GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sumo wrestling is not for the lightweight or weak-kneed. The average weight of a competitor at the highest level of Japan's national sport is more than 325 pounds, and battles between the behemoths draw thousands of fans to places like Kokugikan Arena in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo.
If you dropped a group of Japanese tourists into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium next month for Florida's season opener and told them to see if anything on the field resembled sumo, they most likely would latch onto the battle in the trenches between the offensive and defensive lines.
They would get no argument from at least two Gators: defensive lineman
Tyreak Sapp and offensive lineman
Roderick Kearney. They know much more about sumo, sushi and soba than when spring practice ended.
Sapp and Kearney were among the 15 UF football players who made a weeklong trip to Tokyo in May with the GatorMade program. The trip abroad marked the third in three years for GatorMade, which took a group of players on service trips to Greece in 2022 and South Africa in 2023.
The trip to Japan focused on principles of international business and learning about the culture of a country that is much different from the United States.
"It was nothing like I had ever seen before,'' said Kearney, a redshirt freshman from Jacksonville.
Gators Derek Wingo, left, and Roderick Kearney practice their sushi-making skills. (Photo: Jordan Herald/UAA Communications)
Those are the reactions
Savannah Bailey, senior director of player relations and GatorMade, likes to hear following a trip abroad. More than 80 players expressed interest in the opportunity, an increase from the program's first two foreign excursions.
The players had to undergo an application process and attend multiple pre-trip workshops and seminars in preparation.
"That was exciting for us, as it's continuing to build momentum as something the guys want to experience,'' Bailey said. "We let them vote between Italy and Japan. Both were centered more on professional development than service.
"We're finding that many of our guys are engaging in charitable works more frequently, whether through NIL purposes or just passions that they are growing."
The Gators tackled Japanese culture once they arrived in Tokyo, visiting Sensoji, a famous Buddhist temple in the Asakusa district, on the first day. During their stay, they mixed stops at various Japanese landmarks between business trips to places such as Shibuya QWS, the entrepreneurship collective in the Shibuya business district, and Epson's headquarters in Nagano in central Japan.
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The trip to QWS opened the eyes of
Bryan Rosenberg, a walk-on offensive lineman from Gainesville Buchholz who joined the team in the summer of 2023.
"It was cool to see everyone just working together and how there is a big area with a bunch of tables, and people just come over and help you with their project, and you go work on their project," Rosenberg said. "It was an interesting dynamic there as a business."
Bailey said that none of the 15 players had been to Japan, and 10 had never had a passport before the trip. As GatorMade has evolved under her direction since Florida head coach
Billy Napier hired Bailey from Clemson soon after he arrived at UF, Bailey has discovered that the international and winter domestic trips are often players' first time experiencing significant travel that is non-sports related.
"That's what we find is more and more prevalent, that guys have only really been anywhere to play ball,'' she said. "I think that signifies to them that their world is only as open as their athletic talents are. I don't think that's something that's fair, and that's a huge pillar as to why we do it."
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The Gators participated in a business etiquette class during their trip to Japan. (Photo: Jordan Herald)
Linebacker
Shemar James is from Mobile, Ala. He considered leaving his home state to play college football in Florida a significant change of scenery.
You can imagine what he was thinking as the group viewed Mount Fuji from the Hakone Ropeway in the countryside or walked through hustling and bustling city streets in the Shibuya Scramble.
"I never thought in a million years I would be in Tokyo,'' James said.
One of the stops was an etiquette class to teach the players about necessary formalities in Japanese culture and business. The Gators tasted an array of Japanese cuisine and participated in a class to learn how to make sushi.
Bailey stressed to the players that they should embrace the culture and respect Japan's customs, which differ significantly from many in the U.S.
"It is definitely a place of mass consideration for other people around you: how much physical space you take up. How much vocal space you take up,'' she said. "The cleanliness, and just the absence of trash cans and small stuff like that."
The Gators created memories to last a lifetime — memories they will share with teammates long afterward.
One they are sure to rehash in the locker room this season is the trip to a sumo stable in Tokyo to learn more about the national sport. At one point, a guide asked the players if anyone wanted to challenge one of the sumo wrestlers.
Sapp was quick to respond. Kearney was right there with him.
"Sapp went up there,'' Kearney said. "He called me out. 'OK, I'll do it.' Strong. They are very strong. I could tell they work on it a lot. It was a great experience."
Sapp and Kearney held their own. They moved the sumo giants like the Gators hope they move opponents this season.
"They were able to appreciate other people's strengths, both literally and physically," Bailey said. "It was something the whole group was super engaged in, asking questions and wanting to know more and cheering on their teammates in a totally different way."
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