ORFORD, N.H. — Tim Goodwin liked what he saw from Lea Matena in soccer. He could also see that she was tall.
So Goodwin, who coaches girls soccer and basketball at Rivendell Academy, suggested to the sophomore German exchange student try the latter sport — one Matena had never played before.
“Lea goes out there and she’s like, ‘well, I’m a little bit nervous,’ ” Goodwin said. “I said, ‘just be you. Be athletic and use your height to your advantage, and stay close to the hoop and have fun.’ She does those things and has a blast.”
Matena, who plays for both the Raptors’ varsity and junior varsity teams, has a compatriot on the JV squad in senior Clara Schiffling. Schiffling, a native of Bremen in northwest Germany, came to the United States through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program, which provides both American and German students opportunities to spend a year in the other country.
Schiffling had never played soccer before coming to Rivendell and had last played basketball in sixth grade. But she still made the varsity soccer team as a striker, scoring her only goal of the season on Senior Night.
“Basketball is much more physical than soccer,” Schiffling said. “I had to remind myself to turn the switch on and be more physical. Coach told me, ‘the ball’s not going to explode, Clara.’ All the rules are confusing, so I’m struggling with that right now.”
Schiffling lives with a host family in Vershire, while Matena is staying with sophomore Elisia Sonsalla, who also plays soccer and basketball, and her family. Matena is from Bonn, in western Germany, and is in the U.S. through a different exchange program.
Matena has played soccer for five years, but basketball was completely new to her before this winter. Still, that didn’t stop her from scoring the winning basket for the Raptors’ JV team in a 26-25 victory over Blue Mountain last Tuesday.
As a swing player between varsity and JV, Matena can play up to five total quarters between the two games on a given day.
“A new sport is always difficult,” Matena said. “It’s hard to know where to be on the (court). That’s the biggest challenge.”
Schiffling and Matena will both return to Germany at the end of the school year. Although Schiffling is a senior, she still has two more years of high school in Germany — she will need to repeat this year and chose to do 13 years of primary and secondary education instead of 12.
Goodwin said even though both players had little to no basketball experience, he hasn’t had to coach them differently from the rest of the team. Schiffling and Matena have had to learn the rules and regulations quickly, but after leaving their home country during a pandemic and coming to live with strangers, learning a new sport doesn’t seem like such a big deal.
“Foreign exchange students are always great. They’re awesome,” Goodwin said. “They’re pretty outgoing people. If you’re going to leave your country as a teenager and go somewhere else for a year, you have to be open and welcoming and curious. They come over, they blend in really quickly and they offer so much.”
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com.