Pontus Waara knew his skill with a ball was the simplest way to find new friends in a strange land.
The 18-year-old exchange student from Sweden fit right into life at Prince George's D.P. Todd secondary school when he joined the senior boys soccer team in the fall before cracking the basketball lineup.
"I just did [soccer] because it's easier to get friends when you're in a team sport," said Waara. "To get to know people."
Despite his European roots, Waara said basketball is where his heart lies when it comes to sports.
"You don't need to be a good scorer to be a good basketball player," he said. "You can be a good defender or a good rebounder to make the team."
On the basketball court his six-foot-three frame makes Waara an ideal post player but he also contributes as a guard to the Trojans basketball team.
Waara hails from Linkoping, Sweden, located on the coast about two hours south of Stockholm. He arrived in Prince George in August as part of the exchange student program Shanaca.
"My sister went as an exchange student to another country and I thought it was fun so I wanted to try it," said Waara, adding his sister spent time in Argentina about three years ago. "At first I wanted to go to the U.S.A., but I was too old. They said I could go to Canada instead.
"I thought it was basically the same," he added. "But I learned it's not the same. I think the people are more friendly here and they care more than they do down in the states."
One of the first, and closest, friends Waara made in Prince George is fellow Trojans soccer and basketball player Garret Hill.
It's a friendship built through sport, first in helping the Trojans soccer team earn a berth at the provincial championship in Vancouver last fall and now on the basketball court and on the ski hill at Purden working on their snow boarding techniques.
"He's a natural athlete so he could probably pick up anything real quickly," said Hill. "He played soccer back in Sweden so he was pretty good. I'm a defender and he's a striker so in practice we'd always be matched up against each other. It was fun. He's a strong guy but I can stop him, but sometimes he overpowers me."
The boys' friendship will go on until school ends in June when Waara returns to Sweden where he'll finish is senior year of high school.
"I'm skipping one year here," said Waara. who's taking four classes. "This is like a break."
Hill said he'd like to remain friends with Waara.
"My dad's never been to Sweden and he said he'd like to go," said Hill. "Hopefully we can go there one day. It would be nice to see him again and where he's from."
