By Abby Witt, Sports Writer
Siblings share everything, whether it be clothes, shoes or cars until the day finally comes for one sibling to head off to college and branch out on his or her own.
That is, unless you are going to a school to play soccer for your older brother. Siblings playing sports together isn’t all that uncommon; think the Venus sisters and the Plumlee brothers. Some even are forced to play against each other like the Manning brothers or the DiMaggios. But having the chance to be coached by your older brother on the collegiate level is something else entirely. Over 800 miles from home, the Andrews brothers are living closer than ever.
Zack Andrews is a junior soccer play at Asbury University, where not just one, but two of his older brothers work as coaches. Head coach Ben Andrews and assistant coach Nate Andrews come from an Asbury University family, where both parents attended school and met.
Oldest brother Nate was the first to attend Asbury, and Ben shortly followed. Upon Ben’s graduation and ending his soccer journey at Asbury as a player, he quickly transitioned into a coaching position. The following season, oldest brother Nate joined him. Now, 17 years later, Zack Andrews is beginning his third season at Asbury and the Andrews brothers are all a part of the same team in Wilmore, Ky.
As younger sibling myself, one of the last things I want to do is take direction from my older brother; we all think we know more than our siblings. But Zack handles it well, “It’s definitely a different dynamic,” he said. “It was kind of tough to get used to at first, but I enjoy it. I know both Nate and Ben really know what they’re talking about, so I like learning from them.”
There is quite the age gap between the oldest two brothers and Zack, something that kept the youngest Andrews from his brothers for a big part of his life. “It was weird to come and have all of us close,” Zack said. “Since our age gap was so big, and they were grown and gone. I would not take the experience [of them coaching me] back for anything. This is something that we can always remember and cherish.”
With the Andrews brothers having the opportunity to take part in this together, an unforgettable journey is taking place. Besides time on the field, Ben and Zack found more time to grow together as brothers during a mission trip taken this summer with the rest of the team.
Entering into his third year, Zack is ready to trust his brothers’ coaching as the team undergoes some big changes for this season. “It’s a very young team this year,” Zack said. “We lost five seniors with a lot of talent, but we are really excited. We love playing together and even though this schedule and conference will be tough, we know we can shock some people.”