Team Stars & Stripes will hold a two-day training camp at the Yokota Air Base prior to the second annual 2009 Global Challenge Bowl game against the Japanese junior national team in Kawasaki, Japan on Saturday, March 21, 2009.
Team Stars & Stripes is a 45-player roster of American student-athletes, led by Santa Rita High School (Tucson, AZ) head coach and three-time Arizona state champion JEFF SCURRAN and features high school seniors from 12 states – Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Team Stars & Stripes will arrive in Japan on Saturday, March 14 and will transfer to Yokota Air Base for a two-night stay the Kanto Lodge on the base. They will use the military facility to practice ahead of the March 21 game against Team Japan and will then live with host Japanese families from the Kawasaki area for the remainder of the ten-day visit.
“We are delighted to have formed this partnership with the US military and are grateful for their offer of hospitality,” said event organizer PATRICK STEENBERGE of Global Football. “Team Stars & Stripes will practice for the first time as a complete unit in the ideal setting of Yokota Air Base.”
Yokota Air Base is one of three operational U.S. Air Force installations in Japan and opened in 1940 as Tama Army Airfield, a flight test center and aviation maintenance school for the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The 374th Airlift Wing is host unit at Yokota and is the only airlift wing in the Far East. The wing provides airlift support to all Department of Defense agencies in the Pacific area of responsibility. It also provides transportation for people and equipment throughout the Kanto Plain and Tokyo metropolitan area.
The Commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, Colonel John F. Newell III, will address Team Stars & Stripes at one of the practices, which will be held on the Yokota High School field at 9.30am and 1.30pm each day.
The second annual Global Challenge Bowl game will kickoff on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 2pm at Kawasaki Stadium in front of an anticipated crowd of 7,000 Japanese American football fans. The event creates the ultimate Japanese sporting experience for participating players, coaches and staff and will run from March 13-23, 2009. In addition to taking part in a unique international event, the Team Stars & Stripes group has an opportunity to visit local schools, places of historical significance and popular tourist attractions.
