Benilde-St. Margaret’s has a successful athletic program. A lot of talent on teams comes from siblings who’ve grown up playing together. There are a variety of different teams at BSM that have pairs of siblings who participate in the same sport. They help give the team different structure and type of play when they are competing together.
Jun and Charlize Vang’s chemistry helps their team dominate in cross country and lacrosse. For only being a part of the varsity lacrosse team for one year, they have both made a huge impact on the team. “It’s fun to play together. We push each other harder and practices are more fun, and I guess you have someone else at practices other than just your teammates that are related to you,” junior Charlize Vang said.
It’s fun to play together. We push each other harder and practices are more fun, and I guess you have someone else at practices other than just your teammates that are related to you.”
— Charlize Vang
The second set of siblings are junior Natalie Lamers and freshman Megan Lamers. They are both a part of the swimming program at BSM and though Natalie is on varsity and Megan is on JV, they still spend a lot of time with each other. “I don’t really mind being together because I’m on varsity and she’s on JV so we’re not together all the time, but it’s definitely annoying sometimes when I have to drive her and her best friend to practice every day,” Natalie Lamers said.
Off-season training can be much easier when you have someone else to do it with. For example, freshman twins Sailor and Sydney Friedly who play volleyball help each other get better during the off-season. “We’re on the same club team, so we train with each other for the entire year so it helps bring good dynamics to the varsity season,” Sailor Friedly said.
With all the positive effects of having siblings on the same team, a downside can be when one sibling graduates. The atmosphere and depth of the team can change dramatically when just one member of the team graduates. “I think it changes the whole dynamic of the team when someone leaves. For me especially it feels different because my older sister graduated last year and the team will feel different without her there,” Jun Vang said.