Leaving the islands

Samoa is a small independent nation of less than 200,000 people situated south of the equator. It lies about 10 hours flying time from Los Angeles. It is surrounded by the South Pacific Ocean and has climate that is warm all year round. Living in Samoa is comparable to living in a paradise because the weather, the people and the culture are compatible with being happy. In some circles Samoa is called the land of the happy people. When you visit Samoa you notice that the lush green vegetation climbs up mountain ranges and the blue skies are quite a bit brighter than the skies anywhere else. The water is warm and clear. You can swim 24 hours a day in the nice clean lagoons which circle all the islands of Samoa.

This makes it hard for anyone living in foreign lands to understand why anyone would want to leave these islands at all.  This is the dilemma for many of the young people in Samoa. There are only a limited amount of opportunities available for the rising population of teens and these are positions which are held jealously by the older generation.  The older generation are not trying to relinquish these positions at any time soon so many of the youth seek work, education and other opportunities elsewhere. The population of Samoa consists mostly of very young children and more mature folks. The 20-35 year olds are only a small portion of the population. They leave Samoa in their early 20s to seek a life in either New Zealand or Australia. These two nations are home to more Samoans than actually live in Samoa!

Time seems to stand still in the islands and for those who live there life is deliberate and slow paced. Change does not come quickly. The town of Apia is where a majority of Samoans come to find work and to live because it is the center of activity for Samoa. The Parliament holds its sessions in Mulinuu, less than a mile from downtown. All of the best schools can be found here and business is thriving here because the Banks and other financial centers are located here. 

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The town has the majority of all modern phenomena such as McDonalds, an air conditioned theater where the latest movies are shown, various markets and department (like) stores. They have stop lights, a national university, major hospital, TV and radio stations and many hotels concentrated in this town of about 70,000. This is a bustling town that is unique in its own way. 

The boys were about to leave this paradise and fly out to San Diego, California. They had been training under the mentorship and direction of Leapai Richard Brown who played in the NFL for more than 10 years before retiring and moving to Samoa to live so he could be with his family. He had single handedly begun to train local boys the game of American Football.

Now Samoa is well known for producing many world class Rugby players. Rugby is as Samoan as Keke Puaa, a local favorite fast food. The Samoans are a very unique race who are well known in the sports that are the most violent e.g., Boxing, Wrestling, MMA, American Football and Rugby. However, Samoans are divided into two countries, Samoa (independent) and American Samoa, a territory of the USA. They both belong to the same race of Polynesians, the Samoan race, but American Samoa was made an American territory in the early 1900s. They have been as such since then. Samoa on the other hand were under the control of first Gerrmany, then New Zealand, but sought for independence which they received in 1962. 

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Leapai Richard Brown and his family migrated to the USA in the 1970s and eventually settled in Huntington Beach, California. There they all attended High SCHool and eventually Richard was recruited by San Diego State University to play college ball. Now he has come full circle as he seeks to bring his four trainees to San Diego to seek an opportunity to attend on local college and eventually play football for the college. 

After 2 years of very tough training, the boys were anxious to find out whether they could compete at the level of an American College Football player. They had endured everything Richard Brown had thrown their way: weight room training, running, NFL style techniques and other challenges. They had worked together as a unit and now they planned to go forth into a new world together. This was the plan, but to achieve their goal they needed money and they needed a school to invite them to try out. 

There were many schools that were interested but there was one school that actually offered to play them if they could come to San Diego in June, 2015. The school was South Western College in Chula Vista, San Diego. This meant they would fly from Apia to Los Angeles and then head south on the 5 freeway to a city that Coach Brown had spent his college years playing in and establishing himself as one of the premiere Linebackers to emerge from San Diego State. This was a homecoming for him, but for the boys it was going to be a whole new world.

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To pay for the expensive air fares they raised money in Apia and friends and family donated heartedly. They raised enough to make the trip and to pay for expenses when they arrived. Now they were ready and the date for leaving their families and homes was just around the corner. June 15, 2015 would be the date for them to leave and embark on the journey, a thrill of a lifetime for these four young men and their coach as they packed and drove to Faleolo Airport to catch the flight.

It was a time of great excitement but also a time of contemplation and deep thought. Each of them were locked in their thoughts as they realized the training was done, now they were about to make it happen. 

Questions. These were raging through their minds, even Coach Brown had questions of how this would play out. With no firm commitment he had made this move more out of faith in the system than anything else. He had trained these boys and given them everything he had in terms of knowledge and skill. Now the experiment would enter a new phase and it would require a number of pieces to fall in place for it be successful. 

The boys were all excited, for some the idea of going to America was great, others thought of leaving the island and how different life would be from here on out. Would they be returning with glory or returning with nothing to show? These were the questions running through their heads as the caravan of cars made its way along the coast of Upolu from Apia to the airport in Faleolo.  The moment of truth had arrived. Now they would finally know how ready they were for this challenge. There was alot of uncertainty but they had faith in their mentor and coach that he would be able to put them in a college and they would play American College Football come the Fall of 2015.

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Paulo Kruse Stancil Richard Brown my boy paul

Posted by Perry Afato on Friday, May 22, 2015

As they said their goodbyes and each climbed the steps onto the plane, they took that last look out the plane window at the people in the airport terminal. They all thought about the journey that they had taken thus far leading them to this point in their lives and they whispered a prayer of thanks and for safety and success as they put on their safety belts and buckled down for the long trip ahead.


Next week.....They arrive in California.  The journey continues.  Please remember to come join the boys in San Diego at their Benefit Luau on September 5, 2015. Please see the flyer below. Thank you for your support.  

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