Akarika Dawn facts for kids

Akarika Dawn, born on January 10, 1984, is an American athlete and coach. He has played two different sports professionally: American football and rugby league. Currently, he plays for the Jacksonville Axemen team in the USA Rugby League (USARL). He usually plays as a second-row forward.

Before playing rugby league, Dawn played college football for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. He was a linebacker for their team. Later, he briefly played for the Austin Wranglers in the Arena Football League (AFL). After that, he started playing rugby league. He played for the Jacksonville Axemen in Florida and then for the Burleigh Bears in Australia. Since 2010, he has played for Jacksonville. He has also played for both the United States and Canada national teams.

Early Life and College Football

Akarika Dawn was born in Houston, Texas. He went to Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas. There, he played high school American football.

In 2002, he started at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He played for the Colorado Buffaloes football team. He was an inside linebacker for the Buffaloes from 2002 to 2005. In his last year, he played in all twelve games. He ended his college career with 180 tackles. A tackle is when a player stops an opponent with the ball. He graduated in 2006.

Rugby League Career

After college, Dawn was signed by the Austin Wranglers. This was an Arena Football League (AFL) team in 2007. He played as a linebacker and fullback. He made three tackles during his time in the AFL. He left the team in February 2007.

Later that year, Dawn decided to try rugby league. He had never played the sport before. He signed with the Jacksonville Axemen in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL). This was the top rugby league competition in the United States. He played for three weeks in Jacksonville. He quickly became a great player. In July 2007, he went to Australia. He tried out for professional teams there. He was signed by the Burleigh Bears to play in the Queensland Cup.

After playing in Australia, Dawn returned to the United States. He coached high school football in Houston. In 2010, he went back to rugby league. He signed with the Jacksonville Axemen again. He became one of the team's most popular players. That year, he was chosen for the United States national rugby league team. He played in the 2010 Atlantic Cup in Jacksonville. Dawn continued to play for the Axemen in 2011.

Playing for Countries

Akarika Dawn has played in two international games. He played one game for the USA and one for Canada.

His first game for the USA was on July 6, 2013. He played as a center in a Colonial Cup game. The USA team lost 36–20 to Canada.

Three years later, on September 24, 2016, he played his first game for Canada. This game was against the United States. It was part of the 2016 Americas Championship. Canada lost 8–14 in that game. Akarika played as a second-row forward.

Later Career

Until early 2014, Dawn worked as a teacher. He was also a linebackers coach at Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, Texas.