Sato Let's Feet Do Talking - (In the Daily News 15th Sept)

On the ball: Japanese exchange student Suzune Sato has been surprised by how much Kiwi footballers talk on the pitch.

Photo: CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ Japanese exchange student Suzune Sato came to New Plymouth to improve her English but is discovering football is the universal language. The 16-year-old, who plays for the New Plymouth Girls' High School First XI, has recently been selected for the Taranaki representative side in her age- group and is trying out for the Central Football reps too. The diminutive midfielder said the Kiwi style of football was a bit more robust than the passing game she was used to in Japan, and more vocal too. 'This style is a lot of fun and they tend to talk more as well,' she said. Girls' High coach Andrew Chubb said although the language barrier posed some problems, Sato's understanding of the game meant this wasn't too much of an obstacle. 'I know some of the girls have been a bit frustrated but she can read the field quite well and roughly knows where to be,' Chubb said. Despite in her own words being an average player at her Kobe Football Club back home, Sato put in the hours on the training paddock, training four times a week and playing twice. Chubb said she stood out for her age in New Zealand. 'I think she has a good chance of getting in [the Central Football representative side],' he said. Away from the football pitch Sato, who has been in Taranaki for three months, said she hoped to eventually train to be a teacher and get involved in foreign aid work when she was a bit older. 'I want to help people around the world such as the poor and those suffering from hunger,' she said. Tipene Bryant is a Witt journalism student.