Wesley Chapel brothers make it a family affair

WESLEY CHAPEL -- Wildcats coach Dave Alberts looks at his 112-pound and 215-pound wrestlers and sees a familiar relationship between Jason and Kevin Boyd: senior and freshman, experienced veteran and promising newcomer, brother and brother.

"Wrestling is done best when it's a family deal," the third-year Wesley Chapel coach said.

"It's like being in the army together. You spend a lot of time together, you go through a lot, so when brothers can do that together, it brings them closer."

When Alberts was a freshman in high school, his brother, Sam, was a senior, showing him the ropes and passing along the techniques that would allow both to continue with the sport in college.

The same learning dynamic can be found on the Wildcats' mats, where Jason, a two-time regional finalist, sparked an interest in his younger brother.

"When I saw my brother made it to the regional final, I knew this was my sport, that I wanted to make it to states my first year," said Kevin, who has an 8-4 record and will shed about five pounds this week to move to the 103-pound class.

"Watching my brother got me really interested."

The Boyds moved to Florida from Pennsylvania two years ago, and Kevin, in the seventh grade at Weightman Middle School, would walk over to watch his brother practice after school each day.

Without suiting up for a single match, he learned, much the same way a redshirt athlete does in college.

That progress has sped up with real competition this season, and after each win or loss, his brother is there with words of advice.

"I'm there for him, but I don't pamper him," Jason said. "I'm going to tell him how it is. I'll tell him, "Hey, you should have won that match, but next time around, you will win it."

Jason, off to an 8-2 start this season, also discovered a love for wrestling in middle school, but it isn't his best sport.

That would be football, where he totaled a county-record 19 sacks as an undersized defensive end who helped the Wildcats to an undefeated regular season.

He is enjoying wrestling for a different reason.

"It's a lot of fun having your brother on the team," Jason said. "He's doing great, and he's going to continue doing great. He's been doing well at 112, and once he drops down to 103, there's no telling what he's going to do."

Wrestling meant enough to Jason that when Kevin considered attending Pasco, which has a more established program, his brother convinced him to join him at Wesley Chapel.

This spring, Jason is wrestling mostly to keep himself in shape with an eye toward playing football in college, with Division II Carson-Newman College in Tennessee high among the schools he is considering.

After falling a single victory short of reaching the state meet in Lakeland in each of the past two seasons, Jason Boyd wants to be there in February.

Knowing what wrestling has meant to him but seeing what it now means to his brother, he seems to be just as content to attend the state meet as a spectator, cheering for Kevin.

"Match after match, I'm there with my brother, because I know he's going to make it to states," Jason said.

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