American Daniel Dahlquist had never even heard of Australian rules football four years ago.
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Now, he is preparing to make his mark in the Ballarat Football League, where football is almost a way of life.
Dahlquist, 20, has arrived at the Ballarat Swans and looms as one of the great unknown prospects for the 2015 season.
There is plenty of work ahead and a lot for the 193-centimetre big man to learn before he cements a senior spot for the Swans. And that is exactly what excites him.
Hailing from San Francisco, Dahlquist first stumbled across the sport of Australian rules on American classifieds site Craigslist.
“I had never even heard of it. I thought it was rugby or something,” he said.
“So I jumped on YouTube and saw videos of these guys taking hangers and I just thought ‘I have to do that’.”
From there, he joined a local team in San Francisco, which originally competed without tackling.
He then stepped it up to play for the Golden Gate Roos in the Golden Gate AFL competition.
It was not long before he found himself selected on the United States’ national team for football, competing in Australia as part of the AFL International Cup last August.
“I just loved it right from the start and I loved Australia,” Dahlquist said.
“As soon as I got home I had to figure out how to come back, so I jumped online and, before I knew it, I had booked a plane back over and I was here.”
He has certainly met his fair share of challenges in adapting to Australia’s biggest code.
His athleticism cannot be questioned, coming from a soccer and basketball background, but he is the first to admit his kicking skills need some work – not to mention his knowledge of protective equipment.
“In my first practice game I was in the ruck and didn’t know you could wear shin guards. I was pretty beat up after it,” he said.
Dahlquist harbours realistic ambitions of playing regular matches in Ballarat’s senior side and simply cannot wait for the season to start.
He expects to play in ruck or centre-half back for the Swans.
He is more than confident he can adjust to the step-up in skills level. “In the first game I thought it was a really fast game, but I talked to some of the guys afterwards and they said it was one of the sloppier games,” he said.
“I expected it to be better than our league back home but not the amount it is. It’s great though.”
At the moment, Dahlquist has signed on for one year at Alfredton Oval, but does not want to put any timeframe on his stay.
Ballarat’s season starts at home against Lake Wendouree on April 18.
patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au