AFS Sports

It may be the home of the Olympic games, but my observations indicate that athletic ability does not thrive in Greece. Allow me to elaborate. In order to describe the "athletes" of AFS, this post will contain some obscure references. For those that don't understand the comparisons, please bare with me. For those that do, I hope it enhances your ability to picture the characters that I describe. Also, this post includes some immature humor about people getting hit in the testes with various objects. I hope nobody will take offense at the low-brow humor [Mom, you may want to skip the third and fifth paragraphs] and realize that I am more mature than I sometimes portray in this blog...I hope.

Among my prestigious duties at AFS, I have the privilege of helping with the daily athletic activities. My main responsibility is coaching the soccer team. After two years of full-time coaching at Emory, it is a nice change of pace to oversee an informal group of uncoordinated teenagers. I also train with the team which is fun and has helped me bond with the students. We practice two or three times a week, and I have already seen significant progress. I also coach the soccer team of the college that shares the campus with AFS. In fact, through the abscence of any governing body comparable to the NCAA, I have been appointed player-coach and will be lacing up the boots for the Perrotis College Ninja Turtles (I don't think we actually have a mascot) during the various intercollegiate tournaments and scrimmages. The college is a very unique and special place. Most of the students are internationals representing Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Kenya, Nigeria, Romania, and Moldova. They are a lively bunch and provide an ideal multi-cultural haven when I need a break from Greek high schoolers.

On the high school team, one of my favorite players is the freshman goalkeeper, Antonis Papodopoulus. He is undersized for a goalie but full of energy. His on-field mannerisms are eerily similar to a young Patrick Knight [Obscure Reference #1]. From what I have seen of Antonis off the field, his carefree antics and kamikaze-style pursuit of girls draws the comparison even closer. Antonis' best trait as a goalkeeper is his obsession to train. Any time I see him on campus, he is badgering girls. But, and this is the only difference between him and Pat "Full Court Press" Knight, he will leave the girl alone long enough to ask me if we can go train. During our training sessions, we work on footwork, hand drills, and other GK stuff, then I shoot on him. He can always tell if I am holding back and insists that I fire the ball at him as hard as I can. On one such occasion, I struck a ball with all my might. It was a rocket. It started off heading toward the right corner of the net, then swerved back central. Antonis had already leapt and fully extended to his left, leaving his mid-section exposed. The ball blasted Antonis so hard in the testicles that he immediately shriveled into the fetal position and lay motionless for several minutes. Once able to summon the courage, he slowly crawled off the field and curled into a ball. To his credit, he was ready to train again the next day and his enthusiasm remains. Bravo Antonis.

Also, we recently had a staff versus students basketball scrimmage. Before describing the game, I must introduce Coach Petras. He is a burly man whose physical bullying of students reminds me of the infamous Coach Cropper [Obscure Reference #2]. He is belligerent and hot-tempered which leads to daily tirades toward helpless students who ask him simple questions that he somehow interprets as offensive; it can be quite unpleasant.

So anyway, the staff team was assembled from various departments around campus. The average age of our team was probably around 40, and there were more knee braces present than at an Espie family reunion [OR#3]. During our pre-game shoot around, it became apparent that Greek basketballers are unfamiliar with the concept of "change", the custom of passing a ball back to a shooter if he successfully makes a basket. Through growing up with the "change" system, I have been programmed to return the ball to a shooter if he scores. Thus, I was passing balls back to these old men when they made baskets. It caught a few off guard, but I continued to do it out of habit. One middle-aged man swished a jump shot from around the free throw line and I casually tossed the ball back toward him. He wasn't expecting it and it struck him directly in the crotch. He dropped to his knees clutching his privates. I felt terrible and apologized immediately. Striking a grown man in the nuts with a basketball must be one of life's most deflating experiences. I'm still not entirely sure where he works on campus, but I have been watching my back ever since the occurence.

The student team was comprised of about 15 boys, one or two of whom had some athletic ability. A popular trend among the student squad was facial piercings and meticulously gelled hair. It could be the absence of formal coaching or a side effect of pubescence, but the boys were literally out of control on the basketball court. There movements were jerky and awkward, and our staff team achieved an easy victory. One of the highlights was when Coach Petras, who consistently brags about his basketball ability, felt that he was fouled and the student referee overlooked the call. He yelled at the alleged fouler and the ref for about thirty seconds then punted the basketball across the gym, setting an excellent example of sportsmanship for everybody present.

In conclusion, no professional scouts will be calling AFS in the near future, but the sports are a great outlet for the students and obviously help with physical fitness and social skills. I enjoy the role that I play in the high school athletic program, and I love my player-coach role for the college team.

I have been substitute teaching in English classes about once a week which has been a great experience, and contrary to the rantings in my previous post, I do tutor and help the students with their assignments. Emily and I are also in charge of putting together the student newspaper and helping the Model United Nations team with their presentations. Life is good.

School is closed Monday through Wednesday of this week for national holidays, so I am going to Mount Olympus for the weekend. I"m very excited to visit the home of the gods and do some hiking.

Holler.