Journey to the Colder Side of the Earth: Basketball!

As school rolls along and winter temperatures and snow return once more to St. Petersburg, the spirits of IA students and teachers alike are raised by our school's one athletic team: the IA Cossacks. The Cossacks are the basketball team of our school and have recently begun their season.

This Tuesday, Amanda and I had the pleasure of finally getting a chance to watch our team play a game. Unfortunately for us, most of the games are right after school gets out, and we are busy with Russian language lessons and drama practice four nights a week. Thankfully this week the Cossacks were playing a Russian school less than a kilometer away from our school so we decided to skip Russian this once to see the team play.

Almost all of the 9-12th grade boys at the school are involved with the team in some capacity, so it was a good chance for me to help support my students. After a shaky start that left the team down 22-10 towards the end of the first half, the Cossacks regrouped and reeled off a 26 point run and ended up winning the game 54-35. Since our school doesn't have a gym (we rent time at a facility for our PE classes), every game is technically a road game. However, our students and their families made a good turnout at the game.

The style of play in Russia is a bit different than in the U.S. in some ways. While American basketball is certainly very physical, it is also marked by frequent whistles for fouls called. The Russian game is a bit more fast and loose with physical play uninterrupted by the numerous fouls that are called in the U.S. There were a few moments in the game that looked more like street ball than high school basketball. I say the Russians are on to something: cut the whistles and let 'em play!

IA is blessed to have as many different programs as it does given our small size. Having two bands, a basketball team, a choir, and a drama program may not seem like a lot for most high schools, but when your entire school is only 94 students in grades K-12, it is something entirely different. We are blessed to have personnel at the school to direct the bands and plays and coach a team. The one drawback for the students is that it means that they are usually involved in ALL of these activities since our numbers are so small. Still, we are very proud of our students and the hard work that they put in in so many different areas.

The next chance we will have to watch the team play is during the field trip to Moscow in two weeks which will culminate in a basketball team. I'm looking forward to being there to cheer our team on to hopeful victory!

Here are some photographs of the Cossacks in action: