Matt Burn of Kubasaki will take his golf game to Division I UNLV. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Starring in a Far East tournament sport is one way for DODEA-Pacific athletes to draw attention from colleges in the United States.
But it’s not the only one.
Take Kubasaki seniors Matthew Burn and Samantha Diaz, for example. They’re taking their game to the next level in golf and swimming, respectively, at Division I universities in the fall.
Burn, who has pretty much lived on the golf links since he was a child and is three-time Okinawa high school golf champion, is now headed to Nevada-Las Vegas of the Mountain West Conference.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Burn, who plans to major in hospitality management, giving back to golf by learning how to manage courses. ‘I was very lucky. That’s a big way to describe it.”
Kubasaki's Samantha Diaz connects against Kadena. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Diaz is known for her years as a catcher and middle of the order hitter for Kubasaki’s softball team. But she’s also been a swimmer for 11 years and will ply that trade for Campbell University of North Carolina in the Coastal Athletic Conference.
“It was pretty hard” to gain acceptance; Diaz earned a combined swimming and merit academic scholarship. “I was very lucky.”
Okinawa has led the way the last two school years in terms of DODEA-Pacific student-athletes moving up to play university athletics.
Other athletes known to Stars and Stripes who’ve committed to play on full or partial scholarship or preferred walk-on berths are:
Kubasaki senior lineman Isaiah Thompson, center practices before the season began. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Humphreys’ Joshua Canion gets tackled by Kubasaki defender Josiah Good. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Amaya Schaffeld also played basketball at Kubasaki, but will play soccer next year in college. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Katarina Franchi locks in a head-and-arm hold on Kubasaki's Ainsle Shielke at 180 pounds. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Juli Thompson will wrestle for Division II Augsburg University in Minnesota. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Brock Oliver will run track and cross country at Division II Lubbock Christian University. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki: Isaiah Thompson and Josiah Good, football, Olivet Nazarene of Illinois in the NAIA Chicago Collegiate Athletic Conference; and Amaya Schaffeld, soccer, Lincoln University, Pa.
Kadena: Katarina Franchi, wrestling, Norwich University in Vermont of the Division III Great Northeast Athletic Conference; Juli Thompson, wrestling, Augsburg University in the Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; and Brock Oliver, cross country and track, Lubbock Christian University of Texas in the Division II Lone Star Conference.
Humphreys: Joshua Canion, football, Graceland University of Iowa in the NAIA Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Guam High: Phillip J. Lorenzo has joined the University of La Verne, a California Division III school, as a preferred walk-on with an academic merit scholarship. Lorenzo joined the Leopards’ roster as a running back. La Verne plays in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
To earn their spots on their respective collegiate teams was anything but easy, Burn and Diaz said.
“Visiting a lot of teams, sending a lot of emails, reaching out to a lot of colleges,” Burn said. In December alone, he flew to California and visited three schools there, none of which panned out.
On the links, Burn spent time practicing and playing at two courses and three driving ranges off base.
Burn also played in a number of local tournaments in Japan, and the last three springs played in the U.S. Forces Japan interservice championships at Tama Hills Recreation Center.
“I’ve had exposure on TV and streaming,” Burn said. “It’s been interesting.”
Diaz also spent time traveling, swimming in meets in Korea and Thailand, sending results, emails and videos and many times burning the midnight oil communicating with coaches and universities in the States.
“A lot of phone calls, a lot of late nights,” Diaz said.
Does Diaz plan to continue playing softball at some point? “Hopefully, I’ll join a club team in college if it works out,” Diaz said.
To other DODEA-Pacific students who might believe it’s too hard to accomplish, hooking on with a university in the States, Diaz said: “It can be done. Don’t be discouraged. If they don’t answer the first email, send another.”
