Passion for football led Norway’s Tunstroem to Graham

Passion for football led Norway’s Tunstroem to Graham News Staff Sat, 05/11/2024 - 12:54 pm

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Stian Tunstroem is a foreign exchange student from Norway, who spent this past school year learning what it’s like to be a teenager in the U.S. He came here specifically for American football, but spent time exploring all that Graham had to offer.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Getting to run for Graham’s track team was an exciting new opportunity for Stian Tunstroem, a teenager from Norway who spent the last school year in the U.S. As the school year comes to a close, Tunstroem will soon return to his home country after experiencing a new world in Texas.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Stian Tunstroem performs one of his squat lifts during a powerlifting meet in the winter sports season. Powerlifting was one of the new sports the exchange student from Norway got to try during his time in Graham.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Stian Tunstroem gets celebrated on Senior Night for the Graham soccer team. The young man from Norway, seen here with his host parents, the Thompsons, spent the last school year in Graham and will soon return to his home country.

TC Gordon sports@grahamleader.com

Stian Tunstroem grew up in a country that cherishes soccer and a host of other sports, but when he discovered American football, he knew he had found something he was truly passionate about.

When the opportunity arose for Tunstroem to explore that passion by spending a year in the U.S., he jumped at that chance. For the past year, the teenager from Trondheim, Norway has lived in the state that’s arguably the most passionate about football in the entire country.

“I chose Texas because I wanted to play football,” Tunstroem said. “I didn’t want to go to (somewhere like) Nebraska, like there was a chance I could go to Alaska…but if I wanted to become good I needed to go to a school that plays good.”

Tunstroem was born and raised in a small town in Norway called Sande, which has a population just slightly larger than Graham. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Trondheim, with an estimated population of 212,000 people.

It was in the big city that Tunstroem discovered American football, and thanks to one of his coaches who had done it before, he learned about becoming a foreign exchange student.

“He talked to me and was like, ‘If you want to play football and maybe try to make it somewhere with it you can go on an exchange year,’” Tunstroem said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of fun.’ Because I’ve always been kind of interested in America because of everything you see in movies and everything. I was like, ‘Let me try that out.’”

After discussing with his parents and getting their approval, he connected with the STS Foundation, a company that facilitates the exchange program for American families and global students.

Things moved quickly and soon, Tunstroem connected with his host family in Graham, the Thompsons. He found out in March 2023 where he would be living and arrived in Texas at the beginning of August later that year.

The Thompsons had interacted with Tunstroem before his arrival to begin establishing a relationship. They knew he wanted to participate in sports, so on his first day, one of the first things they did was get his physical done for the upcoming sports seasons.

It didn’t take long for the Norwegian to notice the major differences between Texas and his home country.

“Everybody drives bigger cars here, that’s one thing. People are a lot more louder here; like a lot more,” he said. “People just talk to strangers more here. Because in Norway you don't really talk to strangers, you just keep by yourself.”

Football quickly took priority in Tunstroem’s life as he adjusted to the talent and abilities of his peers. American football is growing in popularity on the European continent, but this was Texas football, often considered an entirely different beast.

“I’m pretty sure the JV team here is better than the varsity team in Norway. It was just really different because normally we don’t play that many games…You played on the big field with Graham on it and people are actually coming to watch; it just felt like the team I wanted to play for,” Tunstroem said.

Having played mostly running back in Norway, Tunstroem got the opportunity to play defense, as many high schoolers play both sides of the ball. He spent time at linebacker on Graham’s JV team and discovered that he really liked hitting people.

“I think I’m going to pursue that when I go back to Norway; that was a lot of fun for me,” he said.

With football being primarily a fall sport, the opportunity to check out other athletic opportunities was a welcome one. In addition to his work on the gridiron, Tunstroem participated in powerlifting, soccer and track and field, and he often attended other sports as a spectator.

Each sport brought unique challenges and opportunities, especially for the ones he hadn’t tried before in powerlifting and track and field. These sports provided another chance to explore what it’s like to be a teenager in the U.S.

As the school year nears its end, so too does Tunstroem’s time as an exchange student. The program typically lasts anywhere from five to 10 months, so he will have to return to his country when the time comes at the end of the month.

Living somewhere new as a foreigner can be a daunting experience for anyone, especially for a young man from Norway, who’s spent the last school year on the other side of the world away from his home.

Tunstroem relished the opportunity to meet new people and live as other Texas teenagers live, especially thanks to the Thompsons, who opened their home to him and helped him on this adventure. He said apart from getting to meet and talk to new people almost every day, his host family will always remain special to him.

“It’s basically getting a new family. It’s a home here and I’m just going to leave it,” he said. “I can do sports everywhere else, but I can’t have the family I have here (with me) in Norway.”

It’s not everyday someone from another country gets the experience that Tunstroem had, but it’s one he will hold onto forever. And wherever he goes in the future, he will forever be a Graham Steer.

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