Take a peek at Tamon Okura’s Facebook photo with a beach setting and you see a kid in a pair of sunglasses, ballcap on backwards.
If the buildings in the background weren't so unfamiliar and there weren’t so many palm trees, you might think Okura was down Santa Cruz way. Except the Los Altos High football player was obviously in his native Japan when the photo was taken.
Okura’s family is in its second year in Mountain View and he is in his first year as a starting cornerback for the Eagles (3-0).
“Football has an intensity that other sports doesn’t have,” Okura said. “Making tackles is a great feeling. It’s also a very traditional U.S. sport and it’s an honor to play it.”
Okura attended a boarding school in Japan and played football there, but has found football in the states to be a different animal.
“The guys are different – they’re bigger and stronger,” Okura said. “And we play a lot of games compared to Japan. In Japan there are tournaments and if you lose in the first round, you’re out.”
The Okuras came to the U.S. when Tamon’s father, Yukata, got a marketing job here. The Eagle standout has no siblings, so it is just him, his dad and mom, Chimatsu, here.
He plays cornerback for the Eagles and is averaging six tackles per game with one interception and one recovered fumble.
The Eagles have done well compared to last season when they finished 4-6 with a four-place finish (3-3) in the SCVAL-El Camino. Los Altos opened the season with a 24-14 win at Scotts Valley when Okura made his only career interception. It also won at Soquel (28-20) and at home against San Mateo (21-17) last week.
Friday the Eagles will try to move to 4-0 as they meet Mountain View at 7 p.m. at Foothill College in the Pride Game.
The 18-year-old said he was taken in graciously by his team upon arrival.
“I didn’t know any of them, but I met them and they’ve been great,” said Okura who was a reserve last season. “They accepted me as a teammate. Coach (Trevor) Pruitt is a great guy. He counsels me and it’s not just all about football, but also about learning life skills so that I can become a grown-up man.”
Los Altos does not have lights, so the Eagles play Friday afternoon games when they are at home. Though the afternoon starts probably cut into attendance, Okura finds the experience exhilarating.
“I didn’t expect the crowd that came out,” he said. “It was hot, but I still saw a lot of students in the crowd. I was focusing on doing my job, though.”
Among the Eagle faithful are Okura’s parents who try to attend every game.
“I enjoy the games and it’s always a pleasure to be with the other parents,” Yukata Okura said. “Football is a great team sport. He learns a lot about life. Sometimes he does well and sometimes not, but that’s just part of the learning curve.”
Because the family is from Tokyo, Okura relishes San Francisco which reminds him of his homeland, mainly because of the tall buildings.
Sustenance-wise, he enjoys something less cosmopolitan, chicken and rice bowls from Chipotle.
Asked if there is anything in America he finds odd, Okura said: “Cars. Kids here can drive when they’re 16 years old. I find that surprising.”
Okura has adapted well, though, not only becoming fluent in English is less than two years, but obtaining a California driver’s license which he uses to tool around town in his Mazda 3.
The Mountain View teen hopes to study engineering at an American college and said he will always savor his Fridays playing cornerback for Los Altos.
“It’s something special that I’ll always remember – the crowds and the cheers,” he said. “It’s unbelievable.”
