Over the years Tyler and Bret Sproul have heard all the typical questions that befell many identical twins.
“I get the ‘which one are you’ a lot,” said Tyler, the older of the two brothers by nine minutes.
For those opponents looking to slow up the dynamic Cony High School seniors, that question has been a particularly important one, as the Sproul brothers lead a team looking to make a splash in its first season in Class B North.
“They’ve got really good stick skills, they can both shoot and they scrap,” Rams coach Chad Foye said. “They do a lot of little things that help everyone else get better, too.”
The Sprouls played a key role in Cony’s season opener, an 11-8 win over neighboring Gardiner on April 21. Tyler, a midfielder, had a game-high four goals in the win while Bret, an attacker, scored three goals. Both brothers agreed that having the other out there with them has played a critical part in their success previously and early this season.
“We’re definitely a dynamic duo out there. We just have really good chemistry,” Bret said. “We always know where each other are on the field.”
“I kind of have that twin telepathy,” added Tyler.
The brothers have certainly had plenty of time to work on that chemistry over the years as they both play soccer and hockey at Cony as well. Lacrosse, however, is a relatively new sport for them. Each grew up playing baseball, but in his freshman year Bret switched to lacrosse.
“I got bored of baseball,” Bret said. “I played baseball my whole life and there just wasn’t enough running and it wasn’t competitive enough for me.”
Tyler, meanwhile, stuck with baseball his freshman year. He still enjoyed playing the game but ultimately came to the same realization his brother did — with some persuasion from Bret — and also made the switch. The move benefited both, as having each other to practice with facilitated quick improvement.
“They just worked their tails off at it,” Foye said. “I drive by their house after a game and they’re outside practicing, doing dodging. They really worked themselves into being good players.”
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While the majority of the state’s girls lacrosse teams were scheduled to open the season Tuesday, Lawrence had its first game of the spring — and as a varsity program — Saturday in a 14-2 loss to Deering.
The game was originally slated to be played later in the season, but the Rams were willing to make the switch to accommodate Lawrence coach Gail Bucklin so she could attend the graduation of her daughter, Jessica, from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee at the end of May.
Though the team has been together for a few weeks now, Bucklin said it really hit home Saturday during the pregame introductions that they had made the step up to the varsity level.
“That kind of made the reality true to them,” Bucklin said.
As for the game itself, it also showed the Bulldogs just how far they have to go as a team. Lawrence was outshot 33-11.
“It was a tough game,” Bucklin acknowledged. “Deering really took it to us and we were on our heels most of the time defensively.
“…We have a lot athletes that once they get the ball they can go and shoot, but we’re still working on moving the ball well as a team.”
The game against Deering presented plenty of other challenges for the Bulldogs, who had to adapt on the fly. During the preseason, they played a number of Class A and tough Class B schools, including Lake Region, Noble, Portland, Messalonskee, Winslow, Gardiner and Oxford Hills.
“We’ve seen improvement every single game,” Bucklin said.
Lawrence was supposed to play its second game Tuesday against Erskine but it was postponed due to inclement weather. Bucklin in particular was looking forward to the game. She and Erskine coach Shara MacDonald were teammates on the Husson women’s basketball team in college and have been friends since.
“We’ve never played against each other in anything,” Bucklin said. “After 30 years of friendship, we’re looking forward to that.”
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Inclement weather forced a few postponements Tuesday. The Lawrence-Erskine girls game was pushed to Monday in South China at 4 p.m. The Maranacook/Winthrop Hawks will host Morse on Wednesday while the Cony-Winslow girls game was postponed, with a makeup date to be determined. The Gardiner-Lewiston girls game will be played Monday.
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