Siblings have a huge influence on each other’s lives even if they don’t realize it, and that statement comes to light especially when it comes to sports. There are many siblings here at LB that participate in the same sport, whether it’s baseball, basketball, or even swimming.

Senior Jack Rawlins and his brother, freshman Austin Rawlins, both play football for LB, Jack was a kicker and Austin a wide receiver.

“I started playing football because in the seventh grade my brother played football and I saw him play,” freshman Austin Rawlins said, “so I thought it would be fun to at least try it out.”

Junior Zoe Lansbury and freshman Ben Lansbury both swim on the LB Swim and Dive team and alsohave a younger sister in seventh grade that may follow in their footsteps when she reaches high school.

One way siblings influence one another to play is through competition between each other for fun. The increase in participation could result in athletes having a liking to the sport to the point where they actively take part in the sport competitively.   

“I think [she also influenced me] because she and I were always pretty competitive when we were younger and I was, like, I got to be better than her at everything, so I tried swimming,” freshman Ben Lansbury said.

Older family members may influence younger ones, whether it is intentionally or not, due to their dedication to the sport.

“My dad and my uncle, they both loved it and I wanted to get into it and I’ve played it ever since,” senior Phillip D’ambroise said.

Siblings are always there for each other giving advice, competing with each other and pushing one another to do their best whether it is at practice, a competition or just for fun.

“I think [Zoe’s] pretty helpful, like [with] stuff she’s already done, and [since] it’s my first year on the high school team, she was telling me about it, so I was more prepared than some other freshman going in,” Lansbury said.

When a sport is big in a family, the athletes usually have some big expectations to live up to due to previous accomplishments by other family members. To help eachother out, siblings usually practice or compete with each other so that they can improve their skills and excel on their team.

“I was a big influence on him,” Phillip D’ambroise said.  “I’m helping him out with everything and continuing his career too.”

Older siblings themselves may have expectations for their younger siblings because of their experience in the sport, dedication to it, and knowledge about it.

“I know [my sister] has expectations for me,” Lansbury said. “She’s always like, ‘Ben you have to go faster,’ and all that stuff.”

Even though they grew up playing the sport with each other, siblings don’t usually play on the same league, due to either the level of competition or their age difference.

“We do not [play in the same league],” Phillip D’ambroise said, “We used to, and then I left; I got old.”

Even if they are on the same team, as they grow older, the competition between each other dies down since they may be focused on improving individually rather than just participating in the sport as a side hobby.

Lansbury said that him and his sister don’t compete much on the school team even though they used to compete quite a bit when they were younger.

Without their older siblings, athletes may not have joined the sport in the first place, or even if they have, their dedication could be less than anticipated because of the lack of influence.

“I don’t know [about playing if it wasn’t for my brother],” eighth grade Michael D’ambroise said. “He influenced most of my baseball career.”

In the end, siblings just want the best for each other and for each other to do their best. Even if some advice is given, it isn’t meant as criticism but rather so the other can strive to do better in the following game or meet or match.

“Usually [my brother] just wants me to try my best and after the game [he’ll] give me some specific tip like you should of ran this route harder or maybe you should’ve done this after you caught the ball or something like that,” Austin Rawlins said.