EMU’s Shank Enjoying City’s Latino Culture

By Mike Barber, Daily News-Record

Adam Shank took a somewhat circuitous route to broadening his horizons. Coming out of Eastern Mennonite High School, the life-long Harrisonburg resident wanted to move out of the area for college, experience something new.

Instead, he went to college at Eastern Mennonite University, a couple hundred yards from his high school, where he excelled as a student and a soccer player from 2002 until this year.

"Being that EMU was so close to home, it was one of the drawbacks for me," Shank said. "I grew up only about a mile down the road. That was something that I consciously thought about. ‘I grew up here. I’m going to school, even in college, I’m still here. I want to get out and see the world a little bit.’"

Three years ago, Shank did just that, fulfilling his cross-cultural requirement for EMU by traveling and studying for three months in Guatemala.

There, he fell in love with the culture. When he returned, he declared as a Spanish major.

Part of his junior year, he studied in Spain and suddenly the kid who knew little of the world beyond Harrisonburg was fluent in Spanish and filled with stories of his travels.

Many of those stories revolve around soccer, Shank’s other passion.

"Being interested in soccer and knowing a lot about it helped me connect so well to a lot of people down there," Shank said.

In Guatemala, Shank played soccer in the streets with neighborhood children, marking off imaginary goals with rocks.

In Spain, he made friends his own age with whom he rented spaces in parks to play soccer once a week.

This year, Shanks’ senior year, he spent back at EMU, focusing on graduating and, of course, soccer. One of the Royals’ three captains this past season, Shank scored two goals and had four assists. He finished his career tied for 16th all-time at the school in assists with 11.

More importantly to Shank, he helped EMU reach the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship game for the first time since 1998. In that game, the Royals lost to top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan, 4-2, on penalty kicks.

"It was pretty devastating, especially for me because I was a senior and captain," Shanks said. "I ended up missing my PK and then another guy on our team missed his, so we ended up losing. Its always a terrible way to lose, in PKs. For me I’d like to keep playing to you drop dead or someone scores."

That pretty much sums up Shank’s drive, EMU coach Roger Mast said.

"Adam thrives on being able to just wear down an opponent," Mast, the Royals’ coach for the past 15 seasons, said. "His stamina and fitness are amazing."

Mast has a unique insight into Shank, and not only because he’s coached him the past four years. Mast also went from EMHS to EMU and understood Shank’s initial reluctance to follow that path.

"I said I’d never go to EMU, it was too close," Mast, a 1985 EMU grad, said. "Sometimes in recruiting the local players I hear that a lot. … With our cross-cultural experience, kids do have a chance to get away for an extended period of time."

At the end of May, Shank – who graduated EMU with a double-major in Spanish and justice, peace and conflict studies – was honored as the ODAC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.

"Obviously, from an athletic perspective that’s not the award you set out to win," the candid Shank said. "I would love to be good enough to be just ODAC Men’s Athlete of the Year, but it’s definitely an honor to be recognized for being able to hold together the academic side as well as athletics."

Now that he’s graduated, Shank said he’d like to return to Latin America, for a lengthier stay, to live and work. He’s also interested in working in his hometown, perhaps helping Spanish-speaking families assimilate their children into the Harrisonburg school system.

Just because he’s still in Harrisonburg, Shank hasn’t had to abandon Spanish or soccer. He plays in a recreational soccer league on a team sponsored by El Charro’s Mexican restaurant. Shank was one of only a few non-Latino players on the team, and the team is one of the only ones in the league with any white players.

"There’s not many white people, no," Shank said with a smile. "Not many gringos."

Mast credits former Turner Ashby and Bridgewater College standout Jose Gallardo with helping "bridge the gap" between the Latino culture and white players in the city. Gallardo, whose family owns El Charro, died in a car crash in Mexico in June 2005, at the age of 20, but Mast said his influence is still being felt and his efforts taken even further by players like Shank.

"Jose Gallardo was a bridge to the Latino community," Mast said. "I think he may have opened the door, and some of these guys have continued that."

Turner Ashby coach Phil Landes, a 1987 EMU grad, agreed that Gallardo’s impact has created opportunities on both sides of the cultural divide.

"He embraced not only his culture but also our culture in a way that was unique," Landes said. "For whatever reason he didn’t feel alienated by our culture. … I think that’s why people looked up to him and why people remember him."

Sunday, as the El Charro team warmed up, Shank moved seamlessly between his white and Latino teammates. When play started, while their opponent’s chatter was entirely in Spanish, the El Charro team’s communications were split 50-50 between English and Spanish.

At halftime, leading comfortably, the entire team talked about the World Cup, made plans to watch the United States’ first game and joked about starting an El Charro softball team next summer.

Shank still longs to travel and immerse himself deeper into the Latino culture. But for now, he’s content enjoying a little slice of that lifestyle closer to home.

— article by: Mike Barber, Daily News-Record; posted June 16, 2006