No trouble fitting in for these St. Charles North stars

No matter the sport or level, teams are always looking for an infusion of new talent to strengthen their program.

In high school, that talent usually arrives via incoming freshmen, or the occasional transfer. This year's St. Charles North tennis team has benefited from those types of additions. But the biggest impact may be due to the arrival of two students who've traveled a long way to be here.

Foreign exchange students Felix Nitzsche and Ludvig Runestam have stepped into the St. Charles North lineup, and could help the North Stars take their program to the next level. And the best part of it may be how smooth the transition has been for all involved.

"If they'd had some sort of difficulty adjusting or getting along with the team, things might have been different," St. Charles North coach Tim Matacio said. "But these are great guys, and they've been received very well by the rest of the kids."

Nitzsche is from Leipzig, a town of roughly a half million people located about two hours south of Berlin in what two decades ago we called East Germany.

"Before 1989 you could only travel in the Eastern European countries," Nitzsche said. "But now it's actually pretty popular for German students to come here."

Nitzsche, who speaks English extremely well, was already ahead of the game when it came to communicating with his new classmates. But there were some surprises waiting for him.

"Americans are really nice, polite, funny, and relaxed, I didn't expect that," he said. "Everyone has been very friendly to me."

Back home, his mother is an educator, and his father works for John Deere. But his father's employment with the American company is not Nitzsche's only connection to the U.S. His older brother has visited this country, though only for a brief stay.

"I'm the first one in my family to spend a lot of time here," Nitzsche said. "I wanted to see something of the world, and learn about the people and the culture here."

Getting acclimated to life as a high school student in St. Charles was actually fairly easy for Nitzsche. He ran cross country in the fall, and gradually adjusted to his new surroundings.

His outgoing personality and curiosity about this country has served Nitzsche well.

"Felix is an upbeat, good natured kid, and a hard worker," Matacio said. "He's done very well here."

But coming to a new and very different country, there are some things that will always stand out for him.

"Everything is much larger here," Nitzsche said. "The houses are bigger, the cars are much bigger, and the food here is huge."

Nitzsche has stepped into the No. 1 singles spot for the North Stars, a role that he took to quickly and is enjoying very much.

"I'm glad I came to a good tennis school, and I really like playing here," Nitzsche said. "In Germany there is more concentration on adult tennis than on junior tennis. Here I get to play six times a week. In Germany, we don't play for our school, we play in clubs, and you only play about two times a week."

Any time a team adds a new player to the top of the singles lineup it allows others to step into the roles that suit them best. That's great for the team as a whole, as long as the player at the top can handle the pressure and expectations that come with filling that spot.

"He has not been overwhelmed by any stretch," Matacio said. "I'm interested in seeing how he continues to respond to the competition he sees. He's very comfortable playing at a high level. He just goes out there and plays whoever he's matched up against."

While being a mystery to his opponents can provide an advantage for Nitzsche, it sometimes works the other way, too.

"When you know someone you're playing against you know their strengths and you know what they don't do very well," Nitzsche said. "So not knowing anything about them can be a disadvantage for me."

When he returns home at the end of the school year, Nitzsche will still have two more years left of high school, despite being considered a senior here.

Runestam will also have two more years of high school when he returns to his home in Stockholm, Sweden.

A major part of Runestam's transition has involved getting accustomed to the differences in the availability of public transportation between Stockholm and what he has experienced in this country.

"In Stockholm we have trains and buses that go every 20 minutes, and we can't drive until we're 18," Runestam said. "Here, you really can't go anywhere unless you have a ride."

But for him, the transition has gone beyond the basics of getting accustomed to a different language and customs.

"There are differences that I didn't think about before I came here," he said. "With school, it's stricter here. It's more structured here, and there's more personal responsibility in European schools."

Runestam explained that high schools in Scandinavia are structured in a way that more closely resembles our colleges, allowing students more freedom in setting their schedules while demanding a greater level of personal responsibility.

"Ludvig is one of the most mature kids on our team," Matacio said. "He has a great attitude and work ethic, and he's very coachable."

His parents own a business that involves working with other countries in Europe, and as a result, his family has traveled quite a bit. While Runestam's parents have also been to this country, Ludvig is the first member of his family to stay here for an extended visit.

That will change next year, when his sister will travel as an exchange student to a school in South Dakota.

"I will tell her to be open, talk with people, and ask questions if there is something you don't understand," Runestam said.

Runestam is playing doubles for the North Stars, and, as is the case with his fellow European teammate, there are some differences in the way high school tennis is played here.

"This is a fun experience, something new," Runestam said. "I haven't played a lot on hardcourts outside. We play more on clay, so that's different."

How new teammates relate to one another can prove a challenge for coaches. Matacio, however, has been spared all of that.

"If you watched our team play and the kids interact with one another, you wouldn't know who the exchange students are," Matacio said. "That's a testament to the type of kids we have and the kind of team we are."