Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent on the club? (I had heard that there were many players of Tongan and New Zealand nationality.)
A more appropriate question to ask is this, "Is there a strong non-U.S. contingent at the school?" Highland High School is a designated ESL (English as a Second Language) school. Depending upon the school year, between 25% to 30% of the student body are enrolled in the ESL program. Immigrants, refugees, etc. that come to the Salt Lake area have the children enrolled at Highland because of the excellent English language program. At present, 37 languages, other than English, are spoken by students as a first language at Highland. Talk about diversity! Many students come here with little or no English speaking ability.
While we get students from all over the country, presently the majority of students come from Latin America, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe. We are seeing more African students of late. Several years ago we saw a flood of Southeast Asian immigrants.
Naturally we have some non-U.S. citizens who are students and participate in most all sports at the school, both sanctioned and unofficial sports. (You hear more Spanish being spoken on the Highland soccer team than English!) Although rugby has more students participating than football at Highland, there are more non-U.S. students playing football than are playing rugby.
The team is bigger than any player or any coach. We put our personal wants and wishes aside for the sake of the team. We sacrifice for the team.
We have dominated because we get the best athletes in the school, they work hard and train hard, and, I believe, are properly coached.
What attracted the non-U.S. players to Salt Lake City?
Utah has become a popular place for immigration because we have so much space here and the economy is so good. There is virtually no unemployment here. The LDS Church is also a major draw. Many people want to come to "Zion." Highland High School gets a disproportionate share of immigrants because of the English program.
Answering but not answering the question ... the invisible boys from New Zealand.
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