Reprinted from The Gazette.

The Newport School's assistant girls basketball coach Allen Edwards refers to them as "my kids." In many ways they are. They are high-school foreign exchange students, coming to America looking for opportunities on and off the playing fields.

Part of Newport's mission statement calls for the Kensington private school to offer its students a wide variety of educational opportunities, including foreign exchange programs and trips abroad. It was no wonder headmaster Colin Stevens jumped at the chance longtime basketball coach Edwards offered him two years ago, a chance to integrate the Newport athletics teams with foreign players through his Educators Basketball Association. The EBA, of which Edwards is the director and president, is an organization based in Boyds that started out in 1989 by providing support services to youth recreation activities in the Greater Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan area. But Edwards has now made it global, with Newport's help.

"I went to all the private schools in the area to find out if the schools' programs were the right programs for my kids," said Edwards, 51. "I'm not talking bad about any of the schools, because what most of them are doing for the community is great. But some of them didn't give me what I felt I needed for my kids. I didn't get an 'open-arms' response. Some of them said, 'Yes, you're bringing them over, we'll see what we can do.' When I came here I met with the headmaster Colin Stevens, who is from Europe. His theory on education is stronger in some ways than many Americans who are involved in education. ... We sat down to discuss what I wanted to do with my kids. I said, 'This is the school I want them to come to.' He said, 'That'd be great, we'd love to have them. All I need from you is their transcripts and grades.' Once I showed him their transcripts and grades, he said, 'This is very impressive.' Once that conversation went on with Colin Stevens, I had four of my kids here."

In two years, Newport has had nine of Edwards' "kids" walking through its hallways.

The most fertile foreign territory Edwards has tilled is Russia. There are currently three kids from Russia at Newport, and a fourth who was there last year and will likely return next school year.

Edwards' interest in basketball, kids, education and foreign countries stems from his experience in all of those realms.

He was born and raised in Brunswick in Frederick County. Though he was an all-state caliber basketball player at Brunswick High, he didn't have the grades to attend college. He ended up in Viet Nam at age 17. Of the 46 boys and men he went over with, only three returned. He decided he'd been given a second chance to do something with his life. Eventually he played professional basketball overseas in Europe and Greece. A chance at a National Basketball Association contract with the Washington Bullets fizzled when he suffered a serious knee injury. Edwards turned to coaching basketball instead of playing it. Soon he was giving inspirational speeches about the importance of education and staying in school. Then he founded the EBA. Through his European contacts, including former Minnesota Timberwolves international scout Boris Karebian of Russia, he started opening the door for foreign nationals to attend Newport. The three current Russian student-athletes play basketball for the Tigers.

Getting them to this country and to Newport has not always been a smooth operation. But their stories are all interesting and interconnected.

"A friend of mine knew Mr. Edwards, and told me about the opportunity to continue my education here [in the United States]," said Anastasia Goncharova, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward on the girls basketball team, who was the first foreign player Edwards brought to Newport. "I knew basketball here was much better than in Russia. So one day Mr. Edwards called me, and I said, 'OK, I will come.' I didn't know who Mr. Edwards was or where I was going. I fly to airport and nobody came to meet me. I was there for three hours. I was thinking maybe I should change my ticket and go back to Russia."

She stayed has become a hot commodity for college recruiters.

Katya Trubitsyna is a 5-10 guard/forward on the girls varsity who also has a chance to play at the college level. She and Goncharova knew each other in Moscow and met at a summer tournament in the U.S. Trubitsyna was in the country at the time, because her father worked at the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. She had attended Woodrow Wilson High the previous school year, but was about to return to Russia with her parents. She did not want to go home. Goncharova told her about Newport and Edwards, and she got into the program.

The other Russian import at Newport is 6-4 senior power forward Dmitry Anoshin, who plays for the boys team and is a college prospect. One of Anoshin's youth coaches in Moscow was Goncharova's father. Karebian is a close contact of Goncharova's dad as well.

"I got a call at about four o'clock in the morning," said Anoshin with a laugh of his move to the U.S. "I didn't understand anything [Mr. Edwards] was saying. I just kept saying, 'Yes, yes, yes.' "

Most impressive about these kids is not their play on the court, but their courage to live in another country and their performance in the classroom. All are standout students, something Edwards insists upon. Each has also picked up the English language very quickly, despite not knowing very much of it before their arrival.

"I bring kids over here, and they want to play sports here and go to college," said Edwards. "I can promise every kid a great education, but I can't promise them a [college] scholarship, and they know that.

"I'm in a position to give kids opportunities. But education has to be first. Basketball, or any other sport is the vehicle, but education is the key. ... There are some people out there who think of Newport as a 'jock school.' But I would put our educational achievement and grades up against anybody.

"My kids, especially, I would put up against anybody in the country. Any time you can come from some other land, speak the English language correctly and understand American government and carry all A's and be on the headmaster's list, that's something to talk about."

For the EBA kids, Edwards is like a father figure. In fact, several of them live with him and his wife Kim. Others reside with other American families. There are no scholarships given. Edwards and his organization raise money to cover Newport's $14,000 tuition for each.

Foreign kids need a visa to go to school here in the U.S. There's lots of paperwork. In addition, Edwards has had to establish and maintain good relationships with the embassies of different countries so they will allow the kids to come here. The effort has been worth it for himself, his family, his "kids" and those they touch when they come here.

"These kids can make a difference in someone else's life," said Edwards. "These kids have already made a difference in the American kids' lives. And the American kids have made a big difference in their lives. It's a win-win situation. When my kids graduate from college and go back to their countries and become leaders, which I'm quite sure they will, they'll have the experience of knowing about another culture. Same thing with the American kids ... I know it can only make it a better world when we can share cultures on a positive note."