By Matt Phelps

A team of Mercer Island basketball players made the journey to France in July to stay 10 days in Mercer Island’s sister city, Thonon les Bains, and four days in Paris to experience a new culture and play some basketball.

“It was really great,” said the Islander team’s head coach Paul Lagerstedt. “We got to experience the French culture. It was put in motion by the team that came here last year.”

That French team came over in the first-half of the exchange. The French boys team participated in Mercer Island High School head coach Ed Pepple’s summer basketball camp and the Lid Challenge 3-on-3 basketball tournament last year. It was the Mercer Island boys chance for a trip of a life time.

“The language difference was the most obvious challenge,” said Lagerstedt. “But most of the families that we stayed with had someone who knew English.”

The Islander team consisted of 12 basketball players: Matt Schut, Evan Zahniser, Sam Rasmussen, Drew Sexton, Jonathan Poli, Jacob Bloom, Jake Berman, Isaac Tobis, Jacob Tobis, Jack Gala, David Chase and Greg Maehara, coaches Lagerstedt and Brad Chase, along with chaperones Sheila Billbe and Rob Sexton. Jane Billbe, who is Sheila’s daughter, accompanied the team as its translator.

“The trip was a blast,” said coach Chase. “I thought it was a terrific experience for my son. The kids learned to treasure and respect the cultural differences of the French people and their French host families. But they also discovered that, despite the differences, when you get to know people a little bit you find they havemany similarities and things you can share.”

One of the biggest difference for the team was in the cuisine.

“They don’t snack much and they take their time with their meals,” said Lagerstedt. “Everyone goes home for lunch, which I thought was great.”

The team got to play five games and swept a tournament to bring a championship back to Mercer Island.

After sweeping the tournament, the French officials had an idea for a more challenging game. The Island team was comprised of 14- to 16-year-olds. The game that was set up was against a French all-star select senior team of 20- to 25-year-olds, the best in the region.

Despite the lopsided age differences, Mercer Island picked up its fifth victory of the trip with an 83-58 victory.

“They have a great passion for basketball over there and it was a great experience,” said Lagerstedt. “I had never been to France and the differences between the them and us that are portrayed in the media are over blown.”

The team even got to do some sightseeing and witness cyclist American Lance Armstrong in the mountain leg of the Tour de France in Courcheval. The team also got to go swimming and river rafting.

“Throw in the history of Europe, where the kids learned about the past and what old really is by visiting castles and churches and medieval cities,” said Chase. “Then, throw in the majesty of sites like the Eiffel Tower … and you can understand why it was such a special trip.”