One team. Two pairs of sisters. Together in the pool, they pass the ball around to each other as teammates. After practice, they go home as sisters, bonding over the moments in practice and games.

Sydney Adler (12) and Summer Adler (10), along with Jasleen Hansra (12) and Jasmine Hansra (9), play together as sisters on the varsity girls water polo team. As both older sisters will graduate, this is the last time that Summer and Jasmine will be able to play with their sisters on Harker’s team. Although they all played club water polo at San Jose Express prior to joining Harker’s water polo team, they were not able to actually participate in the same games, as the older and younger sisters were in different age groups. However, Harker’s water polo team provides them with just that, as both pairs made it onto the varsity team, a space where they could share their wins and memories together. 

Competing together shaped their relationship, bringing them closer and uniting them as a team. Summer, who has finally been able to play on the same water polo team alongside her older sister Sydney for the past two years, found the new experience exciting.

“It’s pretty cool,” Summer said. “I feel like this is an experience that only two other people have on the team, which is to finish a game, get in the same car, go home and maybe bring up something that happened in the game and talk about it because you both experienced it.”

Summer notes how club water polo does not provide the same experience as high school water polo does, as now she can discuss their water polo games with her sister and delve into the nitty-gritty details. 

“I didn’t really realize how special it is to practice and play on the same team with her…and then go home with [her] since I’ve never done that before, since we’re not in the same age group for club [water polo],” Summer said. “If it weren’t for high school, I would never play on the same team as her.”

The Hansra sisters, Jasleen and Jasmine, found that their relationship helped them in the pool as Jasleen gives tips and pointers to Jasmine, making sure that her younger sister is prepared for the games.

“My position is mainly a defense position,” Jasleen said. “So there’s a lot of communication between the two of us when we’re on defense – like her being a goalie and me being a big defensive player. There’s a lot of communication involved, and I definitely think that being sisters helps.” 

Spending more time together on the same team brings the sisters together, and the experience they gained through competition in the pool became treasurable memories for both sisters.

“It’s been a progression,” Sydney said. “Last year we were not as close as we are this year. We wouldn’t really want to spend time with each other, so being on a team didn’t really mean much, but now I can go to practice and hang out with my sister and it’s fun. And then going home and [talking] about stuff that happened at the game, stuff that happened at practice – it’s really fun.”

Jennifer Hargreaves, upper school admissions director and Sydney and Summer’s mother, notes how being teammates formed a closer bond between the two in their relationship outside of water polo. 

“Water polo has been a nice uniting factor in high school, and it’s nice that the season was in the fall in ninth grade because it started that process of them really growing [closer] together,” Hargreaves said.

She also observes how they get along more smoothly at home as sisters and are able to discuss their common interests with each other in a more lighthearted and friendly way.

“I just see them interacting at home more as friends and not bickering as much,” Hargreaves said. “I just see camaraderie more and see ‘Oh we have to be together because we’re sisters’ — a choice to be together, laugh about things, talk about things and share interests.”

Jasmine and Jasleen also built up a strong rapport as members of the team and give each other advice and tips for the games. In Jasmine’s first year with the team, Jasleen served as a mentor figure for her. Although Jasleen was sidelined with a concussion, the pair continued supporting each other, even though one sister was outside the pool, and the other inside.

“I think knowing each other [helped], because when I started the team I didn’t know any of the other players except for the freshmen,” Jasmine said. “So having someone older that you know really helps out.” 

Harpreet Hansra, Jasleen and Jasmine’s mother, notes how even prior to joining Harker’s water polo team, the two were already connecting through water polo. 

“There weren’t always enough players in the club team for the age group that Jasleen [was] in,” Hansra said. “So even as Jasmine was expressing interest while she was 10 and wanting to be a goalie, Jasleen was like ‘Yeah mom, she really should be. She’s really good in the goal.’ So I don’t think it was all that new [as] they have been working together.”

As a parent, she enjoys watching her daughters help each other out inside the pool, something that not all their teammates are able to do with their siblings.

“It is nice for them to have that time when they are together… It is always nice when you see one sister throwing the ball to the other. It’s nice to see a little additional sisterly love and attention than you would see if they weren’t together in that sport,” Hansra said.

Varsity girls water polo team head coach Christian Tanase noticed how the sisters’ interactions in practice and games affected the rest of the team in a positive manner. He is grateful for the model of pair partnership they provide.

“There’s cohesion between them, because they are familiar with each other obviously, which creates a positive energy,” Tanase said. “[This] gives them a positive outcome to the team because seeing people connect and seeing people working well together – it’s gonna be a sort of motivation and inspiration for other players to cooperate and work together in pairs.”

He also highlights how their sister relationship becomes more obvious when the team is practicing more simple and basic drills, allowing them to be more playful with each other and their teammates. 

“During the repetitive moments, such as warm up, cool down, you see their focus on the exercises not as much, so that’s when they actually act like sisters – they joke a bit more or whatever they do,” Tanase said. 

However, Tanase recalls the way their relationship with each other changes as they do different drills in practice, shifting from a more sisterly bond to a teammate-oriented connection. He commends their positive attitude, which impacts the rest of the team.

“When we go to more specific exercises or more specific situations in practice, I think they treat each other like teammates…[It is a] good example for the team, just seeing two sisters acting very professionally in practice, especially coming from high school athletes – that’s amazing.”

Hansra reflects on the significance of water polo in her daughters’ lives, emphasizing the importance of the trust that siblings can build playing in the sport together. 

“Because they are sisters and they bonded, there’s trust. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so they do have a special understanding when they’re both in the pool [and] they can rely on each other.”

This story was originally published on Harker Aquila on November 11, 2022.