{"397071":{"#nid":"397071","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bridging the Gap","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIt is the first time Cristina Perez has ever held a football.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s heavier than I thought,\u201d Perez says, twisting and turning the ball trying to make it fit in her hand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech quarterbacks Justin Thomas and Tim Byerly step over to help her line up her fingers on the laces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll right, step forward with your left foot and throw,\u201d Byerly instructs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s also the first time Perez, a native of Panama, has ever thrown a football.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, many of the international students on the field at Bobby Dodd Stadium have never touched a football. But they are obviously enjoying it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the third year running, Georgia Tech Football has partnered with the Student Government Association to host an International Football Clinic to shed light on a sport unfamiliar to many students who have traveled from overseas to study on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHopefully we\u2019ll have some fun and you\u2019ll get a better idea of football,\u201d says ACC Coach of the Year Paul Johnson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter getting a quick rundown of the rules in the same seats where Georgia Tech players watch game films, the pack of students from all over the world stepped into the Georgia Tech locker room to try on the pads and helmets the players wear.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany find the helmets a little bit snug and have trouble squeezing their heads in. Almost all of them have their smart phones out snapping photos. But the real excitement is yet to come.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s no one in the stands, but the Ramblin\u2019 Wreck is waiting in the gallows of Bobby Dodd to lead out this global cadre just as if they were the Yellow Jackets charging onto the field for a home game.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAwaiting the students, the players themselves are ready to run a few drills for some hands-on learning about American football.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI like soccer; for me this is very different,\u201d says Juan David, a student from Colombia studying at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENew Zealander Philip Ngo is more familiar with rugby. That might explain how he sent a football through the uprights on his first try. Most of the other international students were not quite as successful, but they were having a great time trying.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe touchdown celebrations and then everyone going wild, that\u2019s just a lot of fun,\u201d says Ngo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe art of how to celebrate a good play seems to cross the language barrier. Georgia Tech\u2019s football players share high-fives with the students after they catch a pass. Some of the loudest cheers on the field are coming from a station set up where the students are soaring shoulders first into a tackling dummy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThey come to you and talk to you like they\u2019ve known you forever. That\u2019s a really cool feeling,\u201d says Maximilian Bushe from Germany.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech defensive lineman Adam Gotsis hails from Australia himself. He knew very little about American football before coming stateside, so he understands what these students are experiencing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe first time I practiced, I\u2019d never even seen a ball before,\u201d Gotsis says. \u201cWe\u2019re out here having fun with them. We\u2019re always at practice, so it\u2019s nice seeing new faces out here.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt seems most every continent is represented on the field. Morocco, Venezuela, South Korea, France, India. The students on the field represent the melting pot of languages and nations that is Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe goal is to bridge the gaps between our students and our student athletes,\u201d explains Jen Abrams, newly elected SGA president. \u201cIt\u2019s a good time for the football players to learn about the international students and their cultures as well.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"International students get a taste of Georgia Tech football by running drills alongside the players"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the third year running, Georgia Tech Football has partnered with the Student Government Association to host the International Football Clinic to shed light on a sport unfamiliar to many students who have traveled from overseas to study on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Football program and Student Government Association partner to introduce the sport to international students."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2015-04-17 09:56:24","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:03","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-04-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-04-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"397141":{"id":"397141","type":"image","title":"Tackling drills","body":null,"created":"1449246361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:01","changed":"1475895112","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:52","alt":"Tackling drills","file":{"fid":"75688","name":"_intl_041615_dk-30.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-30.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-30.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1591505,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-30.jpg?itok=kz6CpMOb"}},"397151":{"id":"397151","type":"image","title":"Paul Johnson teaching","body":null,"created":"1449246361","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:01","changed":"1475895112","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:52","alt":"Paul Johnson teaching","file":{"fid":"75689","name":"_intl_041615_dk-08.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-08.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-08.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1004142,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/_intl_041615_dk-08.jpg?itok=6-qK-oVs"}}},"media_ids":["397141","397151"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ramblinwreck.com\/view.gal?id=178590","title":"See more photos"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1843","name":"football"},{"id":"4374","name":"international students"},{"id":"169119","name":"Student Government"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESteven Norris\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications \u003Cbr \/\u003ESocial Media Manager\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-0591\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.norris@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Esteven.norris@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["steven.norris@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}