The Riverhawks men’s soccer team is keeping it all in the family this semester.
Two brothers play on the team, and their father is an assistant coach.
Twins Ethan and Elijah Belcher have always played soccer together and their father, Drew Belcher, has coached them since they were playing in youth leagues.
“As a father, it’s a joy to watch your boys play together,” Drew Belcher said. “It’s just fantastic. And being able to coach them is great. … This is all we’ve ever done.”
First-year biology student Ethan, a striker, said having the family together on the field makes the game more enjoyable.
Midfielder Elijah said he came to play at AACC because his brother wanted to.
“I love my brother,” Ethan said. “We help each other.”
Elijah, a first-year computer science student, said he views all of his teammates as brothers on the field, so it is no different having his actual sibling on the field with him.
Head coach Nick Cosentino called the Belcher brothers “a coach’s dream.”
“They work hard,” Cosentino said. “They’re here when they don’t have to be. … They’re great practice players [and] quiet leaders.”
Ethan said “it’s awesome” playing for his father. “It’s a personal connection,” he said. “It makes the team chemistry a lot better.”
Drew Belcher said as a coach, his sons are just like any other players to him.
“There’s more pressure on them than me because they’re listening to their dad, which they don’t necessarily always want to, and I get that,” he said.
Ethan agreed.
“I can’t say everything I want to say to him in, like, a son way,” he said. “I have to say it as a player to a coach.”
Goalkeeper Jayeim Blake, a first-year transfer studies student, called the brothers two “of the best players on the team.”