Event is for students taking foreign languages

Restarting a tradition can be difficult, but German teacher Fritz Juengling has successfully revived the Foreign Language Basketball Tournament for the second year in a row.

Students from German, Spanish, and American Sign Language classes participated this year. While the former two had a larger turnout, each team brought its own lingual spirit.

Spanish student senior Carson Quam played to "represent my heritage," but other Spanish students came just to watch.

"The best part is being able to cheer our team on. In Spanish," said senior Caleb Davis, vice president of the Spanish club. "We want to shove our win en la cara de los Alemanes," or, translated, "in the face of the Germans."

Despite natural tendencies toward other sports, anyone could play basketball for their language. Senior Matt Wheeler showed up with an impressive granny shot, and sophomore Jenna Ahn simply played for "a good mix of foreign language and sweat."

"I want to win because I want to see the Spanish people dominate," said sophomore Alexa Brown.

American Sign Language students were limited to five athletes total, but some students still were able to see the bright side of the situation, such as junior Michael Hatfield.

"Out of our whole class, we get to play the most," he said.

"We're mostly out here because Juengling is weird," said ASL teacher Laurie Hatfield, aunt of Michael Hatfield.

Juengling's brainchild yielded favorable results to the Germans, taking the "Beorg Cup" last year, which was senior Kyle McVay's favorite aspect.

The show of German spirit was evident in the gym as students ran past the bleachers with a flag and others yelled for their team.

"We have the best mannschaft (team)!" senior Chase Dearman declared.

Juengling thinks the tournament is a good idea for more than the German benefit.

"Kids who don't normally get to participate in things like basketball get to play," he said. "But mostly the girls like to wear matching T-shirts and push each other and get the ball."

The German students were perhaps the most confident in their playing abilities.

"It's fun because we can beat the Spanish team and take the cup again," freshman Josh Dolar said.

Unfortunately for the Germans, the Spaniards regained the cup in an intense showdown after several games.

Students who played as well as cheered on their teammates were able to have an enjoyable experience and interact with the other languages.

"It's good because it gets all of the languages out together," said Laurie Hatfield. "We get to know each other, and we show school spirit."