WESTMINSTER, Colo. — The Doyles are experiencing two times the grief this season without lacrosse, as twins Seth and Jake think about what could've been for their final season at Mountain Range.
"[We had] the goal of making playoffs this year, since we were only one spot away last year," Seth said.
His brother sat next to him in the video chat interview and echoed the same sentiment. For a young team, they battled back toward the tail-end of the 2019 season, only to miss the playoffs with Fairview grabbing the 16-seed.
The regular season matchup with the Knights was one that Jake remembered fondly.
"They were crushing us in that game and then we came back and scored eight goals in the last eight minutes," he said. "We didn't win, but it was awesome."
Seth had another memory like that one.
"My favorite was a game against Legacy," he said. "We were coming off of our best win-streak and it just really gave us a lot of momentum."
The Doyle brothers shared a lot of those memories from games and practices, but there was always one common theme.
"Definitely something's missing not being able to hang out with the bros every day at practice and have fun," Jake said.
It does make it easier, they said, to have their actual bro and built-in teammate in their own backyard.
"Sometimes, I think I took it for granted having my own brother on the team," Jake said. "It's actually a really cool experience."
The brothers have been playing together since 6th grade. Even though they played their final game together last spring, they still find time to sharpen their skills and bond on their own net in their yard.
"I think it's really cool because we'll always go to each other and ask each other for advice, especially since he plays attacking midfield and I play goalie," Seth said. "He's always the one shooting on me and we have a friendly competition to see how many goals he can score and how many shots I can save."
The Doyles are keeping each other motivated while they're forced to stay at home. Seth said that's the biggest piece of advice he'd give to up-and-coming players.
"It's just to make sure that you're putting in the maximum amount of effort, especially right now while we're all isolated and really have the option to sit around and not do much," Seth said. "It's the players that come and actually workout and improve their stick skills that want to get better."
And of course to never take anything for granted...not even time spent with your own brother.