Throughout my life, I’ve played sports with my older sister MacKenzie. We are only eighteen months apart, so this year she is graduating as a senior and I’m a junior.  We basically played on the same teams in fifth and sixth grade, modified, and varsity. We have played on basketball teams together during the spring with AAU, and in summer leagues at GV. We took swimming lessons together when we were younger and played summer soccer together. Playing sports together has brought us closer over the years and has created many memories. We’ve mostly stuck together through team drama and stayed close.  Now we are about to play in an indoor soccer tournament together in March.  After this year, however, it’s going to be different going onto the field or court without her.

Having to play with a sister in sports can be fun, stressful, and annoying at the same time. After the season is over with, it is worth the pain, because in the end, we still have each other and will be there when the other needs it. But sometimes, it’s very annoying when we blame or accuse each other of something, even though we didn’t mean to do it, especially in basketball this year.  I would always yell at her during basketball and soccer as well because she didn’t get the ball or something. I wouldn’t do this as much with someone who was not my sister.  I’ll admit that I yelled at her a lot because I knew that she was the only one that could could take it, even though we would fight with each other afterwards. But I know for a fact if any girl ever touched my sister and hurt her, she would regret it because I’d be coming after her. I don’t know what makes me flip out like that, but I think it’s just because she’s my big sister.

It’s fun playing together because we can laugh on bus rides and on the court or field. When she scored in soccer, or when she would keep making buckets in basketball games, it was probably the most fun that I had in a game. I wish that our years together wouldn’t end, but we will always get to cherish those moments together.

MacKenzie has gone to Belfast Central School since Pre-K, and she has played soccer, basketball, and some softball. Her favorite sport to play is basketball and she is actually trying out for the FLCC basketball team when she goes to college. I wish her luck with trying out for the FLCC team this upcoming April, and I congratulate her for making it in the top five scorers in Alleghany County and getting the MVP of Division 2 girls.   

This year especially, I feel like MacKenzie and I really bonded in sports. I don’t know what happened, but we are nicer to each other than before, and we actually laugh together and talk.  I don’t think anyone can truly understand our love/hate relationship. It’s really hard to say goodbye to my sister: it’s one of the hardest things that I’ll have to overcome. I’m going to miss her so much.