If you have an older sibling, you most likely look up to them, especially if those siblings are some of the most talented at their sport and go to some of the best schools in the country. Throughout your life, there is someone who has already done something exceptionally well. Would you still feel pressure to be like them?
Junior Billy Neumann is a runner on the boys cross country and track team. His older brother is Tim Neumann who, during his time at DGS, was consistently the fastest runner on the team; he made it to state, has the fastest three-mile time at DGS and now runs at MIT. Billy Neumann shares his mindset when he started cross country, wanting to be like his brother.
“The first summer of cross country I did feel like there was kind of a shadow. I felt like I needed to be the best freshman. Everything then hails in comparison to what Tim was doing. He was doing the fastest workouts and having the fastest times– it really did make me work harder, but made me think how can I meet the expectation others have for me being his brother,” Neumann said.
Senior Nick O’Halloran was a player on the football team; now he trains for decathlons and is a member of the track team. His older brother Mack O’Halloran was a star football player at DGS and now plays football at the United States Military Academy West Point. Nick O’Halloran reflects on his experiences with others having high expectations of him in relation to his brother.
“The expectations were so high, and you would hear things from football coaches and they’d be like ‘Mack would’ve made this catch’ and ‘you didn’t make that catch’ or ‘Mack would do this and you can’t,’” O’Halloran said.
It can be discouraging to be compared to someone by others or yourself. Neumann explains how he escaped that mindset.
“He is honestly the reason I joined cross country. He showed me the sport and the team culture, and I saw how he was such a big part of it all culture-wise and athletic-wise. And I thought, ‘If I was like that, I’d be happy,’ but I’ve also realized you don’t need to be the fastest or the best to be a big part of the team, as long as you are putting in the work and showing you care,” Neumann said.
Whilst Neumann follows his passion and continues his brother’s legacy in running, O’Halloran has changed his sport in alignment with his enjoyments. O’Halloran expresses how he finds solace in having his own interest in sports.
”Obviously not everybody follows the same passion for every sport. At one point, I just started leaning to track and the decathlon because that’s where my passion went towards. We were on different paths for that sport, but then I found myself in my sport with track and there wasn’t a shadow and I could be myself as an athlete and not his little brother,” O’Halloran said.
