Dallas in a Nutshell

In Dallas, the teams generally toured before their games, and then went back to Lake Worth High to spectate or play. The games were very competitive, as both teams really desired the win in every game. The varsity games were well worth the watch, with some teams even getting the better of our own Churchie First V squad. It was interesting to observe the nature of US high school basketball at the highest level, particularly the different chants and atmosphere provided by our opponents. It was also visibly entertaining for the Lake Worth students to see how we deal with sports at Churchie. Several ‘Churchie Roar’s rung out through Lake Worth, in a Sparta vs Persia manner with a 20 strong blue and grey crowd in the stands against several hundred American spectators.

The tournament was reasonably successful from a statistical standpoint, with the Varsity team winning the bronze division, and the sophomore and fresh sophomore teams both getting a win from three games. However, I thought that the main significance of these games for the sophomore team was in improving our team chemistry in all aspects. 

After a few days at the beloved La Quinta Inn, we headed for St Mark’s School of Texas, and the boys billeted for two nights with host families. St Mark’s was in many ways similar to Churchie: an all-boys school with an impressive campus and impressive sports teams to match. Although St Mark’s also has a Hogwarts-style dining hall and a senior’s lounge, with a selection of branded apparel that burnt further into the boy’s pockets. On that note, it was at this point that many of us had to phone home to have, or at least request that some more money be wired through to our bank accounts. Personally, I have now spent upward of $350 on T-shirts, socks, and other not-all-that-useful, but really cool stuff. 

Homestay was awesome. Mitchell Goldburg and I were fortunate enough to stay with a loving, and classically Texan family for the two days. Whilst our billet, Jackson, studied for exams, Mitch and I were able to chill, and play Xbox or watch Netflix. On the last night our Billet’s dad, Jeff, was delighted to show us his impressive civil war musket and sword collection. This was all topped off with a ‘Tex-mex’ dinner at a local restaurant, with all Churchie tourers in attendance.

Gus van der Nagel