Family ties abound

 By Heather DeLuca, Daily Pebble writer
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 Philadelphia is touted as “The City of Brotherly Love” and the camaraderie amongst siblings is not lost at the 2012 USA Curling National Championships. Not only is curling a sport for married couples, but also for siblings. This year there are 10 sets of siblings competing. Curling is a sport that can be enjoyed through one’s lifetime and passed down from generation to generation. We spoke to two of the sets of siblings who are on teams together to see how they felt about being this far along together with their family.

One of the most important keys to success in any team sport is communication. In curling it is especially crucial to be able to communicate well with every member of your team. Being together with someone in your family can make the connection really strong and lead your team to victory. Even though siblings do not always get along, it is true that no one really knows you as well as family, which makes seeing siblings compete together so interesting.

The first team of brothers, Kevin and Kraig Deeren, spoke with us about how being together really benefitted them as a team. For this family, curling started with the eldest brother, Kevin, who had competed solo for a few years and then stopped. After a brief hiatus, Kraig asked his brother to again pursue the sport only this time together as brothers. Playing together even as kids can sometimes seem trying; however, when playing with a sibling in a competitive sport, there are various benefits and drawbacks. “[We] know each other’s ideas,” Kraig said. His brother affirmed by saying, “Sometimes we can be a little much, but we can work through it.” The arguments, the grudges don’t last but more than two minutes whereas with a complete stranger it can last the entire match. The Birr brothers also feel that being siblings in a team sport has more inherent advantages than disadvantages. Starting with their father in early childhood, curling has always been a family sport for them. They grew up more like best friends instead of brothers. Kevin and Todd find that with similar personalities it makes being on a team together much more beneficial. On the ice it is easy for them to know when one wants to sweep, making a winning team. In spite of their recent victory, when asked about how they will fare in the future Todd replied that the team had played a bit sloppy and need to clean up what they were doing on the ice for further success.

Obviously there are many keys to success, communication being the most critical and valued. Based on results so far, family members seem to be triumphant in that respect. For many of these families, no matter the outcome it’s the experience that truly matters most. So as the Nationals continue and the sibling sets proceed to compete, it will be moments made to last more than a lifetime. Sharing victory is sweet; being able to share it with a loved one is even sweeter.