Sister sister

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Unfortunately, only Jayde made the picture, sorry Kacey. /image: Jarrett Crowe

Unfortunately, only Jayde made the picture, sorry Kacey. /image: Jarrett Crowe

Kacey and Jayde McFee make a name for themselves

Article: Paige Kreutzwieser – Staff Writer

Tennis has the Williams sisters. Baseball had the Alomar, and more currently, the Upton brothers. Everyone knows the Manning’s in football. Basketball had the Miller brother-sister duo, and hockey has a whole bunch that I don’t really care about.

Yes, the notorious sport siblings. Athletes that grew up together, trained together, and likely at one time or another, played together or against each other.

It brings drama of rivalry chatter to the playing field – we all remember the lead up to the Harbaugh Bowl, more commonly known as Superbowl XLVII when opposing coaches John and Jim Harbaugh went head to head.

Well, the University of Regina can boast our own Manning counterparts, except this is a different kind of football.

Jayde, fourth-year education student, and Kacey, second-year engineering student, are the McFee sisters; two girls from Prince Albert who are proving their worth on the soccer pitch.

For head coach Bob Maltman it’s almost like a déjà-vu experience.

“[I] have the unique situation such as with Kacey and Jayde, just to see the progression they’ve made as younger players,” said Maltman, who coached each girl prior to their arrival on the university team. “Just to see their maturity in being able to take more constructive feedback more positively.”

Jayde remembered her time with Maltman when she was roughly 15 years old.

“I enjoyed Bob when I was young. He was a good coach, and has a great vision for the program now,” she said. “Both have been a good experience, when I was young and now.”

The McFee sisters, like most athletic siblings, had grown up playing most of their life together. Both knew they wanted to eventually play at the higher level they are at now, but just being on the same university team is good enough.

“We’ve grown up together playing soccer, so it wasn’t anything new. It was nice,” said Jayde when asked about having her sister join the Cougars squad last year.

“I know last year it was especially nice,” admitted younger sister Kacey. “Because you have that someone who can introduce you to everyone. It just makes you feel a lot more comfortable coming in [as a rookie].”

Kacey may be able to play the big sister role for the third McFee sister, Meghan, who currently is in grade ten in their hometown and may decide to continue in her older sisters’ athletic footsteps.

Maltman has recognized the ability that all three McFee sisters possess, stating that the youngest is “certainly on our radar.”

He also recognizes and respects the off-field attitudes of his current McFee athletes.

“They’re both great student athletes,” he said. “They’re very proud of the team. They are great ambassadors for their community of Prince Albert. Anytime we can get young women with that good quality characteristics, as a coach, that’s all you can really ask for.”

And like any constructive coach, he is also asking for wins, which is what he got in the Cougars game against Lethbridge last weekend.

With home-field advantage, the Cougars earned a 2-1 win and broke their streak of three scoreless games. Coming into the games against Calgary and Lethbridge, the girls had lost three of their previous four, but that’s not to say the team is struggling.

“It’s the first time in the team’s history we’ve been able to take a point off Trinity Western,” said Maltman, adding that his team also proved their mental maturity in their game against B.C. “We did have a few chances and maybe we were a little bit guilty of wasting those chances, but I was pleased with the fight back.”

Even though the McFee sisters expected the weekend to be tough matches, they were excited to just be on the pitch.

And the excitement will likely stay all the way through next season, when Jayde will be completing her fifth-year as a Cougar, leaving Kacey in sole possession of the McFee name.

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