American Jew joins the Gold Coast Suns
THE Gold Coast Suns have signed former American National Football League triallist Brandon Kaufman as an international scholarship player.
Kaufman, who is 25 years old and in 2013 trained with the Buffalo Bills during the preseason but wasn’t selected in the final squad, is the first overseas recruit for the relatively new AFL club on the Gold Coast.
“I had never heard of AFL growing up, but then once I realised my NFL career was over one of the recruiters talked to me about it this and it sounded new and intriguing so I decided to do it,” Kaufman said.
“I picked up a Sherrin for the first time in November and, since then, there hasn’t been a day where I haven’t learnt something new,” Kaufman said.
“I’m beginning to feel more comfortable with the Sherrin in my hands, and I’ve still got time to keep getting better and better.”
Kaufman said that he had to change his training to be able to play AFL.
“This much running is something that I had never really experienced,” he said.
“All we did back home was lift heavy weights and sprint.”
He was spotted by Suns recruiters who were impressed by his athleticism and handling skills as a wide receiver.
Kaufman, who can run the 100m sprint in only 10.8 seconds, will be placed on a development program under the tutelage of mentors Aaron Rogers and Jamason Daniels.
He will start his Aussie Rules career by playing for the Labrador Tigers in the Queensland AFL, before joining the Suns’ reserves.
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