US exchange student plays for Denver

Denver is proud to say they have just seen the first player come over and play in a USFooty game.

Patrick Hooper grew up in the south, Texas and Arkansas, but now lives in Denver Colorado.  He is currently going to School at St Johns in Minnesota. 

Q. How did you come to go to Australia for school?
A. I always wanted to study abroad and Australia was a perfect fit.  The culture was really fun to be thrown into.  It is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

Q. When you went to Australia had your ever heard of Aussie Rules Football?
A. No, I only began to hear about it when I was preparing to leave.

Q. What was your first impression of the game when you saw it? 
A. I thought it was a chaotic mess.  When the group of us went to our first game, Eagles vs Dockers, we were asking everyone sitting around what was going on.  It looked to us like there were 50 players on this gigantic field and at least 4 different teams.

Q. After you’d seen a game what, was your impression?
A. To me Footy seems to incorporate all of the fun aspects of American sports, creating a very fast, fluid, hard hitting game.  There is also a good amount of strategy that I think escapes a spectator’s eye the first time seeing a game.

Q.  In 10 words or less how would you describe Aussie Rules?
A.  Athleticism is a word that comes to mind right off the bat.

Q.  When you first played the game in Australia what was the easiest part of the game for you?
A.  As Americans I think we adapt well to playing the ball in the air.  Just like in gridiron there are those that are better at it than others and on the oval you can definitely see the players that excelled in American sports taking advantage of their expertise.  One thing that shocked our coaches was how well we picked up the shepherding.  It compares to setting picks in basketball or peeling back to give an opponent a wake up call in gridiron. 

Q.  What was the hardest?
A.  Most of us had to learn right away there is a time and place for the big hit.  It took some of us some time to understand there are occasions where finesse is the better call.  Those that gave up soccer at an early age definitely payed for it in our kicking.  We gave our coaches some entertainment during that phase.

Q.  Favorite US sports teams and players?
A.  Notre Dame, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks-Brady Quinn, Tom Zbikowski, Dirk and Tony Romo.

Q.  Favorite AFL team and player?
A.  I did follow the Eagles while in Fremantle.  I can thank Tony Fairhead for pointing me in the right direction on that one. Chris Judd.

Q.  What sports have you played in the USA?
A.  Football and Track mostly.

Q.  From those sports what skills transferred over and helped you adapt to Aussie Rules?
A.  React well to the ball in the air.  Many American  sports require that.  And anytime you can perfect your running form it will help in any athletic event.

Q.  What did you think of your first game of USFooty?
A.  It was amazing.  It really showed me how much I missed being a part of a close knit team.  The competitive feeling came right back.  Plus I was just dying to get back into those Footy Shorts.

Q.  Do you plan to keep playing now that you are back in the States?
A.  As much as I can.  Every time I am out there, training or playing, I leave with a greater desire to continue playing and being involved.

Q.  Any advice for any young American curious about playing Aussie Rules?
A.  Go out and try it.  Those that do are going to be surprised at how much fun it is, right away.  They will also be shocked to see how many of the skills they have been practicing for years will benefit them in such an athletic game like Footy.

Q.  How do you feel USFooty could  promote the sport to Americans your age who are based in the US?
A.  If you can get them to one training session that might be all you need.  That was all it took for every one of us down in Freo.  Americans will definitely be able to see how fun and engaging it is.  I really think if teams were developed at Universities and Colleges across the nation then the whole sport would explode into popularity.

Q. How do you access AFL now? 
A.  I am not the biggest follower of the AFL right now because I just don’t have the access.

As the coach for Denver I have to say that Patrick has picked up the game very quickly.  He played well in his first game and that was at a top level of competition against the Orange County Bombers.  It was really good to see him hitting a contest front and center and laying a few shepherds.  It will be great to see him progress as he gets more experience.

- Tom Ellis
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