Stal Finds Game Is Same, No Matter Where She Calls Home : She Stars at Laguna Beach After 4 Years Traveling the World

Two years ago, after traveling tens of thousands of miles, meeting hundreds of interesting people, and learning about exotic cultures, Liz Stal returned from a 4-year around-the-world adventure to her childhood home in Laguna Beach.

Final stop . . . culture shock.

“It was really weird,” said Stal, a senior at Laguna Beach High School. “You come home to the same house, the same friends, the same place. But it’s all different.”

Except on the basketball court, where Stal, who has been 6 feet 1 inch since the eighth grade, instantly felt right at home.

Basketball, which helped her make friends and break language barriers during her world travels, is helping her making a name for herself at Laguna Beach.

This season, Stal, 17, is the county’s third-highest scorer, averaging 23.6 points a game. She also averages 11.5 rebounds for Laguna Beach (8-8 overall, 2-4 in Pacific Coast League play).

Her best game so far this season was a 36-point performance against Trabuco Hills Jan. 17. Stal, a 3-year starter at Laguna Beach, also scored 34 points in 2 games at the Santa Ana Valley tournament in December.

But high-scoring games--and even basketball in general--are not the top priorities in Stal’s life. Education, Stal said, definitely comes first. And travel is a close second. Basketball fits in whenever possible.

Stal, her parents and her brother Tom, who is 2 years older, have traveled through Europe, the Soviet Union, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Egypt, Israel and beyond.

Stal’s parents, Karl and Jean Stal, are history and social studies teachers at Corona del Mar High School. Summers always meant educational travel time. But in 1982, Karl and Jean Stal decided to extend their adventure.

They accepted teaching positions at the International School of Dusseldorf, a kindergarten-through-grade-13 school in Dusseldorf, West Germany. It was originally planned to be a 2-year position, but, after the first 2 years were up, the family took a vote and unanimously decided they were having too much fun to leave.

They stayed another 2 years. During that time, Stal had many adventures, not the least of which was playing for her school’s basketball team.

“Away games meant you traveled to another country,” said Stal, who speaks fluent German and Spanish. “We mostly played other international schools, from all around. You spent the night there, staying with the other team’s families.”

The team--nicknamed the Alts, after the a beer produced in Dusseldorf--traveled in first-class accommodations, usually roaring down the Autobahn in the school’s Mercedes-Benz buses, all equipped with plush velour seats and air conditioning.

The team’s schedule included games in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and all over West Germany.

“I think there was a bit of a letdown when Liz finally came home,” Karl Stal said. “Now away games mean driving little yellow buses to Costa Mesa.”

Because most of the schools Stal played against were small--Stal’s school had about 400 students, with 180 of high school age--the competition wasn’t quite as good as in the United States.

But, Stal said, “You always had so much fun whether you won or lost it didn’t really make a difference. . . . Our coach there didn’t push winning that much, as long as we tried.”

Stal was a standout on her team, and, as a freshman, was named first-team all-tournament at the Northern European International Council championships, a tournament for the international schools.

When she wasn’t going to school or playing basketball, Stal traveled with her parents around Europe. They ended their 4-year stay in the summer of 1986 with a whirlwind around-the-world tour. And last summer, the family returned to eastern Europe for a 7-week journey.

Stal said after all the travel, she still hungers for more. Especially the places she has yet to see: Australia, New Zealand and Africa.

“I think traveling helped me as a person,” Stal said. “It really opened my eyes to what the world was like. . . .

“Maybe I’m unique in that I’m very interested in sport, but I know after meeting so many people and learning about other cultures, there’s other more important things as well.”