By Mike Pankonien

Staff Writer

Although the IB kids are normally known for studying hard and promoting global thinking, the IB students took some time off today for a friendly game of competitive soccer.

Organized by IB English and Spanish teachers Michael Vergien and Patrick Melville, the group meets every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. on the soccer field behind the field house for a light scrimmage.  Shin guards are required, but also teaching sportsmanship and having a good time are key goals.

“I really think it’s just a great way to get some exercise.  I’m also hoping to bring the IB kids closer together since there aren’t very many of them,” Vergien said.

The practice started at 4:30 p.m. and split the kids into teams.  Since only eight students and one teacher showed up, the teams were made up of four. Vergien acted as the goalie for both teams. The team’s agreed only to use half of the field, leaving the mid field as the boundary.

“It was just Mr. Vergien and about seven other people,” junior Farah Mithani said. “It was a lot of fun playing with the other IB kids.”

Although news of the event has been around for several weeks, the games have only just started to happen. Due to rain, schedules and trouble finding a field to play on the event has been postponed multiple times.

“It’s definitely a fun idea, but lots of people have band or other things to go to,” junior Shivam Naik said. 

Despite a rough start on the first practiced scrimmage, the IB soccer games are to continue every Thursday after school behind the field house.  With no set teams, the game is focused on having fun and is used as a way for the students to get “action” hours which they need to graduate the IB program.

“It was awesome, getting to hang out with all the other IB kids and such, while getting hours at the same time,” junior Viviana Trevino said.  “I can’t wait to go again.”