{"207941":{"#nid":"207941","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Players Coach International Students in American Football","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents from around the world gathered in Bobby Dodd Stadium Thursday afternoon to learn about football from Tech\u2019s experts at the Institute\u2019s first International Football Clinic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe event was designed to teach international students, who make up about 20 percent of Tech\u2019s student population, the game and customs of American football.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe felt like even though international students are included, they didn\u2019t necessarily feel like they were a part of the football experience,\u201d said Kris Surapaneni, co-chair of the Athletic and Recreational Services Committee for the undergraduate Student Government Association (SGA).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHead Football Coach Paul Johnson gave a 20-minute overview of various elements of gameplay, such as positions, scoring, equipment, terminology and field layout, before answering questions from participants. The students, who represented at least 20 countries, then toured the equipment and locker rooms and were led onto Grant Field behind the Ramblin\u2019 Wreck, just as the team is at each home game.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter an hour of training with the football team, students relaxed and socialized over barbecue at a tailgate hosted by the Ramblin\u2019 Reck Club, where players autographed team photos given to each student.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would watch it on television before but not really understand it,\u201d said Zoey Zhang, a graduate student from Singapore who attended the clinic. \u201cI was thinking it was a very physically strong game, but actually it\u2019s a very smart game.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlayers and the coaching staff were able to share their love of the sport and connect with the international students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s great any time our players have the chance to interact with the student body, and it gives them an idea what we\u2019re really all about,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cA big part of your college experience is athletics and going to the events. Hopefully now they can understand it a little better and they\u2019ll come and have a little better time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea for the clinic, spearheaded by SGA, was borrowed from \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iSWj2rI_tbk\u0022\u003ERice University\u003C\/a\u003E. Surapaneni and Ahsan Khan, also co-chair of SGA\u2019s athletic and recreational services committee, spent about eight months planning and anticipating the Tech event.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe expected people to have a good time, but everyone left laughing, smiling and already talking about doing it again,\u201d said Khan. \u201cI think the enthusiasm from the players and Coach Johnson made a lasting impression on the students.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESurapaneni and Khan hope to grow the event in the future, potentially tying it into orientation for international students.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESGA, Athletics and the Ramblin\u0027 Reck Club hosted the Institute\u0027s first International Football Clinic.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"SGA, Athletics and the Ramblin\u0027 Reck Club hosted the Institute\u0027s first International Football Clinic."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2013-04-19 11:18:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:04","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"207921":{"id":"207921","type":"image","title":"Vad Lee at International Football Clinic","body":null,"created":"1449179988","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:59:48","changed":"1475894866","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:46","alt":"Vad Lee at International Football Clinic","file":{"fid":"196795","name":"intfootball.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/intfootball_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/intfootball_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":280463,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/intfootball_0.jpg?itok=ULu4c2NN"}},"207931":{"id":"207931","type":"image","title":"Students Run Drills at International Football Clinic","body":null,"created":"1449179988","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:59:48","changed":"1475894866","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:46","alt":"Students Run Drills at International Football Clinic","file":{"fid":"196796","name":"footballclinic3.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/footballclinic3_0.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/footballclinic3_0.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":161139,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/footballclinic3_0.jpeg?itok=9gM8a0u-"}}},"media_ids":["207921","207931"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/ramblinwreck.com\/","title":"Georgia Tech Athletics"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1625","name":"athletics"},{"id":"1843","name":"football"},{"id":"64541","name":"international football clinic"},{"id":"4374","name":"international students"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}