Brazilian Dog Excels at Footvolley
2024-09-16
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The Brazilian sport of footvolley is a popular activity on sunny days along Rio de Janeiro's coast.
2But, recently, people stopped to watch one especially exceptional player: a three-year-old named Floki.
3But the young player is not a child. Floki is a dog.
4He is also very good at footvolley.
5The rules of footvolley are almost the same as beach volleyball.
6However, the game requires a lower net and a soccer ball replaces the volleyball.
7Similar to soccer, the rules bar players from using their hands on the ball.
8Not a problem for the four-legged Floki.
9He jumps up and hits the ball with his mouth.
10Floki has become popular on social media in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers on services such as Instagram and TikTok.
11Floki's owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley trainer, or coach.
12Floki entered Rodrigues' life as a puppy and demonstrated his sporty qualities early on.
13At just 2 months old, he started playing with small balloons.
14He would jump in the air to reach them.
15Rodrigues started Floki out on an exercise called "altinha."
16It involves a group standing in a circle and passing a soccer ball through the air for as long as possible.
17In 2023, Floki started playing the complex, competitive game of footvolley.
18Footvolley players need skills such as agility and timing. Just two people must cover an entire half court.
19This requires quick and surefooted moves on soft sand under the hot sun.
20Floki was a natural. A star was born.
21Rodrigues, age 26, said about Floki, "He does things that even some professionals don't - like positioning on the court."
22Rodrigues added that, during play, Floki always "turns toward the ball to always hit it straight on."
23It is clear this high-energy dog lives for this game.
24Even when resting on the beach, Floki was paying careful attention to a nearby footvolley competition.
25When playing, he makes dog sounds to communicate with Rodrigues.
26Floki barks to let his human teammate know he is open for a pass.
27The dog appears to understand the basic rules of the game.
28Sometimes, he surprises the other team with an unexpected drive of the ball over the net.
29He scores a point and then he jumps into Rodrigues' arms to celebrate.
30One of the watchers on a recent Sunday was Luiza Chioli, who had traveled to Rio from Sao Paulo.
31She already knew the famous Floki from TikTok.
32She said she was surprised that the real dog was as good at footvolley as the videos had suggested.
33"Seeing social media, we had thought it was just cuts, that they used the best takes," said Chioli, 21.
34"But we saw he played, performed the whole time, did really well. It's really cool."
35Proposals for partnerships and business deals with Rodrigues and Floki followed the dog's growing stardom.
36The two live in the capital Brasilia.
37However, they often travel to Rio and other Brazilian states for games, marketing appearances and social media work.
38I'm Ashely Thompson.
1The Brazilian sport of footvolley is a popular activity on sunny days along Rio de Janeiro's coast. But, recently, people stopped to watch one especially exceptional player: a three-year-old named Floki. But the young player is not a child. Floki is a dog. 2He is also very good at footvolley. 3The rules of footvolley are almost the same as beach volleyball. However, the game requires a lower net and a soccer ball replaces the volleyball. Similar to soccer, the rules bar players from using their hands on the ball. 4Not a problem for the four-legged Floki. He jumps up and hits the ball with his mouth. 5Floki has become popular on social media in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers on services such as Instagram and TikTok. 6Floki's owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley trainer, or coach. 7Floki entered Rodrigues' life as a puppy and demonstrated his sporty qualities early on. At just 2 months old, he started playing with small balloons. He would jump in the air to reach them. 8Rodrigues started Floki out on an exercise called "altinha." It involves a group standing in a circle and passing a soccer ball through the air for as long as possible. 9In 2023, Floki started playing the complex, competitive game of footvolley. 10Footvolley players need skills such as agility and timing. Just two people must cover an entire half court. This requires quick and surefooted moves on soft sand under the hot sun. 11Floki was a natural. A star was born. 12Rodrigues, age 26, said about Floki, "He does things that even some professionals don't - like positioning on the court." 13Rodrigues added that, during play, Floki always "turns toward the ball to always hit it straight on." 14It is clear this high-energy dog lives for this game. Even when resting on the beach, Floki was paying careful attention to a nearby footvolley competition. 15When playing, he makes dog sounds to communicate with Rodrigues. Floki barks to let his human teammate know he is open for a pass. The dog appears to understand the basic rules of the game. 16Sometimes, he surprises the other team with an unexpected drive of the ball over the net. He scores a point and then he jumps into Rodrigues' arms to celebrate. 17One of the watchers on a recent Sunday was Luiza Chioli, who had traveled to Rio from Sao Paulo. She already knew the famous Floki from TikTok. She said she was surprised that the real dog was as good at footvolley as the videos had suggested. 18"Seeing social media, we had thought it was just cuts, that they used the best takes," said Chioli, 21. "But we saw he played, performed the whole time, did really well. It's really cool." 19Proposals for partnerships and business deals with Rodrigues and Floki followed the dog's growing stardom. The two live in the capital Brasilia. However, they often travel to Rio and other Brazilian states for games, marketing appearances and social media work. 20I'm Ashely Thompson. 21David Biller reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22__________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24beach -- n. a seashore area 25net -- n. an open-meshed fabric woven together at regular intervals 26puppy -- n. a young dog 27agility - n. the ability to move with quick easy grace