One of the most common phrases said around any athletic program — from youth sports all the way to the pros — is this team is like a family. 

For the Foundation Academy boys and girls varsity soccer teams, it’s more than hyperbole. Seven sets of siblings are among the Lions squads.

With three sets of brothers on the boys side, three sets of sisters on the girls team and one brother-sister combo split between the two, Lions soccer can only be described in one way: A family affair. 

One-of-a-kind experience

In many cases, siblings who play the same sport often start together at a young age, or the older sibling paves the way in that sport for the younger to follow. 

This overlap among the siblings’ sports allows them to have a person to lean on, train with and, most important, share the lifelong experience of falling in love with their sport. 

“For most of our lives, we’ve both played soccer and been on travel teams or, now, played at Foundation — and that’s been a big part of the bond we’ve created,” Foundation girls soccer captain Avery Bangsund said of her younger brother, Aiden Bangsund. “Being able to travel to away games together — where he watches my games and I watch his games — has been really fun. I feel like I’m being able to almost mentor him in some aspects of it, and — little does he know — I watch him a lot and learn a thing or two, as well. Sharing this experience has really allowed us to just become closer as like family but also create a deeper bond within the sport we both love.”

Avery Bangsund is a senior, while Aiden Bangsund is in his sophomore year. 

Two other sets of Lions siblings — the Prunty brothers, Will and Owen, and the Clements sisters, Camryn and Natalie — share a similar situation, with the 2024-25 season being their final opportunity to play for the same school.

“It’s a really cool moment for these kids, right?” Foundation boys soccer coach Scott Hussey said. “Think about it. You grow up playing with each other in the yard, and then you get to have that experience on a varsity field — which is kind of a big deal, because the varsity team is the highest level some people will ever reach. So to share that with your sibling — it’s something you’ll remember forever.”

Avery Bangsund agrees.

“It’s so surreal, because he’s my little brother, so I’ve grown up in this sport with him,” she said. “Looking at it now — this is my last year playing soccer at the same school as him, and it’s kind of mind-blowing. To see how much I’ve grown up but also how much he’s grown up — and how much he’s improved as a player. I’m so proud of him, and I’m glad I got to experience this with him.”

A special sibling sense

But before the three senior siblings ride off into the sunset, there’s still plenty of soccer to be played. And with both teams currently in fantastic form — the boys with a 10-0 record and girls at 8-2-1, as of press time — there’s a chance deep postseason runs could be in store for both.

To do that, however, these two teams will have to lean on every advantage they have, and for one set of soccer sisters, their relationship on and off the pitch has helped them develop a connection that resembles a superpower made famous by Spider-Man — the spidey sense. 

The Clements’ sister sense helps them feel one another’s impending movements during games.  

“Nat and Cam just read one another and communicate extremely well on the field,” Lions girls coach Bruce Strine said. “That sort of connection comes from years of playing together in club (soccer), a few years here together at Foundation and probably a lifetime of playing together in their backyard. There is something unique about the affinity between those two.”

The connection between the two on the field, with both playing predominantly along the right side, has been electric this season. Combined, they’ve accounted for 13 goals and 22 assists. 

“Playing with Nat both here at FA and for my club team, when she plays up in age, has been super fun, because we have developed a lot of chemistry,” Camryn Clements said. “Being that I play up top, she’s often feeding me passes, and because she reads me so well, she’s always able to put me in good positions. When I have the ball, I know she’s going to be in the right spot. So, if I’m making a run to cross, I know she’ll always be there showing for me to slot a pass to; especially if I can’t make that cross and have to get out of trouble, I know she’ll be right behind me.” 

That chemistry on the field comes from a trust built through a lifetime.

“The opportunity to play with each other is amazing, because we’re able to lean on each other to figure stuff out and get better,” Natalie Clements said. “I know from my end, I look up to her because I know who she is and how she plays. I always look at her game and try to incorporate parts of it into mine and she’s always willing to help. It’s really nice to have someone to look up to.”

Life on the sidelines with soccer siblings

At home and on the field, having this many siblings on the same team creates some heroic connections and lifelong memories, but for the coaches roaming the touchline and running practices, it creates an interesting inter-squad dynamic that is primarily positive — removing a quirk or two. 

“Overall, the sibling aspect of the team really is a benefit because of the trust they share,” Hussey said. “One of the best parts, from a team success perspective, is how it allows for more honest and direct communication and criticism among the siblings. As coaches, we’re not around every moment of every day, and so we don’t know what happens when they leave the field. The ones who are brothers see each other every day and have the credibility and trust to tell them the truth about what they need to improve on because not only do they know each other off the field, but because they’re family, they know that they want to best for each other.”

One of the trickier aspects of the sibling dynamic is when you combine the competition that comes from playing a sport with the natural competition of sibling rivalries. 

For a coach to handle that, well, let’s just say it can be delicate. 

“When you’re dealing with two people from the same family, there’s just a lot of dynamics to consider,” Strine said. “For us with a set of twins and the pair of older and younger sisters, it gets really interesting at times. Sometimes, it’s great because of what they can produce on the field from their chemistry. But sometimes, when you get one mad at you, both of them get mad at you. Luckily for us, though, this group has been amazing — definitely a lot more good than bad.”