Vilseck High School Students participate in Baseball Workshop With German Students

Photo By Staff Sgt. Cory Reese | Baseball bats rest on the bench in the guest team dugout on Oct. 22, 2021, in Fuerth, Germany. Many students brought baseball gear to use during the workshop at the Fuerth Pirates Baseball Club. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Cory Reese)  

FUERTH, BY, GERMANY

10.22.2021

Story by Sgt. Cory Reese 

7th Army Training Command

FUERTH, Germany – Students from Vilseck High School took a trip to compete in a friendly game of baseball with German high school students from Willstätter Gymnasium Nürnberg at the Fuerth Pirates Baseball Club on Oct. 21, 2021.
The German-American Institute Nürnberg and 7th Army Training Command coordinated with the Fuerth Pirates Baseball Club to hold a workshop for the students.
“I’ve been with the Pirates for 30 years now, and today is the first German-American workshop,” said George Barton, president of the Fuerth Pirates Baseball Club.
Julia Hügel, an English and French teacher at Willstaetter Gymnasium Nürnberg said, “It was really fascinating to see how they opened up, and they really enjoyed being able to see real Americans.”
Hügel said her students have never had the chance to use their English with Americans. Interacting with American students gave them the opportunity to use their English, which provided a great learning experience for them apart from reading in English textbooks.
“I think it was a great interaction because I never met a real American,” said Arthur Shbolyanskyy, a student at the Willstaetter Gymnasium Nuremberg.
Damon McGibboney, a volunteer coach for the Vilseck High School baseball team, said he was excited to see German and American students play together on the field and build friendships through the sport.
“Any time you have something in common with somebody, it always helps open up communication and relations,” McGibboney said. “[They] experience a different aspect of something you both have in common.”
Hügel said she could see their big smiles after the game, and they thought it was really cool. She also said her students were grateful and thanked her for taking them to the workshop. She said she was also grateful to everyone who organized the event and made it possible.
“We’re planning to do more like this, because it’s been a great success,” Barton said.
Barton said he thought it was fantastic that the 7th Army Training Command reached out to him for this opportunity to hold a workshop for German and American students. With support of the German-American Institute Nürnberg and 7th ATC, the future of the program looks bright.
American and German relationships in the Nürnberg metropolitan region has a long, positive history. To date, there are still roughly 50,000 American Soldiers, family members and civilian employees in the region. Some only about an hour away in the Grafenwoehr, Vilseck, Hohenfels and the Ansbach area communities. Nürnberg and Fuerth have always and continue to be a magnate for American families in Bavaria visit the cities for their rich history, culture, shopping opportunities and the Christkind Nürnberg (Christmas Market). The Fuerth Pirates Baseball Club event kicked off a program that furthers exchange among young adults in the region on a sport and cultural level.

• Date Taken: 10.22.2021
• Date Posted: 10.28.2021 04:57
• Story ID: 408179
• Location: FUERTH, BY, DE