Air Force Academy – In case there’s a question whether Zach Sasser thinks in Chinese before punting or lining up to kick a field goal for the Air Force Falcons, he doesn’t.
But he could.
He speaks Chinese so well that two weeks ago he played host to a visiting group of Chinese military officials who were visiting the academy, and the conversations all day were in Chinese.
“They were curious to see how we run a military training institution,” Sasser said. “They asked a lot of questions. Some could speak English, but we used Chinese all day.”
Cadets are required to take a language course, and Sasser once thought he might become a linguist in Spanish. He didn’t put a choice on his academy application, so the choice was made for him.
“I was thinking that whatever language I’d take, I wanted something easy. I left the language part blank and they put me in Chinese,” the junior from Amarillo, Texas, said. “I said great. I was reluctant at first, but I got into it and I loved the class and the language.”
He decided studying at the academy wasn’t enough. He contacted a Christian organization out of Denver and left the academy to live, study and do research in southwest China for two years.
“I didn’t want it to be just about me and learning the language,” Sasser said. “I wanted to do more with my time.”
Sasser returned to the academy and the football team last year, and by season’s end was on kickoff duty. He not only has become an accurate kicker this year, he’s a quality punter.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he’s kicking and punting because he’s good at both,” AFA coach Fisher DeBerry said. “He has been a good surprise and he’s picked up in an area where we had some questions. Zach has made a great commitment to our team.”
Sasser took over the punting duties last week against Wyoming and averaged 39.3 yards on three punts, including a 59-yarder. He’s 2-for-2 in field goals, making a 22-yarder at Tennessee and a 27-yarder against the Cowboys.
“The field goal against Wyoming was huge,” DeBerry said. “We were going for a first down, but the play we selected took us off the middle of the field. That was a tough angle on the left hash mark.”
Sasser mixes his academics with football.
“Sometimes on the football field I’ll think in Chinese, but it doesn’t have anything to do directly with football,” Sasser said. “There are ways to express yourself in Chinese that you can’t in English. Learning Chinese is one thing, but living over there has altered my thinking to more of a mixture of western and Asian thinking.
“When approaching problems, sometimes I’ll think about it differently because of living over there.”
DeBerry and special teams coach Tom Miller gladly will credit Sasser’s break in China if he continues to solve problems in the punting game. The Falcons have used a shield punt formation the past two years, and it’s made their punting game an adventure.
The Falcons had a breakdown at Wyoming that led to an 11-yard punt, but DeBerry said, “Sasser understands it.”
Miller noted that Sasser is an athlete and loves pressure.
“He thinks he can play quarterback,” Miller said. “He loves to play. The more pressure in a game, the more he’s likely to do something really well. I trust him.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
