Siblings helping bolster Boulder City High tennis team

Mona Shield Payne

Two sets of brothers, from left, Alex and Evan Traasdahl and Brent and Sean Hickey, are hoping to lead the boys tennis team to victory this season.

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009 | 1:43 p.m.

Evan Traasdahl, a sophomore on the Boulder City High tennis team, promises he’s beaten his older brother, Alex, before.

Alex Traasdahl, a senior and captain of the team, swears that has never happened.

“Remember when we played right before school started,” Evan asked Alex.

“No, I don’t,” Alex said.

Evan shakes his head. He says his older brother is lying.

Oh, the joy of brotherly love. It’s something Boulder City tennis coach Eric Speaker has learned a lot about this season.

In addition to the Traasdahl brothers, the team also features another set of brothers in junior Sean Hickey and freshman Brent Hickey.

Speaker said the four shared similar qualities.

“They’re all good kids. They’re real quiet kids,” Speaker said. “They are more leaders by example than leaders by words.”

The most effective way to get words out of Alex and Evan Traasdahl is to question them about their blossoming rivalry. That tactic doesn’t work for the Hickeys.

Sean and Brent Hickey aren’t interested in competing against each other.

“We don’t play against each other,” Sean Hickey said, “but we did play with each other during one match this year.”

That was about two weeks when Speaker assigned them to be doubles partners. Although they lost the match, both were proud to report that they won one of the sets.

Sean Hickey said the match was unlike any other he had experienced in tennis.

“I kind of knew what (Brent) was doing sometimes during the match,” he said.

That’s no surprise, considering Brent Hickey only started playing tennis because of his brother.

Before this season, Brent Hickey had never picked up a racket, but he knew his brother would be on the team and figured he should join him.

“He’s basically the whole reason,” Brent Hickey said. “It’s fun because he helps me a lot more than the other players would.”

Speaker has noticed their camaraderie. He said it had never interfered with his duties to coach.

“If you ask them to do something one time, they will make changes,” Speaker said. “They are real coachable kids.”

Same goes for the Traasdahls, according to Speaker. He’ll hate to lose Alex Traasdahl to graduation after this season, but is looking forward to working more with Evan for the next couple years.

Evan Traasdahl plans to use that instruction to beat his brother on a regular basis.

“It won’t even be close a year from now,” Evan Traasdahl said.

“I’m still going to win,” Alex Traasdahl retorted.

Joking aside, Ethe Traasdahls want to enjoy the last few days of the tennis season. They know it’s a special opportunity.

“It will be cool to look back and see that I got to play a sport with Evan,” Alex Traasdahl said. “We’re usually separated in our activities.”