THE FIELD
The field measures 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. Little white markings on the field called yard markers help the players, officials, and the fans keep track of the ball. Probably the most important part of the field is the end zone. It's an additional 10 yards on each end of the field. This is where the points add up! When the offense - the team with possession of the ball-gets the ball into the opponent's end zone, they score points.
TIMING
Games are divided into four 15-minute quarters, separated by a 12-minute break at halftime. There are also 2-minute breaks at the end of the first and third quarters as teams change ends of the field after every 15 minutes of play. At the end of the first and third quarters, the team with the ball retains possession heading into the following quarter. That is not the case before halftime. The second half starts with a kickoff in the same way as the game began in the first quarter.
Each offensive team has 40 seconds from the end of a given play until they must snap of the ball for the start of the next play, otherwise they will be penalized.
The clock stops at the end of incomplete passing plays, when a player goes out of bounds, or when a penalty is called. The clock starts again when the ball is re-spotted by an official.
If a game is tied at the end of regulation, a 15-minute overtime period will be played. In the NFL, this is sudden death and the first team to score wins. Possession is determined before the period begins by a coin toss.
THE PLAYERS
Each team has 3 separate units: the offense (see section below), those players who are on the field when the team has possession of the ball; the defense (see section below), players who line up to stop the other team's offense; and special teams that only come in on kicking situations (punts, field goals, and kickoffs). Only 11 players are on the field from one team at any one time.
A game starts with the kickoff. The ball is placed on a kicking tee at the defense's 30-yard line, and a special kicker (a "placekicker") kicks the ball to the offense A kick return man from the offense will try to catch the ball and advance it by running. Where he is stopped is the point from which the offense will begin its drive, or series of offensive plays. When a kickoff is caught in the offense's own end zone, the kick returner can either run the ball out of the end zone, or kneel in the end zone to signal a touchback - a sign to stop the play. The ball is then placed on the 20-yard line, where the offense begins play.
FIRST DOWN
All progress in a football game is measured in yards. The offensive team tries to get as much "yardage" as it can to try and move closer to the opponent's end zone. Each time the offense gets the ball, it has four downs, or chances, in which to gain 10 yards. If the offensive team successfully moves the ball 10 or more yards, it earns a first down, and another set of four downs. If the offense fails to gain 10 yards, it loses possession of the ball. The defense tries to prevent the offense not only from scoring, but also from gaining the 10 yards needed for a first down. If the offense reaches fourth down, it usually punts the ball (kicks it away). This forces the other team to begin its drive further down the field.
MOVING THE BALL - The Run and the Pass
A play begins with the snap. At the line of scrimmage (the position on the field where the play begins), the quarterback loudly calls out a play in code and the player in front of him, the center, passes, or snaps the ball under his legs to the quarterback. From there, the quarterback can either throw the ball, hand it off, or run with it.
THE RUN
There are two main ways for the offense to advance the ball. The first is called a run. This occurs when the quarterback hands the ball off to a running back, who then tries to gain as many yards as possible by eluding defensive players. The quarterback is also allowed to run with the ball.
THE PASS
The other alternative to running the ball is to throw it. Or as they say in football, pass it! Usually, the quarterback does the passing, though there are times when another player may pass the ball to confuse the defense. Actually, anyone on the offensive team is allowed to pass the ball as long as the pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage. A pass is complete if the ball is caught by another offensive player, usually the "wide receiver" or "tight end." If the ball hits the ground before someone catches it, it is called an incomplete pass.
THE TACKLE
The defense prevents the offense from advancing the ball by bringing the ball carrier to the ground. A player is tackled when one or both of his knees touch the ground. The play is then over. A play also ends when a player runs out of bounds.
SCORING
The object of the game is to score the most points. There are four ways to score points in football.
TOUCHDOWN = 6 POINTS
A touchdown is the biggest single score in a football game. It is worth six points, and it allows the scoring team an opportunity to attempt to get an extra point. To score a touchdown, the ball must be carried across the goal line into the end zone, caught in the end zone, or a fumble recovered in the end zone, or an untouched kickoff recovered in the end zone by the kicking team.
