New country. New language. Same sport.

Freshman defenseman Regnars Udris — known as “Reggie” by his teammates — came to SMCHS all the way from Latvia for a chance to play ice hockey with the Eagles.

“Here is good hockey,” Udris said. “I search all America and Santa Margarita invited me.”

An SMCHS coach met Udris at an overseas tournament in Moscow at the end of last year. There, arrangements were made for him to join the Eagles’ team.

After a Skype call and coordination with the U.S. embassy in Latvia, SMCHS sponsored his student visa and on Aug. 1, 2014, Udris came to the U.S. and the home of junior Evan Meeks.

“My parents asked me about it last year,” Meeks said. “We heard from the coaches that they had a Latvian kid who wanted to come here to play hockey and so we figured, why not.”

Udris is the third international student, preceded by Finnish students Joona Kunnas and Tatu Hiltunen, that have joined the SMCHS hockey program.

“We love having international students,” said hockey director, Coach Mitch O’Brien. “Everyone we’ve had has been really good. But for me, what I like to see out of it, is you give them this opportunity to come see this great country and great school and they get a chance to experience California. It’s more than just a hockey experience, they’re going to come away with a life experience that’s just going to be incredible.”

Udris admits that the language has been one of the bigger challenges in coming to the U.S. But the team doesn’t let this get in their way.

“Hockey translates to every language, so when we get on the ice, we don’t really feel like we have a language barrier with him,” O’Brien said. “He gets the drills and understands them, and he plays at a high level.”

What separates a good hockey team from a great hockey team, isn’t just the amount of skill, but the amount of chemistry on the team. Senior Jake Rosenbaum, who hosted international player Kunnas in 2011,  enjoys having Udris on the team and playing with him.

“He’s a really good player,” Rosenbaum said. “He knows the game well. He brings a lot to the team. On the ice and off the ice. He’s a good kid in general, so in the locker room he gets along with everyone and same with on the bench.”

Rosenbaum said Udris is a good person to have around — for both camaraderie and team improvement.

“We improve upon each other, it’s not just me helping him,” Rosenbaum said. “But it’s a lot of him helping all of us also. He teaches us, we teach him. It’s just a learning experience.”

Udris hopes to return to SMCHS after this year. He said he likes his teachers and coaches, but most of all his teammates.

“The team is really nice,” Udris said. “I like them…better than Latvia.”