Hoffman Estates embraces, celebrates its diversity

Haircuts have been few and far between for 18-year-old Arman Sandhu.

A first generation Indian-American, Sandhu closely follows many of the traditions of his parents, who grew up in India and immigrated to the United States in 1990.

One of those traditions comes from the family's Sikh religion, in which followers do not cut their hair.

“I'm a little more lenient with it,” Sandhu said. “I've cut my hair before. But not much. My hair goes down my back, past the middle of my back.

“I put it in a turban.”

Sandhu wears his turban everywhere — to school, to basketball practice, and in games. Sandhu is a senior on the Hoffman Estates basketball team, where he says that he stands out with his turban on the basketball court; but at the same time, he fits right in on a team that is one of the most unique and diverse teams in the Northwest suburbs.

“The turban is definitely a challenge. But it's the right kind of challenge for me,” Sandhu said. “It's part of my identity and by wearing it even while I'm playing basketball, I'm not conforming to society. I'm pushing myself to be a stronger person, to do what I believe in.

“We've got a lot of people like that on our team. We're trying to be better basketball players on our team, just like every other team, but one thing that our coach always emphasizes is that we're also trying to be better people by learning about acceptance and about all the differences on our team.”

The Hoffman Estates boys basketball team is a microcosm of Hoffman Estates High School, which is a melting pot of different cultures, ethnicities, religions and nationalities; the United Nations of suburban high schools, if you will.

Of the 15 players and four managers on the boys basketball team, all 19 are considered ethnic or a minority of some sort.

There are a total, by ethnicity, five Indians like Sandhu on the team, three Mexicans, two Polish kids, and a Turkish kid. There are also four blacks, an Asian, and three biracial kids.

“Hoffman Estates High School is the most diverse school I've ever seen. It's got to be the most diverse in the Mid-Suburban League for sure,” Hoffman Estates boys basketball coach Luke Yanule said. “And our team is so reflective of our high school.

“I think our team is pretty rare, too. In my 21 years of experience as a basketball coach, I've never seen a team like ours, especially in a sport like basketball.

“The dynamic of our team is fascinating. And it's great to see at a time when there is so much division in our country. It's nice that our players can come together through basketball. They've become like a family and that has allowed them to really appreciate the differences between them. They have learned a lot about each other and have made memories that will last a lifetime.”

Junior Levent Sertesan, who is Turkish and a second-generation American, loves to hear about the different traditions and customs of his teammates. He'll tell them of his favorite Turkish food, Kusta, which is fried or baked ground beef formed into long oval strips. He also tells them about one of his favorite Turkish holidays in the fall called Didrum, where loved ones grab each other's hands, kiss each other's forehead and exchange gifts.

“Sometimes after we win, we'll go out to eat and talk about all of our different cultures,” Sertesan said. “We talk about all the different languages we speak, and what we believe in. It's definitely very interesting.”

Jasmine Gonzalez has been a manager of the basketball team all four years she's been at Hoffman Estates. She is a first-generation Mexcian-American whose parents both grew up in Mexico.

Two other managers are Mexican and the fourth is biracial.

Gonzalez likes to tell of her family tradition on special occasions to eat one of her favorite dishes, pozole. It's a type of soup with chicken and vegetables.

“We talk about this stuff a lot and we really respect each other for all of our differences,” Gonzalez said. “It's rare for us to play other teams that are even a little bit like us, with the many backgrounds we have and the differences we have.

“I think it makes it so much more fun and special to us to be a part of something like this.”

Senior Philip Ziecina is Polish and his parents were immigrants from Poland, but he considers himself very assimilated.

“I am pretty Americanized,” Ziecina said. “But there are definitely things we do that are very Polish. My whole family speaks Polish at home, we attend church a lot, which is big with Polish people. It's like a Catholic Mass but it's in Polish and everything.

“We eat a lot of Polish food, potatoes and pork, things that are very hearty.”

Ziecina says he spends a lot of time talking with his teammates about their backgrounds, and the uniqueness of their team.

“We play all these other schools, and so many of the teams are almost like monotone, all the same,” Ziecina said. “To look at our team, the diversity is amazing. And we are proud of it. I mean, we have five players of Indian descent on the team. You just don't see that in basketball. We're always talking about stuff like that, about how rare and different our team is. It's a pretty cool topic of conversation.”

And the life lessons learned are not only cool, but invaluable.

Coaches always say that they are trying to teach their players about responsibility and sportsmanship and teamwork and work ethic, among other things that are typical to the team experience.

At Hoffman Estates, the lessons taken in by the boys basketball team extend way beyond that, to tolerance, acceptance and inclusion.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw