SPORTS
Former exchange student plays pro football in native country Finland
Every year American high schools and communities welcome foreign exchange students from all over the world. They spend a year soaking up both American culture and education with a host family before heading back home.
Henri Väänänen, was a 16-year-old from Finland when he first came to small town Bowie for the 2011-12 school year.
Today, at age 24 he is back home in Texas during February visiting his host mom Lynetta Slaton and his adopted hometown. Things have changed for the young man as he has been playing professional football in Europe and sharing his passion for the sport. However, when he returns home he expects to begin studying to become a sports trainer.
He does not recall exactly what attracted him to visit America, but it was something Väänänen had been thinking about when a presenter came to his school and started talking about the program.
“I went in and heard him out and then actually my dad talked to me about it too,” Väänänen said. “He asked me if I’d ever thought about it, and I told him that I had, and he kind of encouraged me to do it. Said he would help me pay for it and all that kind of stuff.”
Picking America as his preferred destination, Slaton ended up picking him. Attending Bowie High School, Väänänen said the experience was more about personal growth than anything.
“I didn’t know anyone here when I came over here,” Väänänen said. “I was going to be living with a stranger basically for a year. I’d have to make all new friends to go to a new school. My English was good by Finish standards, but I still had an accident when I came over here.”
One American custom Väänänen was familiar with is the attraction to football. Väänänen played soccer for 10 years before around the age of 13 or 14 when he and his two other friends discovered American football.
“I remember in gym class we were playing flag football and me and a couple of my friends thought it was boring,” Väänänen said. “We wanted to hit some people. So we looked it up online and saw there was a local club team in the city where I’m from and showed up at the next practice.”
Väänänen played football at Bowie, and while he had a few years of experience playing on youth teams and even the men’s team, practices were usually once a week and not everyone took it as serious.
“The preparation and all the stuff that goes into playing football over here,” Väänänen said. “It’s much more intense than over in Finland.”
With quality coaching easily available here at most levels and a daily presence in the lives of its participants because it’s a school sport all combined to a show Väänänen a level of football he had not seen in Finland.
The popular sports in Finland people follow are ice hockey and Formula One racing among others. Everywhere else in the world, football is just the name for soccer. People have to clarify that it is American football.
When Väänänen got back to Finland, he kept playing the game. Even with everyone in his friend group eventually walking away from the game, Väänänen stuck with the sport he loved.
He kept working his way up to the top men’s team at his club and found himself in an enviable position. There are five divisions to Finland’s football league, with the top league, Vaahteraliiga, usually consisting of six to eight of the best club teams in the country.
If a club under performs, they can be sent down a division.
Väänänen’s local club he had been playing in, the Helsinki Roosters, is the most successful club in Sweden’s history. Having never dropped down from the Vaahteraliiga league, the Roosters have won 20 league titles, including every year from 2012-2017 along with a Eurobowl and Champions League title.
At this high level, the organization and preparation starts to resemble what is expected in the U.S. as teams import American players in order to keep a leg up. In most cases, the quarterbacks on these teams are American as well.
Väänänen is a quarterback, but knows at the highest levels clubs prefer having American quarterbacks. They are the players who get paid to come over while most local players, even those in the highest league, cannot make a living just playing football.
Still, winning several league titles and playing for his country on the national team are just some of the cool things Väänänen has done since he returned to Europe.
Väänänen experienced what it was like to live off of playing football alone this past season. He played professionally in the Czech Republic for the Ostrava Steelers until they let him go when he suffered a neck injury. He was then picked up by the Brno Sigrs to finish out the season.
“I didn’t have to do anything else,” Väänänen said. “Just workout, practice, play, enjoy the country, meet new people. It was a great experience.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers again made a come back win against Perrin-Whitt in a high scoring affair that ended early.
The Lady Panthers won 20-10 against the Lady Pirates, winning after six innings due to run-rule.
Saint Jo’s last game had been 12 days earlier against the same Perrin-Whitt team it had also beaten in a high-scoring game 35-20. Another win would secure the Lady Panthers district title.
Saint Jo started off the game well, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0. The Lady Pirates then reeled off nine runs in the bottom of the second inning which usually would change the whole momentum of the game with them up 9-6.
Perrin-Whitt added one more run in the third inning after holding Saint Jo scoreless, which is another rare feat in the team’s history of playing the other. The Lady Pirates led 10-6 and had momentum.
Then the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead back. Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up to not allow any more runs in the final three innings while the Lady Panthers added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
It was enough to end the game early by one inning, with Saint Jo winning 20-10.
Symbri Evans and Reagan Wilson each had four RBIs to lead the team while Mercedes Diaz was second with three RBIs. The team finished with 20 hits while drawing nine walks.
Defensively, Saint Jo allowed only seven walks, a good improvement from a lot of games where the total in the double-digits while the Lady Panther defense committed four fielding errors and allowed 15 hits.
The win wrapped up a district title for the team. For the girl’s program, it is the fourth team district title this season, having already secured one in volleyball, basketball and track.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians ended their regular season on a sour note against one of the top teams in the district last week.
The Lady Indians lost to Lindsay 12-2, with the game ending after five innings due to run-rule.
Nocona was coming off of securing its first playoff appearance the previous week, but knew it would be tested against a Lady Knights team they had previously lost to handily in late March. The Lady Indians hoped they could competed better and try to treat the game like a playoff game.
Lindsay led after the first inning 1-0. Nocona came back in the second inning with two runs scored by RBI singles from Ashlynn Brown and Gwyndelyn Forsyth to take the lead 2-1. The Lady Knights tied the game with one run in the same inning to make it 2-2.
Unfortunately, the next three innings belonged to Lindsay. The Lady Knights scored six runs in the third inning to grab momentum. Lindsay then scored three runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth inning to end the game early due to run-rule.
The Lady Knights won 12-2.
Nocona ended with four hits while drawing six walks in the game. Lindsay finished with 11 hits and the Lady Indians committed four fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up wins against Era last week to secure their second straight playoff appearance with one more game to play.
The Indians beat the Hornets 12-5 and by run-rule 10-0 after four and half innings.
Nocona was coming off of a tough series against Muenster, losing both games, playing well in one but not the other.
The Indians knew they had a good chance to beat Era if they played up to their potential and they showed it from the first inning in game one.
Nocona rallied off seven runs in the first inning before the Hornets had even bat to put itself in a good situation to possibly end the game early.
The only downside was the Indians were not able to offensively keep up the pressure. Nocona added one run in the seventh inning, two in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
Era scored four of its five runs in the final inning to put a bit of a sour note on an Indians win that could have finished stronger as Nocona won 12-5.
Miller Jentry led the team with four RBIs while Walker Murphey and Jayce Lehde each drove in two runs. The team had 16 total hits and drew five walks.
On the mound, RJ Walker pitched three innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven. The defense committed three fielding errors.
While letting the Hornets off the hook in the first game, Nocona made up for it in game two.
The Indians scored seven runs in one inning again, this time it coming in the second inning. Nocona added three runs the next two innings and shut out Era to secure the win by run-rule after four and half innings. The Indians won 10-0.
Brody Langford and Murphey each drove in two runs each to lead the team. Nocona finished with 10 hits, with four going for extra base hits while Era committed three fielding errors.
On the mound, Walker pitched all five innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out eight and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a tough game at Perrin-Whitt last week, with most of the damage coming in the sixth and final inning.
The Pirates scored eight runs in the sixth inning to win the game one inning early due to run-rule 16-6.
The Panthers were coming off an uplifting win against Bellevue that saw them come back several times the previous week on the road. Saint Jo had played Perrin-Whitt in late March and had lost both games in close fashion so the Panthers hoped this time would be a different outcome for them.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings before Saint Jo answered with three runs scored in the third inning. Perrin-Whitt added one run in the same inning and three in the fourth inning.
The Panthers cut the lead down to two runs after scoring three more runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo had an inning from hell, allowing eight runs on five singles, a triple, two walks and a hit batter. The final run scored ended the game early.
Perrin-Whitt won 16-6.
Charlie Barclay led the team with two RBIs while Devin Stewart, Trent Gaston, Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrester each drove in one run. Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew seven walks.
Unfortunately, the Panthers gave up 12 hits and walked seven batters while committing two fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles only played one game last week due to weather concerns later in the week and lost to Perrin-Whitt.
The Pirates won 15-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule in a game the Eagles hopes to forget.
Bellevue had one from Brycen Bancroft and River Trail drew the only walk in a game where not much went right. Eight fielding errors from the Eagles, eight walks issues and six hits added up really fast.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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