China loves basketball. That fact was very evident as Coach Stirtz held a short shooting clinic for twelve students from Tian Jia Bing High School in Liuyang, China. They arrived in Liberty on Thursday, August 26 and have experienced Liberty High and Liberty North schools.
"They simply love the game," remarked Coach Stirtz. "Any time they have a break in their schedule they ask for a ball so they can shoot baskets. During the little clinic, they were great listeners to what was being taught and then they did their best at practicing the new skill. It was very special to see their passion and enthusiasm for the game."
Basketball has taken China by storm. With the creation of the USA Olympic Dream Team in '92, the world was introduced to and inspired by the next level of basketball. Lately, its been Yao Ming who has taken the country's status as hero. Although, Kobe Bryant could be considered just as popular as Yao in China. To put it in perspective, there are about 300 million Americans in the US. China has 300 million people playing basketball. That's a love of the game.
"We love basketball," states Jenny, one of the exchange students. "The older generation in China plays a lot of table tennis but the young people play basketball. We love Yao, Kobe, and LeBron."
The visitors were given a BlueJay wristband, a BlueJay basketball t-shirt, and a Stat Pack/Scrapbook as gifts from the program.
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