After Portland's most recent game Kita Chiasa did a short piece with a reporter about his upbringing and how he got into football as a whole:
Kita Chiasa’s Upbringing
Kita Chiasa grew up in Osaka Japan, his father was American and a huge football fan but had to move to Japan for work and met Kita’s mother. Expecting to be in Japan for years Kita’s father took on Kita’s mother’s Japanese surname of Chiasa. When Kita was only six years old his father introduced him to the great American sport of football. Kita didn’t really get into the sport then and was more interested in esports and soccer. Kita’s love for the game took effect when he finally visited his father’s parents in America and went with his grandfather and father to an Orange County Otters game. Kita saw the fast-paced hits, the spectacular catches, the unbelievable run plays, and most of all he loved the momentum changing interception that sealed Orange County’s victory. This opened his eyes and he developed a love for the game, especially the cornerback position. Whenever the home corner picks off a pass the place goes electric almost as much as a touchdown. Since interceptions are much rarer Kita decided this is the position he wanted to pursue if he got the opportunity to pursue football.
Early Football Years
This opportunity came to Chiasa when he turned nine his father’s company planned to transfer him back to the United States and was transferring him to northern California and Chiasa ended up living in the Bay Area when he learned how to play American Football. He joined a San Jose Sabrecats youth football training camp and practiced with several retired corners to learn how to become an effective defenseman. Much to the surprise of the leaders of the camp Chiasa was a star pupil and excelled at every area of the camp. At the end of the six-session camp Chiasa was approached by the head of the Pacific Coast Youth Football Development Program (PCYFDP) which is funded by the NSFL and was offered a position on the Oakland Werewolves which were a struggling team in the Northern California division of the league. He consulted his parents and was encouraged to join, and he signed up for the very next season!
Oakland Werewolves
Going into his first practice Kita was as excited as he’s ever been to play in an actual league, however he quickly learned that in this youth league he wasn’t even offered a starting role, he was offered to learn behind the older kids who were expected to start. What also upset Chiasa was in Youth Football it wasn’t tackle they played flag and he was disappointed he couldn’t hit anybody without a flag being thrown. Chiasa went to every single game that season eager to learn what he could and to improve, which he did immensely in practice. Despite this the coach wasn’t planning on starting him for the entire season and Kita didn’t see one snap that year. The Werewolves finished 14th out of 18 teams in the division and missed the playoffs. His second season came around and for the first half of the twelve-game season Chiasa saw again zero snaps. He finally got a chance after the third CB on the depth chart moved away to Utah and couldn’t compete anymore in the league. The coach planned to start another kid over Chiasa still, but this is when the head of the PCYFDP himself had a talk with the coach. There seemed to be clear favoritism and racism going on and a lot of the parents noticed, most teams had a diverse group of kids, but the Werewolves mostly only fielded Caucasian players. It was revealed the coach only brought in children of another race to avoid looking like a racist, but this didn’t remotely work. This coach was understandably fired and the head of the PCYFDP took over as an interim coach and Chiasa finally got the start, and in his first start he recorded three interceptions. For the remaining six games he recorded nine interceptions. They finished with a 7-5 winning their last six games and making the playoffs as the 8 seed. They made it all the way to the semifinals yet lost to the eventual champions the San Francisco Silver Miners. Starting his third season Chiasa was given the role as number 1 CB and recorded 14 INT and he got four pick 6s which set a league record. The following year in his final season he got 19 INT and 6 pick 6s which broke his own record. He left the league to move on to his high school career.
High School Days
Kita upon entering his freshman year was offered a starting position on CB due to his impressive numbers in the PCYFDP and he was excited to play contact football. His first season was however anything but great, throughout 14 games he only recorded 1 INT. Chiasa realized he never developed enough strength to bring down WRs and was burned badly multiple times this season. After the season his coach spent over two hours yelling about how he needed to take a step up, his competition was now full of the best players from either a youth development league or top tier talent heading to college, if Chiasa didn’t get his act together he’d be left behind, wouldn’t start, and lose his opportunity to play football. He spent the whole next season on the bench and strength training, His third season he recorded only 3 INT however he blocked the most passes out of anyone on his team and he was fourth in tackling. Finally, during his senior year, he broke out and got 6 INT, 1 pick 6, and was second in tackling and even recorded his first sack during a rare Chiasa blitz! His team went on to the state championships however lost to a high school from Fresno California that year in a heart-breaking loss. Chiasa however was on his way to USC, his last two seasons got him a full scholarship.
Pre DSFL/Early DSFL
In USC Chiasa started half a season and put up decent numbers before he registered for the DSFL waiver claims. He signed up for waivers when the head of the PCYFDP called him to alert him that Kita has the skill set to go pro and he shouldn’t squander this opportunity. To his surprise he was signed to a league minimum deal by the Dallas Birddogs. The GM of Dallas called him personally and told him that his skill set in the secondary was something they were looking for and he could fly into Dallas and participate in practices immediately. The last day he spent time with his family where he profusely thanked his dad for introducing him to football. He overcame racism in youth football and overcame lack of preparation in high school. He went to Dallas where he played the last quarter of their season. Over the course of this small sample size Kita realized that while he barley kept pace with the DSFL he would need to get a lot faster and stronger to hang with the rest of these elite aspiring professionals. After the season he left for his parents’ home in the Bay area, where he officially registered to enter the DSFL. On draft night he sat down with family and friends as the DSFL was broadcast on MTV. Chiasa was projected to be a late first round pick, but his range was from an early first to a mid-third. The first round came and went and Chiasa received no phone calls. During the second round Chiasa was accepting the fact his name wouldn’t be called for another full round and would be called on day two of the draft which holds rounds 3+. However as pick fifteen was called Chiasa received a call from Portland. After a brief exchange the TV announced what had been made clear to Kita, he would spend his time in the DSFL in Portland, where he is eagerly willing to learn and pursue a league championship!
Word count: 1352
Kita Chiasa’s Upbringing
Kita Chiasa grew up in Osaka Japan, his father was American and a huge football fan but had to move to Japan for work and met Kita’s mother. Expecting to be in Japan for years Kita’s father took on Kita’s mother’s Japanese surname of Chiasa. When Kita was only six years old his father introduced him to the great American sport of football. Kita didn’t really get into the sport then and was more interested in esports and soccer. Kita’s love for the game took effect when he finally visited his father’s parents in America and went with his grandfather and father to an Orange County Otters game. Kita saw the fast-paced hits, the spectacular catches, the unbelievable run plays, and most of all he loved the momentum changing interception that sealed Orange County’s victory. This opened his eyes and he developed a love for the game, especially the cornerback position. Whenever the home corner picks off a pass the place goes electric almost as much as a touchdown. Since interceptions are much rarer Kita decided this is the position he wanted to pursue if he got the opportunity to pursue football.
Early Football Years
This opportunity came to Chiasa when he turned nine his father’s company planned to transfer him back to the United States and was transferring him to northern California and Chiasa ended up living in the Bay Area when he learned how to play American Football. He joined a San Jose Sabrecats youth football training camp and practiced with several retired corners to learn how to become an effective defenseman. Much to the surprise of the leaders of the camp Chiasa was a star pupil and excelled at every area of the camp. At the end of the six-session camp Chiasa was approached by the head of the Pacific Coast Youth Football Development Program (PCYFDP) which is funded by the NSFL and was offered a position on the Oakland Werewolves which were a struggling team in the Northern California division of the league. He consulted his parents and was encouraged to join, and he signed up for the very next season!
Oakland Werewolves
Going into his first practice Kita was as excited as he’s ever been to play in an actual league, however he quickly learned that in this youth league he wasn’t even offered a starting role, he was offered to learn behind the older kids who were expected to start. What also upset Chiasa was in Youth Football it wasn’t tackle they played flag and he was disappointed he couldn’t hit anybody without a flag being thrown. Chiasa went to every single game that season eager to learn what he could and to improve, which he did immensely in practice. Despite this the coach wasn’t planning on starting him for the entire season and Kita didn’t see one snap that year. The Werewolves finished 14th out of 18 teams in the division and missed the playoffs. His second season came around and for the first half of the twelve-game season Chiasa saw again zero snaps. He finally got a chance after the third CB on the depth chart moved away to Utah and couldn’t compete anymore in the league. The coach planned to start another kid over Chiasa still, but this is when the head of the PCYFDP himself had a talk with the coach. There seemed to be clear favoritism and racism going on and a lot of the parents noticed, most teams had a diverse group of kids, but the Werewolves mostly only fielded Caucasian players. It was revealed the coach only brought in children of another race to avoid looking like a racist, but this didn’t remotely work. This coach was understandably fired and the head of the PCYFDP took over as an interim coach and Chiasa finally got the start, and in his first start he recorded three interceptions. For the remaining six games he recorded nine interceptions. They finished with a 7-5 winning their last six games and making the playoffs as the 8 seed. They made it all the way to the semifinals yet lost to the eventual champions the San Francisco Silver Miners. Starting his third season Chiasa was given the role as number 1 CB and recorded 14 INT and he got four pick 6s which set a league record. The following year in his final season he got 19 INT and 6 pick 6s which broke his own record. He left the league to move on to his high school career.
High School Days
Kita upon entering his freshman year was offered a starting position on CB due to his impressive numbers in the PCYFDP and he was excited to play contact football. His first season was however anything but great, throughout 14 games he only recorded 1 INT. Chiasa realized he never developed enough strength to bring down WRs and was burned badly multiple times this season. After the season his coach spent over two hours yelling about how he needed to take a step up, his competition was now full of the best players from either a youth development league or top tier talent heading to college, if Chiasa didn’t get his act together he’d be left behind, wouldn’t start, and lose his opportunity to play football. He spent the whole next season on the bench and strength training, His third season he recorded only 3 INT however he blocked the most passes out of anyone on his team and he was fourth in tackling. Finally, during his senior year, he broke out and got 6 INT, 1 pick 6, and was second in tackling and even recorded his first sack during a rare Chiasa blitz! His team went on to the state championships however lost to a high school from Fresno California that year in a heart-breaking loss. Chiasa however was on his way to USC, his last two seasons got him a full scholarship.
Pre DSFL/Early DSFL
In USC Chiasa started half a season and put up decent numbers before he registered for the DSFL waiver claims. He signed up for waivers when the head of the PCYFDP called him to alert him that Kita has the skill set to go pro and he shouldn’t squander this opportunity. To his surprise he was signed to a league minimum deal by the Dallas Birddogs. The GM of Dallas called him personally and told him that his skill set in the secondary was something they were looking for and he could fly into Dallas and participate in practices immediately. The last day he spent time with his family where he profusely thanked his dad for introducing him to football. He overcame racism in youth football and overcame lack of preparation in high school. He went to Dallas where he played the last quarter of their season. Over the course of this small sample size Kita realized that while he barley kept pace with the DSFL he would need to get a lot faster and stronger to hang with the rest of these elite aspiring professionals. After the season he left for his parents’ home in the Bay area, where he officially registered to enter the DSFL. On draft night he sat down with family and friends as the DSFL was broadcast on MTV. Chiasa was projected to be a late first round pick, but his range was from an early first to a mid-third. The first round came and went and Chiasa received no phone calls. During the second round Chiasa was accepting the fact his name wouldn’t be called for another full round and would be called on day two of the draft which holds rounds 3+. However as pick fifteen was called Chiasa received a call from Portland. After a brief exchange the TV announced what had been made clear to Kita, he would spend his time in the DSFL in Portland, where he is eagerly willing to learn and pursue a league championship!
Word count: 1352
