Sometimes life takes a drastic turn with a bit of determination. Football coach Tsuyoshi Kawata's tale is a good example of that.
A former established offensive lineman and coach for the X League's Obic Seagulls while working as a company employee at Recruit Co., Ltd., Kawata decided to leave Japan to pursue his coaching career in the home of American football three years ago.
A good opportunity came in 2005, when he was invited to a rookie camp of the Jim Mora Jr.-led Atlanta Falcons, capitalizing on his relationship with Robert Prince, a man with mixed Japanese and American heritage who was an offensive coordinator for the Seagulls in 1996-97. (He currently serves as an assistant wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.)