A few of the 50 Danish team members got together during a break between classes for a "photo op" at Garden City High School where they sat in on classes on Monday, December 8th, with their sponsor student partners. During the upcoming basketball season Garden City's teams will face familiar schools like Lynbrook, Bethpage, Manhasset and South Side. This year, the GC teams kicked off their season with three scrimmages against Hjemly on December 6th.

Wondering what town Hjemly is from? It's Hillerslev. Still haven't heard of it? Hillerslev is in Denmark and this year, for the 10th consecutive year, 50 team members from the Hjemly High School traveled to Long Island to scrimmage with American high school basketball teams.

Administrators from Garden City learned of this program last summer and made plans to host the students and their coaches for the Saturday scrimmages. Volunteer families were recruited to open their homes to the Danish teams for the long weekend, providing the students with the opportunity to experience family life in Garden City. On Monday, December 8th, the Danish teams spent the day attending classes with their host students at Garden City High School.

The boy's JV teams of Denmark and Garden City got together for a group photo. See this photo at Newsphoto.com The GC boys and girls varsity teams, as well as the boys JV team, made it a successful weekend for their foreign friends. Food and drinks, including a hot dog cart and pretzel machine, were provided by the various families of the Garden City players and TMA on Saturday before, during, and after the scrimmages. Signs were hung in the gym to welcome Hjemly.

English is part of Danish schooling from grade three, so the visiting athletes had little trouble expressing themselves after the scrimmages. "The teams here (Garden City) are so good, we really experienced some great competition," commented Rebecca Christiansen Houmoller. "In the other schools we visited so far, we were more evenly matched. Here we were challenged and really learned a lot about the game."

Danish head coach, Jim Kelly, a former resident of Locust Valley now living and working in Denmark, has been bringing teams of students to the U.S. for the past 14 years. During that time, Mr. Kelly has accompanied Danish teams to 70 different regional schools, spending two full weeks in the area on each visit. The students typically tour New York City, taking in sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, the observation deck of the Empire State Building, and the holiday tree at Rockefeller Center. "Much of the time is spent looking up!" coach Kelly recalled.

Katie Trimmer drives around her Hjemly opponent during game action. See this photo at Newsphoto.com The Danish students and their coaches truly enjoyed every part of their weekend in Garden City. "There is a wonderful atmosphere in the Garden City area and the community has given our students a terrific experience," commented the coach. "Each year we say that we don't believe that the trip could get any better, and each year it does. People go out of their way to make the experience special for our students. They come here and see how wonderful the American people really are. It helps them to see through international opinion. They get to experience 'real' Americans and how generous they are. As students, they have the opportunity to experience the importance of being a both an athlete and an academic achiever. It helps our students to see the importance of both. They also get to learn the American way of playing basketball - the intensity and quickness level is a tremendous learning experience."

Garden City's Katie Poppe is airborne as she saves the ball before it goes out of bounds. See this photo at Newsphoto.com On Sunday, December 7th, the students enjoyed excursions to local eateries, as well as the local mall - shopping was a must on the Danish students' "to do" list! On Monday, the students (all freshman and sophomores) and their coaches visited Garden City High School for a true immersion in the American high school culture. Julie Ravn, a player on the Danish girls team, summed up their high school visit, "Everyone here is friendly and cool - just like in 'High School Musical' and other American movies and television shows." Rebecca chimed in to add, "Kids here like the same things that we do, even the same music."

Danish coaches (left to right) Jesper Madden, Per Rasmussen, and organizing coach Jim Kelly, truly enjoyed their experience at Garden City High School and look forward to returning next year. Host student Katie Poppe thought the Danish students "were cool - they're fun. They take some of the same classes back in Denmark that we take, plus it's nice hearing people speak a different language."

Back in Denmark, the students at Hjemly saw photos of their classmates in Garden City on televisions in their classrooms (in Denmark, teachers move to different classrooms and the students stay in one room).

Special thanks to all those who made this cultural exchange possible: Danish coach Jim Kelly, Garden City Athletic Director Nancy Kalafus, and Garden City coaches Anthony Sparacia (girls varsity coach), Larry Steimer (boys varsity coach), James Casella (boys JV coach), and the many parents who did so much to organize the weekend and opened up their homes to the Hjemly teams - their efforts provided a wonderful opportunity for the Danish students, as well as our Garden City students, to expand their international awareness in an invaluable athletic, language, and cultural exchange.

On his way up for a basket, Billy Janetschek flies past the Danish defender. See this photo at Newsphoto.com

Leo Driscoll makes sure that Hjemly doesn't have an easy shot. See this photo at Newsphoto.com Matt Lynch gets a pass off around one of the Hjemly players. See this photo at Newsphoto.com