Chien-Hao Ma

Men's Basketball Kyla Goodale for GeorgiaStateSports.com

Ma Juggles the Life of a Student-Athlete As He Adapts to American Culture

Most of the adjustments that young adults face when they decide to go away to college are slightly universal. Things like adapting to being on your own and solely taking care of yourself for the first time run relatively common to what other new college students might be dealing with. For international students, it is different as they have to adapt to living in a new country, adjusting to cultural differences, and possibly learning a new language. Throw in being an athlete on top of that and it seems like an impossible juggling act.       
 
Chien-Hao Ma joined the Georgia State men's basketball team this season as a first year collegiate player and an international student from Taichung City, Taiwan. Ma has spent the past year and a half getting used to living in the United States and learning English on top of the struggles that already come with being a student-athlete. Every day after practice Ma works on his English for roughly two hours before doing his schoolwork and anything else that comes with being a 20-year old in college. These days can become extremely tiring, but like any good student-athlete, spirits are kept high to push through.
 
The forward finds himself more tired after physical training than anything. He explains his body has not built the same endurance to train as hard as the rest of the team just yet, particularly for as long as they do. In Taiwan, the training is not nearly as vigorous and Ma has not been playing basketball for as much time as most of his teammates. For many children in the United States the opportunity to play basketball presents itself at a young age; Ma wasn't given the chance to play until the age of 14. Sometimes after a session his teammates will joke with him saying "We didn't do that much Ma, why are you so tired?!" "Not that much to you!" he'll say in rebuttal.  
 
Jokes play a big part in Ma's relationship with the team. When asked 'What do you contribute most?' comedy was an instant answer. He explains "Because they've never heard the jokes from Taiwan before, when I tell them here they think it's so funny and we laugh a lot." The strong brotherhood the Panthers share has helped make these new transitions much easier to adjust to. Though the language gets in the way at times they all speak the same language when they get on the court. Ma is fully fluent in understanding and speaking in terms of basketball so the minor language barrier has never affected his game. Off court, like one's brother, the team all contributes to helping their teammate. Whether that is by explaining an American concept or translating to him through their phones; they put in effort to aid whenever they can. "They help me so much," he says.  
 
By the end of the season Ma hopes to get better at rebounding so that he can best assist the team. Improving on this skill is important to him as he is the second-tallest player on the team standing at 6'7.  Better rebounds from him would be of great value to the team and their success. While overall the dedicated player's main focus right now is just building on his skills he does have one big goal; play in the NCAA Tournament in March. If Georgia State were to get that far, it is believed that Ma would be the first person from Taiwan to ever participate in March Madness. This would be a great accomplishment for Ma and his country.  
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Chien-Hao Ma

#14 Chien-Hao Ma

F
6' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Chien-Hao Ma

#14 Chien-Hao Ma

6' 7"
Freshman
F