The White Falcon - 12.11.1993, Qupperneq 8

base sports
American giant makes towering impression in Iceland
By J02 Carlos Bongioanni
Clark’s presence is unmistakable, both on and off the court. (Photo by PHI (AC) Mark
Kettenhofen)
It’s not hard noticing somebody who ducks a full
head’s length each time he passes through a door-
way or who stands head and shoulders above people
normally considered tall. Such a person, with shoes
the size of miniature skies, automatically draws at-
tention to himself.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Kyle Clark hadn’t been at
Naval Air Station Keflavik more than two weeks
when he became the center of attention again. This
time, the 305 pound, 7’ 1” Air Force officer drew
international attention when an Icelandic basket-
ball coach heard about the “American Giant.”
“While we were playing in the summer league at
the base, a friend told me about the seven-footer,”
said Kopavogar coach Palmer Sigurdsson. “I was
curious to see if he played basketball, so I called
him.”
Since that phone call, Clark has been practicing
with the Kopavogar team. So far this season, the
team is 3-1 and, with Clark’s presence, is confident
of finishing at the top in Iceland’s First League.
“We’re fighting to go up to Iceland’s highest league,” said team-
mate Bjami Thormundsson. “The team that wins our league this year
will trade places next year with the last place finishers of the Super
League. Our chances of winning have gone up tremendously since
Kyle came... He’s the tallest player in Iceland!”
Clark recently graduated from the Air Force Academy and said he
is thrilled to play competitively, after sitting out his last year at school.
“The main thing I want to do while I’m here is keep in shape and meet
our Icelandic hosts,” said Clark. “Practicing an hour and a half several
times a week with a team that plays serious basketball lets me accom-
plish both goals.”
With road trips to Egilsdottir along the eastern coast of Iceland and
to Akureyri in the north, Clark is also afforded the opportunity to see
parts of the country that many American servicemembers stationed
here will never see. Since his tour in Iceland is only one year, Clark
said he feels fortunate to do and see so much in the short time alloted.
In addition, through his exposure with the team, Clark looks
forward to acquiring the ability to speak another language. Although
he hasn’t mastered Icelandic yet, he said there’s no language barrier
during the games. “There’s a kind universal language spoken on
basketball court,” said Clark. “When the coach is yelling and
his arms, you can pretty much figure out what he wants.”
Even outside the basketball arena, being seven feet tall has been
mostly advantageous for Clark. “Sometimes its annoying having
people stare at you all the time, but most of the time it’s a great way
to meet people. The one thing almost everybody asks me, besides
how tall I am, is if my bed is long enough. It’s funny how many people
are fascinated with that. It’s really no big deal having your feet
hanging over the bed. For me it’s as natural as ducking through a
doorway. After smacking your head against a door a few times, it
comes natural to duck. When you’re this tall, you just have to adapt.”
New athletic director has high hopes for the future
By J02 (AW) Natalie Dias
Sports, working out, going to a
movie or bowling to many of us
is something we think about in
our off-time, but not for Art Ben-
jamin, the base’s new athletic
director. Besides being in charge
of the gym and intramural sports
program, he is also responsible
for operating the bowling alley,
Andrews Theater and Rockville
recreation facilities.
He arrived on Oct. 23 from
Naval Air StationLemoore, Calif.
where he was the athletic direc-
tor during an interim period Prior
to that he was the sports coordi-
nator at Naval Station Subic Bay,
Philippines for six years.
“I got my degree in Physical
Education,” he said. Benjamin
w as never in the military nor were
any of his family. He stumbled
across the possibility of working
with the military in the Philip-
pines. “My parents were living
in the Philippines and I visited
them three times. After college I
went there and started a scuba
diving business though my par-
ents had already left," he said.
After two years in the Philip-
pines, Benjamin taught French at
the high school at Subic Bay for
a year. He then took the open
sports coordinatorposition. With
this move, he strove to make a
difference in Subic Bay’s pro-
gram and intends to do the same
here.
Though only here a few weeks,
base gym users will notice some
of Benjamin’s implementations
already. He had some equipment
moved and rearranged for more
convenient use. Some painting
is also being planned.
Other changes include making
the fitness program more visible
and expanding the intramural
sports program. “I’d like to knock
it (intramural sports) up to 15,”
Benjamin said. A meeting of all
command intramural sports rep-
resentatives is taking place on
Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. in Scoreboards.
New ideas, expansion of the
program and rules for the
Admiral’s cup will be discusse^
“I like to put a lot of mys®
into all my programs,” he said.
“There’s a lot that can be done.”