On the field with Southport’s soccer team, words that sound like gibberish to most Southport students may be heard. But, to over a fourth of the team, this is their native language. Out of the 20 players on Southport’s varsity soccer team, six are Chin. Yet, according to coach Mr. Josh Brown, this doesn’t negatively affect Southport’s great team chemistry.
“I’ve seen a lot of other schools with other diverse teams and you can just see there’s not much unity there,” said Brown. “Our guys have just done a very good job about accepting them and making them part of the team. This is remarkable since the team has been playing together for awhile, yet the Chin players fit right in.”
According to Brown, it’s tough to get past the language barrier, but he has a couple Chin players, such as junior Van Thang, that speak English well, so he depends on them to translate. They sometimes will use hand motions to show what to do or pull the Chin players aside to explain the plays to them. He says they just keep working at it and the language barrier is shrinking.
“I understand most of the things they say on the field,” said Thang. “If I don’t understand they will just move their hand in a direction and I go there.”
Most of the Chin players started to play soccer at Southport last year, so by this time they are adapting to the team and the style Southport uses to play. They started with a more European style of playing. This means that they are strongest on offense.
According to senior AJ Polen, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. It’s an advantage because they are able to keep the ball longer than most players so the defenders come towards them, which gives other players the chance to get open. For most players, it would be difficult to handle players rushing them, but the Chin players are very skilled in dribbling so it doesn’t become a problem. This skill does become a disadvantage when Southport is playing a fast-paced team that can keep up with the Chin players.
Polen says the Chin players are typically very patient on the field, compared to most Southport players who are usually in a hurry to pass the ball. Oliver has firsthand knowledge of this because he and Thang both play forward, so they work together on the field often.
“Van is really easy to work with because of how good he is,” said junior Wes Oliver. “He always makes sure he’s open by moving around the field a lot and being fast on his feet. He makes it easy for me to be able to pass to him whenever I need to.”
Not only are the players adapting to each other’s playing styles, but they also are spending time together off the field. The entire varsity goes to the study tables together every Wednesday before practice. They also go out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings as a team after every game they win. As of Monday Sept. 14, the team has won 5 of 9 games.
Southport hasn’t let the cultural differences affect the team chemistry. The Chin players have adapted to Southport’s style of playing and have found ways to try to overcome the language barrier. The team has worked to be united and, according to Brown, it shows.
By: Kinsey Goff
SHS News Bureau
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