(Harry and George with team member Tom at the final game)
George Sanderson and Harry Bradley are the President and Vice President respectively of the UAlbany International Football Club. George and Harry are both from the University of Nottingham in the UK and are currently on a year abroad at UAlbany. They are both juniors and George studies Politics and American Studies and Harry studies American Studies.
1. Why did you decide to start a football team for International Students?George: Originally I went to see the coach for the Varsity team and he said I had to go to a tryout, which had happened before I got here. So I went to the boys and said let’s start our own team. Then it became a thing about getting all the international boys together, getting all the different cultures, learning from each other and making some lifelong friends as well.
2. How has your study abroad experience been so far?Harry: I’ve been loving it so far. It’s very different from the UK and a bit of a culture shock. I didn’t think it would be because we speak English. But I’ve been loving it and really enjoying it. It’s interesting to see a different university concept than the UK.George: The team has definitely helped it actually! That’s something we can all communicate on and it doesn’t matter that we’re foreign. It’s a good way of bringing us together. We’ve got a really tight knit group of boys now. Outside from that it’s been quite good, it’s been different.
3. What do your roles on the team involve? George: Beyond the team, there’s the club aspect as well. So I have to arrange e-board meetings, I have to liaise with people about arranging rooms for activities, with all the members of the club to make sure what days they can do and what’s good for the e-board. I had to allocate positions on the e-board. Then with the football side of it I just had to arrange training, lead the team, all the basic stuff.Harry: The main jobs were actually getting the club established, so things like going to senate meetings and then a lot involves the organization of events. As part of being recognized by the student association you need to hold regular events. Being VP, I help with the organization of the team, recruiting people to come to events and then obviously normal Vice President duties like helping out the President, filling in where George can’t.
4. What are the highlights of staring your own team?George: Winning the Championship! That was honestly one of the most amazing things. I’ve played in big tournaments, like abroad and that kind of stuff. That’s better than any cup I’ve ever won. Harry: Winning the league was the most amazing thing, you come, you have an idea, you coin it and then you execute it. We’ve come so far to win the league in our first semester, which is wonderful to see something that spurred from a conversation with me and George in his bedroom to being a university affiliated club and a league winning team.
5. Has it been difficult to set up a new society/sports team as an international student at a new university? Harry: It hasn’t actually been that difficult. The student association are very good and they are very accommodating for new clubs all the time. The process was long, there were a lot of forms to fill in and things like that but it’s been quite accommodating.George: No, they’ve made it so easy for us to do it, everyone was really on board. I think the fact we were international actually helped.
6. What are your hopes for the football team in the future?Harry: Next semester we’ll have the inter-mural league again, so hopefully defend our title and then continue to expand. A lot of the boys in the team, because they are international, are only here for one semester, so 2/3 of the team will disappear next semester. Although it’s an international team hopefully getting a lot of Americans involved and just making it equal to the actual football club they have here.George: Build it, make it bigger, get the membership up in the club. Build it into something properly known on campus. If we can, make it into an international club team because you can get big sponsorship.
7. What do both get up to when you’re not running a football team?Harry: I’m involved with theater quite a lot and continue that from back home. I’m enjoying the American lifestyle and experiencing different things that I wouldn’t in the UK as much as I can.George: All sorts. I play a lot of soccer/football. Chill with the boys on the team. Hang out at the local bars. Nothing too out of the ordinary.
8. Have you been getting any more female attention since successfully running a football team?George: Yeah! When we went to a party the other day they said we couldn’t come in but one girl that lived in the house came out and was like, “You guys are on the international football team aren’t you? Come on in.” It’s good.Harry: A little bit, at parties, it’s quite nice. It’s a good line to drop in and say come and watch us play football. We had a few supporters and cheerleaders last night.
9. Being from the UK, has it been difficult adjusting to calling football “soccer”?Harry: It’s been really quite strange. George has completely assimilated now. It’s weird when we’re trying to explain events to people and they come along and think we’re playing American football.George: It’s really annoyed me because I didn’t want to do it. It’s one of those things that you don’t do. Like if I told my dad he’d be so angry. But it hasn’t been and that’s wound me up, I wish it was harder.
10. Now the most important question, which football teams do you support?Harry: I’m a massive Arsenal fan!George: Watford!
Photo Courtesy of Harry Bradley.