NEUMARKT IN DER OBERPFALZ, Germany -- German students at the Knabenrealschule in Neumarkt got a taste of American sports when four Hohenfels Military Community members visited the school and gave a class on the basics of flag football, recently.
The project began when German-American Kontakt Club Hohenfels presidents Andreas Kirschenbauer and Sgt. 1st Class John Arreglado attended the Kontakt conference in Garmisch this spring and talked about organizing a project for teenagers between a German school and the HMC.
U.S. Army Garrison Hohenfels' Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth McKoy, who also attended the conference, immediately liked the idea and gave his permission and full support to start the youth project.
Josh Crider, Child, Youth and School Services Sports and fitness assistant director, and Chris Cornelison, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sports and fitness chief, together with Matthew Orlowski and Dominik Lindner, spent the afternoon at the Knabenrealschule Neumarkt explaining the fundamentals of flag football in English to 44 students.
The teens benefitted from this sports class twice, not only learning how to play a sport that is relatively unknown in Germany, but also spending the afternoon speaking English and following English commands, proving to their English as a Second Language teachers Edith Vogl, Wilfried Haubner and John Billner that they are definitely capable of communicating with English native speakers.
All participants had a really good time, and the Neumarkt teens are now looking forward to playing a game against teens at the Hohenfels youth center this fall.
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