At West Linn High School, students rally together at football games, make montage sports videos for the Live Roar, and cheer on athletes in the student sections.

But some students are new to the American sports scene.  

Sumet Dailey, senior, who uses the American name ‘Ben,’ lived in Thailand until he was 14 years old when he moved to America for high school.

“I moved here to make it easier to get into [an] American college,” Dailey said. “Also because my grandma’s partner died, she was alone here, and my dad wanted to move to give her support.”

Jaydon Puni, junior, is a linebacker and running back for the varsity football team, He moved from a city north of Sydney, Australia at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

Both Puni and Dailey were athletes in their countries of origin, and they continue to play sports here. 

Moving to a new country can be a trying experience, and activities like clubs and sports are a good way to meet new people and become a part of the community. 

“I do Muay Thai and cross country here. My Muay Thai gym right now [is] American Top Team,” Dailey said. “[For] cross country my PR last race was 19:40.” 

Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, has been increasing in popularity in the United States. 

“It’s like kickboxing, but with knees and elbows. So there’s kind of a different culture around it, different kind of style, and way less protection in competition,” Dailey said. “You don’t use shin guards or elbow pads or anything. You use gloves.”

Cross country is an open air sport where individuals run on different terrain, like dirt or grass, for up to 7.5 miles. Dailey joined the team during his sophomore year. 

“When I first moved, I wasn’t too adjusted and [cross country] is just something that helped me to get out there, get to know some people at school and for stamina reasons,” Dailey said. “Another reason for starting cross country was [that] I have asthma. My dad kind of made me run from a really young age, so [it] kind of went hand in hand.”

Sports shift a bit from one country to another, be it in name, like football to soccer, or in action, like rugby and American football.

“When I was in Australia, I played in a rugby league,” Puni said. “It’s a very good, high contact sport, we don’t have pads and helmets on, like here in America, it’s really big in Australia as well. It’s pretty much the [National Football League] of Australia and New Zealand.”

While rugby may be an important sport in Australia, in America, American football (which partially descended from rugby) is significantly more popular. 

“When I came here, I was going to play rugby, but there’s not very many local rugby teams,” Puni said. “In Australia there’s clubs everywhere. And [our] school doesn’t have a rugby team, so I kind of just decided to switch over to football, because it’s kind of the same physical contact, so I have natural abilities [for] football.”

Sports culture is different in different places. But, sports in general have had places in cultures for centuries. For example, the Chinese traditional game jianzi (where players must use their feet, knees, chest or shoulders to keep a shuttlecock in the air) originated over 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty.

“[In Thailand] for team sports, I’d say it’s way less focused on winning,” Dailey said. “Like, sure, winning is a nice thing, but here in some JV sports, bench players, even when the score is up, like 40 to three or something, won’t get any game time because the coaches are so focused on dominance and victory. But in Thailand, it’s more [of] a community thing.”

While school sports teams are a staple at American high schools, that’s not the case everywhere. 

“I feel like everyone really plays sports in Australia, but the atmosphere compared to America [is] way different. We didn’t really have many school teams yet, so clubs and the crowd it’s crazy. It’s a really big thing, even [in] high school,” Puni said. “I’m just grateful to be here. It’s a really good community. The sports here are amazing. The students coming out, the band playing. That’s a good feeling.”

Sports go beyond just football and baseball, and learning about different sports and sports cultures can give you new ideas and new insight.