Luìza Mendes is walking on a new home turf 5,000 miles away from home.
She is an exchange student from Brazil and moved to Kirkwood just one month ago. Mendes is playing field hockey for her first time.
Mendes, junior, signed up for field hockey this fall trying to find her way at KHS. She plays on C-Team, which teaches beginning players the basics of the game.
“I love field hockey so far,” Mendes, forward, said. “Nobody really knew how to play at first so everyone is learning together.”
Mendes is catching on quickly to the English language, she said. Her coaches and teammates have had few communication issues despite her having grown up speaking Portuguese.
Katie Martin, head C-Team field hockey coach, said Mendes speaks English well and has been an eager learner.
“There are absolutely no communication issues,” Martin said. “Luìza understands all of the field hockey strategy that we give her.”
Teammates have taken a quick liking to Mendes. Martin said assimilating into the team culture has been natural.
“All the players love her,” Martin said. “They’re all very interested in her unique backstory but also are trying to make her feel at home.”
For Mendes, the experience of playing a KHS sport has been nothing but positive. In addition to making friends, she has also displayed perseverance and a sociable personality. Martin thinks the social aspects of field hockey are the biggest help to Mendes.
“The whole team is benefitting from Luìza’s unique perspective,” Martin said. “She’s gaining valuable social skills every day.”
Mendes’ expectations for the season are simple: win a lot of games. However, Martin said her goals for Mendes and the rest of the team are also simple.
“I want all the girls to master the basic skills of field hockey,” Martin said. “But I also just want them to walk away after the season is over with a good experience.”
For Mendes, field hockey has been a great ambassador to Kirkwood. She only moved to Kirkwood a month ago but she already feels comfortable.
“Everything is great,” Mendes said. “I like Kirkwood. It’s a beautiful city.”
