Walker will represent Team USA in Japan

While thousands of Princeton students will be spending their summers at internships, beaches and other universities, senior linebacker Brig Walker will be doing something a little different. Walker is one of the lucky few who can continue their athletic careers beyond the friendly confines of Old Nassau.

On July 4, Walker, who is of Japanese-American descent, will travel to Japan for the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) World Championships to play for Team USA. The team will play three games, with the tournament ending July 15.

For a tournament that will last less than two weeks, the road to Japan was certainly a long one. The entire process took five months, Walker said. After being nominated by head coach Roger Hughes, Walker was one of the 125 college football players from across the nation to make the first cut.

Walker survived two more rounds of selection to make the final 45-player roster.

"I'm Japanese American, wrote my thesis on Japan, love the game of football," Walker said. "The coaches were trying to profile someone, and it seemed like I was a good fit."

Though getting on Team USA took nearly half a year, Walker has had his sights set on visiting Japan for far longer.

"I've been planning to go to Japan after graduation for about six years," he said. "In case I didn't make it, I had to start setting up the back up plan."

But now that he's made the team, Walker's journey won't begin in Japan. Instead, Walker will leave for San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium in late June to practice with his new teammates for two weeks.

Team USA will compete against teams from Germany, Sweden, France, Korea and host Japan. With two brackets — the U.S. squad, Germany and Korea in one, Japan, Sweden and France in the other — it will take two wins to assure a spot in the championship game.

"It's actually a pretty cool event," Walker said. "It should be a good PR-cultivating exercise."

For Walker, who helped lead the Tigers to their first Ivy League championship in over a decade, the trip is about more than football. Even after the IFAF Tournament ends, Walker will remain in Japan until July 26.

"There are places I've scheduled to go see — Kyoto, Osaka, the memorial for the atomic bomb," he said. "I'm going to stay [after the tournament] and visit where my great-grandparents lived ... and try to climb Mount Fuji. Hopefully I'll find someone to go with me."

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The trip to Japan, Walker's first, will also give him an opportunity to extend his successful football career. Since arriving at Princeton for the 2003 season, Walker has improved each year, culminating in a second-team All-Ivy selection this season. The outside linebacker, a native of Vancouver, Wash., tied for the team lead in tackles with 52 and also contributed two sacks and an interception. Walker should prove a useful addition to Team USA with his run-stopping abilities.

While Walker is pleased to have made the team, he still has goals for the trip. "I want to play football at the highest level possible and hopefully win the tournament," he said.

"Football has meant a lot for me, and to share that with people outside of the country is important," Walker said. "It's not really seen as an international sport, and I didn't think there was that much interest, but there is and that's very gratifying."

Though Walker is focused on the tournament, it's clear that his excitement for the trip has been developing for quite some time.

"I hate to use the word 'dream,' " he said. "But [going to Japan] is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. It should be a great experience."