This year, Central is hosting three foreign exchange students who are using sports teams to gain the full American experience.
Zita Eyskens is from Antwerp, Belgium, and is a setter on the Central junior varsity volleyball team. Carl-Johan (CJ) Magnusson is from Örebro, Sweden, and is a cornerback on the junior varsity and varsity football teams. Valentin Leitner is from Salzburg, Austria, and is the starting kicker on the varsity football team.
Eyskens and Magnusson both play their sports in their home country, but not for their schools. They both agreed that they were like clubs, having only two practices a week. Central football practices are every day after school and occasionally on the weekends.
Conversely, Leitner had never touched a football in his life before coming here.
“Soccer is spring season, so I wanted to do something in the fall as well,” Leitner said.
Considering his orange cleats are the first thing you see during the game, as he does the kick-off, his choice to try out has definitely created a positive impact on the team. However, playing in front of a crowd of loud high school students and judgmental parents takes some getting used to.
Sports culture is a major part of what forms an outside perspective of the United States, along with stereotypes about American meal portion sizes, gun loving patriots and yellow school buses.
“It’s stressful. In Sweden, we don’t have fans or stands; it’s just like grass, and there’s not a lot of people there,” Magnusson said. “The players here are good; they are all way better, so it’s more pressure.”
While the in-game nerves are settling in, the players have held out a welcoming hand for their team’s new additions.
“After a few practices, I got friends. Some are kickers, and some are [in] other positions. You spend a lot of time with the whole team, especially with games,” Leitner said. “We pregame meal together and talk a lot about life and stuff.”
Eyskens explained how the volleyball girls have become her best friends so far, and she loves to participate in “Friday Night Lights” from the student section. “I like talking to people because I have never seen football in my life. I made a lot of friends, so I know people when I want to go out or do things,” Eyskens said.
