Four members of this year's Mt. Hope High School girls' soccer team readily admit they have more than one head coach. They have more than one voice reminding them of their mistakes, praising their success, overseeing their improvement and yelling, yelling, yelling.

There are multiple voices echoing through the heads of Ariel Teixeira, Erin Micheletti, Shawna Jamiel and to a lesser extent, Emma McDougall.

Each is the younger sibling of a sister who also plays for the Mt. Hope soccer squad. Certainly for the Huskies this year, team success is a family affair.

Sisters on the Mt. Hope High School soccer team include Ariel Teixeira in front and (middle row, left to right ) Katie Micheletti, Erin Micheletti, Allie Teixeira and Hanna MacDougall. Also (back row) Shelley Jamiel, Emma MacDougall and Shawna Jamiel.

Truthful talks

Both the Michelettis and Jamiels are separated by two years. Shelley Jamiel and Katie Micheletti are seniors this season while Shawna and Erin are members of the sophomore class. Allie and Ariel Teixeira are separated by just 14 months with Allie being a sophomore and Ariel a freshman. Hanna is the elder of the twin MacDougalls by a mere 48 minutes.

It appears as though off-the-field instruction and tutelage are just part of soccer sisterhood as car rides home and dinner offer just two times for off-the-pitch, chalk-talk conversations.

"When you get home and you sit down at the dinner table what are you going to talk about?" said defender Shelly Jamiel. "Soccer! We talk about what we did in the game."

"You can always instruct your sister outside of the game," said forward Katie Micheletti. "On the way home from the game is where we just let it all out."

While the instruction often times comes off as abrasive or annoying bossiness to the younger sibling, it's acceptable considering the source.

"It's easier to talk to and get along with your sister than another member of the team," said Shelly. "It's your sister who you go to to talk and vent about all the other girls you can't stand."

"We come across as yelling at each other but we're really just trying to tell them what to do," said Shelly. "We want to see them to succeed even if we fail."

Ultimately the younger sisters welcome the help.

"When your teammates tell you what to do it goes in one ear and out the other," said freshman forward Ariel Teixeira. "But when your sister tells you something it registers. I realize she's going to yell at me anyway, so why not try it her way."

"It's different when your sister tells you something," agreed the elder Jamiel. "Your sister isn't going to lie to you. Your teammates may be nice and say 'Hey, you played a good game.' But if you had a bad game your sister will tell you, 'You had a bad game.'"

Shared aspirations

For Shelley Jamiel this season is special because it is an opportunity to not only play on the same pitch as her younger sister but also achieve something special, something that will stand the test of time - with her closest friend.

"Shawna and I are really close," said Shelly. "So it'd be really cool if we could win something together. It'd mean more to win with her because of memories we'd be able look back on forever."

Senior classmate Kate Micheletti agreed and said, "It'd be fun to share the glory with someone so close to you."

While the older sisters reveled in the thought of succeeding along side their younger sisters, the feeling was much more ambivalent among the youngsters.

"I think it would mean more to me to win it after she graduated," said Ariel.

"We'd be able to rub it in their faces and say, 'See? We didn't need you after all,'" said the younger Micheletti.

But those comments were offered tongue-in-cheek for the most part, as the sisters eventually agreed that while they're in no position to haggle over the timing of a championship, one earned along side their sister would indeed be sweet.

Collectively the girls believe their team, which started slowly, can turn its early-season results around in time to make a charge this season.

"We made playoffs last year," said Katie Micheletti. "So if we work hard we'll be there this season. Our record really doesn't show how good we are."

By Adam Cote

sports@eastbaynewspapers.com