In the George Mason University Field House, basketball campers quickly raise their hands and eagerly attempt to answer Coach Jim Larranaga's questions. His questions, however, focus not on basketball but geography, as he poses such inquiries as "What is the biggest state in the United States?" and "How many states begin with the letter 'M'?"
"Our philosophy has always been that athletics and academics go hand in hand," said Larranaga, GMU’s men’s basketball coach. He has been giving his campers "Coach L's Geography Quiz" for a couple of years. The quizzes stem from his own experiences with his father, who would take Larranaga on road trips around the country, testing him on geography and history. He expected Larranaga to know the presidents in chronological order and all 50 states and their capitals. "That has stuck with me and I've passed it along to my sons and now also my basketball campers," said Larranaga.
This year, though, Larranaga has not only administered his signature geography quizzes, but also worked with Geography Department Chair Allan Falconer to create the World Ball. Their joint efforts have resulted in an NCAA-regulation basketball that also serves as an accurate scale globe, as approved by the National Geographic Society. "Most people don't have a globe at home, flat maps don't do it for you and since most kids love basketball, they will now get their information from the ball they play with," said Falconer. Unlike a map, Falconer explained, the ball makes it easy to see that the whole of the United States can fit comfortably inside the Sahara desert in Africa.
FALCONER APPROACHED Larranaga after reading the results of the National Geographic-Roper survey and hearing about Coach L's quizzes. The survey revealed that half of young Americans ages 18 to 24 cannot identify New York on a map, and that six in 10 young Americans cannot find Iraq on a map of the Middle East. Both Falconer and Larranaga feel that in an age of globalization, a basic knowledge of geography is increasingly important.
Falconer and Larranaga are also working to see how else they can use the world ball to increase geographic literacy. They're speaking with both the Department of Education in Virginia and National Geographic about possibilities and they hope to put up a Web site with Coach L's geography quizzes for kids in school, said Falconer.
For now, though, they have already been able to spread Larranaga's beliefs about learning amongst the campers. "Too many times kids think education isn't fun and I think the opposite," said Larranaga, who believes there's nothing more fun than learning.
Although school is out for summer, the campers appear to have enjoyed the incorporation of education into the camp. "I liked learning what the small countries were," said camper James Forcier.
"It's good that he put geography into the basketball camp because it's fun to learn about new places," said camper Marty Nihen, who has spent two weeks at the camp.
During the Aug. 1 camp, campers rushed to the baskets filled with world balls, each reaching for their own. Covered with multi-colored continents, the bright blue balls soon begin to bounce throughout the field house.
“You can’t give this away without people getting excited,” said Falconer. “Everybody wants one.”