Cultural exchange on the basketball court篮球场上的文化交流
Toni L. Sandys/THE WASHINGTON POST - Shanghai’s Nanyang Model High finished its U.S. tour with a victory over Field School on Friday in Washington.
With his grown sons and wife back home in the United States, businessman Joe Cooley found he had a lot of free time while living alone in Shanghai. A short walk from his apartment, Cooley was first drawn to Nanyang Model High by its orchestra.
“They have the number two youth orchestra in the world,” Cooley said. “It is a wonderful orchestra.” Soon Cooley also found himself attending the school’s basketball games. Cooley easily could have attended professional games, but the high school “was so convenient. It was four doors from my apartment house.”
After a few years, Cooley became friendly with the principal and coaches. Before Cooley returned home, the head coach mentioned he would like to have his team play in the United States. Cooley told him, “Well, let me look into what we can do.”
“It’s taken us about a year and a half, but we did it,” Cooley said.
The Nanyang team and coaches — accompanied by two English teachers, a vice principal and two translators — have been spending their winter break touring parts of the Northeast. The team faced American high school opponents in Erie, Pa., Williamsport, Pa., and Buffalo, before taking on the Field School in Washington last Friday.
“The basketball games are incidental [to] this,” said Cooley. “It’s the cultural exchange.” In each of the previous cities, the Nanyang Model High team stayed with host families. Along with private training sessions and games, the team has mixed in plenty of sightseeing, including Niagara Falls, Smithsonian museums, and D.C. monuments. Its trip will conclude with a game in New Jersey and two days of sightseeing in New York City, including a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.
Last Friday, the team started its day with a visit to Georgetown University. The highlight of the morning was a meeting with Coach John Thompson III. The team walked across the floor of McDonough Gymnasium and stood, awestruck, in front of the NBA jerseys that hang on the back wall. Like their American counterparts, many of Nanyang’s players aspire to play for top universities.
After posing for pictures with the team, Thompson passed out pins and Georgetown T-shirts. Later, the team was welcomed by the Field School boys’ varsity team before the two squads’ game. Before heading to the locker room, the team was given a brief tour of the school.
“It sounded like a really great opportunity for our kids and our school,” said Field School Coach Ryan Reese, “and just kind of a neat thing to be a part of.”
The game ended in a 55-44 loss for Field School, the first win for the Chinese team on U.S. soil. Despite the loss, the Field players had a great experience, according to Athletic Director Eric Coles. After the game, both teams attended a reception at the school.
“Obviously, basketball is a common language across a lot of different cultures,” Reese said. “I think it’s a really cool opportunity for our kids to expand the diversity and the angle and the lens that they see the world through. That we can communicate.?.?. our good will through sports is a really cool lesson for all the kids.”
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