It's a Family Affair in the SHS Basketball Program
Written by Tawni Tamarra, Former Student on Thursday, December 12, 2013
Twelve pairs of siblings are part of the girls and boys Snohomish basketball program this year. There are two pairs of sisters, four pairs of brothers and six pairs of brothers and sisters. Players include, Callie Harwood (12), Shaylee Harwood (10), Joshua Shogren (12), Jacob Shogren (10), Will Layton (11), Jess Layton (9). All the players will be playing on the Freshman, JV or Varsity team for the SHS 2013-2014 girls and boys basketball season.
Brother and sister, Will and Jess Layton, are two years apart. Jess started playing in third grade while her brother started playing in first grade. Jess is playing on the freshman team and Will is playing on JV. Jess says that, she goes to her brothers games “when [she] feels like it,” and “[she] will go to his this year if [she doesn’t] have a game at the same time.” Will says that, “[he will] go to [his] sister's games if they aren’t at the same time as [his]."
Basketball doesn’t cause them to fight, but Jess laughs as she confessed that “[she] steals his socks all the time and then he yells at [her].” Will doesn’t like to share clothes but says that, “she takes my shorts from my room and I hate it because she doesn’t ask.” They used to play basketball together at home, but haven’t recently. Both agree that basketball doesn’t make them feel like they have to compete.
Callie and Shaylee Harwood have been playing basketball for as long as they can remember. Both sisters lettered in varsity their freshman year. Last season was their first year playing together on the high school team. Callie said that, “[We] used to play against each other a lot and would scrimmage one on one but it often [ended with them] fighting and crying. So we don’t really anymore.” Only being two years apart, the girls share “spandex, sports bras and socks,” says Callie.
The girls ride together to practices and games. Before games the sisters listen to pump up music. Shaylee says that Callie is much more competitive than she is, but they have similar playing styles. Callie said her favorite thing about basketball is “the feeling I get when I’m in an intense game and my teammates,” while Shaylee said her favorite thing was how “all these strangers are brought together and we become a family.”
The pair of brothers, Josh and Jake Shogren, have been playing basketball since second grade at their elementary school. Josh is playing on the varsity team and Jake is on JV. Josh said that it is “cool to play with [his] brother, since he was on the freshman team last year, it’s cool to have him at practice.” Younger brother, Jake, said, “it’s fun to play with somebody I’ve known my whole life.”
Although Josh does not feel like he has to compete with his brother, Jake feels differently, stating, “I feel like I have to compete more with him than the other players.” Josh watches as much of the JV game as he can before he goes to get ready for his game and Jake watches all the varsity games. Before games Jake enjoys listening to “rap” to get him pumped up while Josh does not listen to any pre-game music. As the boys laughed, they argued about who was better at basketball, both thinking they were better than the another.
These pairs of siblings all mentioned that they were excited to play with their brother or sister this season. This is the first year there has been 24 siblings playing for the SHS basketball program.
