Jet Brown and Mika Brown are sisters on the Glendale High School girls’ varsity lacrosse team. Jet is one of the junior lacrosse captains, and her little sister, Mika, is a freshman who joined the team this year. They were both born in Pasadena, CA, and still live there.
How did you both first get into lacrosse?
Jet: In eighth grade, lacrosse was the only sport that you didn’t have to try out for to make the team. So, I was like, “I’m going to go for it,” and I had friends that played.
Mika: I just started lacrosse because Jet was playing.
What made you join the lacrosse team at GHS?
Jet: I was improving really fast when I played in middle school, so I was like, “I’m going to play in high school.” And I’ve heard really good things about Coach [Joe] Campbell.
Mika: Well, I had been practicing with the GHS team since the summer before going into eighth grade.
How have you benefited from being a part of this team?
Jet: The best thing is the community. The relationships I have made with my teammates and coach, I think, are unlike any other sport.
Mika: I got to meet a bunch of new people because of lacrosse that I would not have met if I didn’t join.
Jet: Our coach is also just like a dad to everyone.
Jet, how did you become a team captain?
Jet: Well, the title of captain wasn’t really given to me, but Coach had always expected me, ever since I was a freshman, to be good when I got older. He definitely set me up to be the leader when the seniors left [last year], so I’ve just taken that role.
What is it like to be a Nitro athlete?
Jet: It’s definitely cool to say, “Oh, I’m an athlete!” I also really like leaving class early for the games.
Mika: Oh, it’s great that I don’t have a 7th period, so I can just come here to hang out or leave early.
Jet: Yeah, you ALWAYS leave early!
What are some of the challenges that you and your team members have faced in the past?
Jet: A problem that we did have last year was that a lot of girls wouldn’t show up to practice, and [they would] take advantage of how kind Coach Campbell was. That became a problem, and the seniors became upset with the team. Now practice turnouts are better than they were in the past. People are becoming more dedicated to the sport.
What challenges have you faced more recently?
Jet: Definitely trying not to yell at everyone. I’m trying to keep my cool all the time, because I kind of have a temper, but I don’t act like it. Sometimes when the team starts getting on my nerves, I have to calm myself down, and it can get difficult.
Mika: For me, it’s getting up for morning practices.
What is your favorite part of being a member of this team?
Jet: The title. No, I’m kidding. My favorite part is watching everyone else improve and being able to be proud of them. It’s been really fun watching Mika get better, and I’m her #1 fan!
Mika: I really like the people and how supportive they are. Like if we mess up, they don’t care. It’s really easy to feel accepted.
How will other students benefit from being a part of the lacrosse team?
Jet: The community. It’s just…awesome. I feel like high school is a totally different experience when you’re on the lacrosse team. I really can’t imagine how our lives would be if we weren’t on the team. Like we wouldn’t have our coach or the team in our lives.
Mika: It would be really lonely.
Jet: Yeah, and boring.
Mika, what do you admire most about Jet?
Mika: Uhhh…
Jet: Do you even admire anything about me!?
Mika: Of course! You’re, umm, a great leader!
Jet, what do you admire most about Mika?
Jet: She’s so hardworking! She is always practicing and doing things to get better than me. I support her; I’m really proud of her.
What goals do you have for the team this year?
Jet: I hope that we can all become comfortable playing with each other, and knowing how each of us plays, so we can read each other’s minds out on the field, if that makes sense.
Do you guys have a lot in common?
Mika: Us!?
Jet: Not really. I mean, a little.
Mika: We are both very different. Jet is very outgoing, and I am a lot more introverted.
Jet: Yes, she’s very quiet and I’m always screaming.
Have you guys always been so close?
Jet: Noooo!
Mika: I think lacrosse has brought us way closer.
Jet: Yeah, for sure. Before, we were always arguing, and we never even talked to each other.
Do you guys share the same hobbies?
Jet: Nope, just lacrosse. Literally nothing else.
How are you guys both so talented?!
Jet: What? No. I think Mika just works really hard all the time. She is this good because of how much she works. She is always out in our backyard practicing, and I could never do that.
Does having your sister on the team make you better?
Mika: Well, definitely for me.
Jet: We both learn from each other. She teaches me a lot, and I try to teach her what I know.
Does lacrosse make your relationship better or worse?
Jet: Worse… No, better!
How does it feel to be playing alongside your sister?
Mika: It is really cool, and I’m really excited for the season because we get to play more.
How do you feel about the future of this team?
Jet: I’m actually pretty hopeful. I think that this year, next year, and the years after that will be good, because we have good freshmen and sophomores. I think the team will do completely okay when the juniors and our seniors graduate.
Mika: I’m really scared for when the juniors graduate, because there are so many of them and they are all really good.
Jet: But you are going to be awesome. Think about how good you are now and how good you are going to be [in] your senior year.
Where do you both see yourselves after you leave GHS?
Jet: I hope to continue lacrosse in college because of how much I like the sport, but a lot of the colleges I want to go to don’t offer lacrosse programs. So I’m still thinking about it.
Mika: I think it would be really cool to play in college, but I’m not so sure yet, because it’s still so far away.
Jet and Mika are such great lacrosse players, but they are also genuinely kind people. Keep an eye out for the Brown sisters at the lacrosse games this spring, and you can see them triumph during the season.
And if you would like to join the lacrosse team yourself, please speak to Coach Campbell. I promise that you’ll love it.
