Junior Julie Pospisilova, a foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic, came to Downers Grove this past August. Back home, Pospisilova plays shooting guard on the Czech Republic U17 national basketball team.

Pospisilova has gained interest from many colleges and has received a scholorship offer to play Division I basketball at Indiana University.

Contrary to popular belief, she did not come to the United States for basketball.

“I wanted to come to the United States to improve my English. My brother was also a foreign exchange student and my dad wanted me to experience America,” Pospisilova said.

Sophomore Colby Murphy and her family are Pospisilova’s host family. To host a foreign exchange student, families have to go through a background check and once they are cleared, they get to choose which foreign exchange student they want to host.

“We were looking through the forms and my dad saw that she played basketball which was what stood out for us,” Murphy said.

Shortly after, Pospisilova knew that the Murphy family was interested in her so she sent a letter to the family telling them more about herself. From there, the family decided to select Pospisilova and she was notified not long after.

In addition to playing with the varsity team, Murphy and Pospisilova play for a club basketball team called Chicago Hoops Express.

The girls’ head varsity basketball coach, Stephan Bolt, is excited to have  Pospisilova as a part of the team.

“I am looking forward to coaching her, I haven’t been able to yet because we’re not in season, but from what I can see she is a very unselfish player, she’s talented, she encourages her teammates and she’s a team player. She has a selfless attitude which is huge if you want to have team success,” Bolt said.

Bolt is looking forward to the start of the season. He is also curious to see how Pospisilova will be able to help the team.

“It will be interesting to see how the games translate because they are different. She is a very skilled player with a high basketball IQ that can definitely help us. Her size helps as well because that’s something the team lacks a little bit,” Bolt said.

Returning varsity basketball player junior Margaret Miller is looking forward to the upcoming season.

“She definitely brings a lot of positivity to the team. It’s nice to have a good player with really great skills on our team because I think she can really help us,” Miller says, “I think we have a shot at doing well this season, especially because of Julie.”

Senior Savannah Shepherd is a returning varsity basketball player who will be alongside Pospisilova.

“It’s new and interesting because I’ve been playing with the same girls for four years so it’s a different feeling having someone come in from the outside to play with us,” Shepherd said.