Published: November 24, 2008 03:41 pm      

One kickin’ reunion

Exchange student surprised at football game

An unlikely reunion of Austrians occurred on Godley High School’s football field Oct. 31, after what may have been one of the biggest and best-kept secrets of Godley residents in some time.

Raphael Hackl, 18, an Austrian foreign exchange student at Godley High, geared up for a game against Dallas Life that Halloween night, which also happened to be Parent’s Night. Unaware of what was to happen, he walked on the field and lined up with the rest of his team to give flowers, hugs and kisses to his host parents, Godley residents Dave and Beverly Hamilton.

Doing so would have been fine for Hackl, but the Hamiltons had a surprise for him hiding in the concession stand.

“It was just like in the movies,” Hackl said. “The announcer said, ‘Wait a minute, we have two very special guests here from Austria,’ and I saw my parents and ran into the arms of my mom.”

Raphael’s mother, Johanna, and stepdad, Fritz, flew from Austria to surprise Raphael on Parent’s Night. Beverly Hamilton had a friend pick them up from the airport and bring them to the game, which was very exciting, Johanna said. The secret was kept under lock and key, she said.

“He had tears in his eyes, and it was the same for me — just like a movie,” she said. “And many people after the game came to me saying it was so nice and really like a movie.”

Raphael’s original plans had been to return to Austria in February, but after spending a few months in Godley, he decided to stay.

“He said one sentence that I thought a lot about,” Johanna said in a telephone interview Friday. “It was, ‘Mom, I think I am home now.

“It’s not difficult for me because he’s thinking like me. I’ve been to the U.S. 10 or 11 times and always said if my kids can go to America, they should. He’s thinking like me, and I’m thinking like him.”

Beverly Hamilton said Raphael is the fifth foreign exchange student to join her family in Godley. The Hamiltons have two children of their own, including Trevor, who is less than a month shy of 17.

Raphael and Elanora, another exchange student from Italy, live with the Hamiltons and attend Godley High School.

The family accepted their first foreign exchange student from Germany in 2004, Beverly said, after her son brought home a brochure for Northwest Service Peace Programs.

“My mom said when I finished high school, we would move to America,” Raphael said. “So I decided to see how they live in America, and I like it very much. I told my mom I want to live here because I think it’s better than Austria.”

Raphael said it took no time to adjust to living in a new country with the Hamiltons.

“It wasn’t really hard because the people here are so friendly, had exchange students before, and were so excited I was here,” he said. “I’m glad to be in this family.”

Beverly said that since Raphael arrived in July for two-a-days, he and Trevor “hardly ever separate.” She said her sons were the same way with past exchange students, and “they love the experience.”

Raphael said he had an “instant family with the football team.”

Raphael played football for an Austrian club before joining the Godley Wildcats, and Ronnie Stephens, head football coach and athletic director, said he knew exactly what to do when he joined a new team.

“Whoever had coached him over there in Europe coached him well,” he said. “Raphael is a valuable kicker with a tremendous attitude and works hard.”

Stephens also said Raphael had become quite popular among students in such a short time.

“They love him, and then the girls love him,” he said. “Once he got stronger and felt more comfortable, several times after kickoff, he’d pancake someone and make a tackle, and you would have though he had won the Super Bowl the way the kids started screaming.”

Raphael would like to attend college, maybe Baylor or Texas Christian University, and play football if possible, he said.

Godley High School Principal Richard Dear said Raphael passed the TAKS test, and as long as he passes his classes, he will graduate in May.

“If he wants to go to college, and it is possible for him to get a place at college there, then I am thinking about moving,” Johanna said. “I’ve been there twice for two weeks and the people there are so kind and so friendly to him. I think he learned to have another culture.”

Raphael said he enjoys how “everybody knows everybody in Godley.” He said his home town, Baden, Austria, is much bigger.

“I like the small town,” he said.