EXTRA POINT and the TWO-POINT CONVERSION = 1 or 2 POINTS
Immediately following a touchdown, the ball is placed at the opponent's two-yard line, where the offense has two options. Usually the offense will kick an extra point, also called the point after touchdown, conversion, or PAT. If the offense successfully kicks the ball through the goal posts, it earns one point. The offense can also score two points by running or throwing the ball into the end zone in the same manner as you would score a touchdown. Since going for two points is more difficult than kicking an extra point, the offense generally chooses to kick the extra point.
FIELD GOAL = 3 POINTS
If the offense cannot score a touchdown, it may try to kick a field goal. Field goals are worth three points and often are the deciding plays in the last seconds of close games. They can be attempted from anywhere on the field on any down, but generally are kicked from inside the defense's 45-yard line on fourth down. For a field goal to be "good", the placekicker (or field goal kicker) must kick the ball through the goal-post uprights and over the crossbar. The defense tries to block the kick and stop the ball from reaching the goal post.
SAFETY = 2 POINTS
The safety is worth two points. A safety occurs when the offensive ball carrier is tackled behind his own goal line.
TURNOVERS
While trying to advance the football to the end zone, the offense may accidentally turn the ball over to the defense in one of two ways:
THE FUMBLE
When the ball carrier or passer drops the ball, that's a fumble. Any player on the field can recover the ball by diving on it or he can run with it. The team that recovers a fumble either gets-or retains-possession of the ball.
THE INTERCEPTION
An aggressive defense can regain possession of the ball by catching (intercepting) passes meant for players on the other team. Both fumble recoveries and interceptions can be run back into the end zone for touchdowns.
THE TWO SIDES OF THE BALL
THE OFFENSE
Whichever team has possession of the ball is the offense. While only the quarterback, the wide receivers and tight ends, and the running backs can legally handle the ball, it is the quarterback who is the leader of the team and the playmaker. In fact, he's a man of many talents - he not only throws the ball, he outlines each play to his team.
THE OFFENSIVE PLAYERS
The quarterback ("QB") passes or hands off the ball.
The center snaps the ball to the QB and blocks the defense.
2 guards and 2 tackles keep the defense at bay.
2/4 wide receivers catch the ball thrown by the QB.
1 or 2 running backs take the ball and run with it.
1 or 2 tight ends block the defense and can also catches passes.
THE DEFENSE
The job of the defense is to stop the offense. The 11 men on the defensive team all work together to keep the offense from advancing toward the defense's end zone.
THE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Linebackers defend against the pass, and push forward to stop the run or tackle the QB.
The defensive line (ends and tackles) battles head-to-head against the offensive line.
Cornerbacks and safeties defend against the pass from the QB to the wide receiver and help to stop the run.
Hahaha... akhirnya setelah sebulan lebih udah gak pernah posting lagi! Saya bisa posting lagi! Dan akhirnya teman2, ada sebuah berita gembira yang udah hampir 2 bulan saya tunggu-tunggu!!!! SURAT DARI AFS DATENG!!!!!
Yah, akhirnya setelah perjuangan dan keringat dan menunggu terus, saya ngedapetin surat dari bina antarbudaya yang isinya saya lolos seleksi AFS, Alhamdulillah... Emang sih udah gak ada tes lagi, paling ada lagi kalo mau ambil program YES, tapi sekarang berkas saya lagi diseleksi di tingkat nasional, jadi buat semua yang baca blog ini tolong doain saya ya!
Saya ngerasa seneng banget dan bersyukur udah sampe sejauh ini, tapi saya bener2 pengen bisa ke Amerika dengan paket YES supaya saya buat sekali aja bisa banggain orangtua saya :)
Dan buat sekarang juga saya lagi tergila-gila banget sama AMERICAN FOOTBALL!!!!! Hahaha... bener deh itu adalah olahraga paling seru di dunia! Dan saya pengen banget bisa mainin itu di Amerika, hehehe....
Tapi emang bener ya kalo kita dapetin sesuatu pasti kita kehilangan sesuatu juga? Hahaha...
Ah udahlah, pokoknya buat semuanya tolong doanya ya, sekarang cuma doa yang bisa nolongin saya, hahaha....
