Triple threat on and off the field
Madeline, Elizabeth, and Katherine Piper are triplets, but take their sisterhood to the next level by combining their efforts on the soccer field.
Katherine, Elizabeth, and Madeleine Piper are triplets that have been playing soccer together for many years. “When the triplets are all playing on the field, they tend to know where the other sisters are without looking before they pass,” Plano Soccer Youth Association soccer coach Mike Clark said. “This intuition helps raise their performance and move the ball more efficiently to set up plays for the rest of the team.”
November 5, 2015
On the soccer field, the three Piper girls are teammates, but off the field they are so much more than that. Katherine, Elizabeth, and Madeline are triplets that always have each other’s back, on and off the field.
“I always have someone to talk to or vent to when I’m frustrated,” Madeleine said. “I always know that there will be someone behind me to back me up.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by the other two.
“I like having them there if I do mess up, because if they’re not yelling at me they’re usually the first people to cheer me up,” Elizabeth said. “I think it helps because we know how each other work, and so I know, if she’s gonna be there or not.”
Despite always having two sisters to back them up, it can also be frustrating.
“If I screw up they will be all over me,” Kathryn said. “It motivates me to do better because they’re both a constant comparison basis when used to describe me.”
Playing soccer since they were three years old, the Piper sisters have a unique chemistry on the field.
“When the triplets are all playing on the field, they tend to know where the other sisters are without looking before they pass,” Plano Soccer Youth Association soccer coach Mike Clark said. “This intuition helps raise their performance and move the ball more efficiently to set up plays for the rest of the team.”
Although the three sisters share the same birthday and the same love of soccer, they do not share the same personality.
“Kathryn tends to be, more she’s more of a type ‘B’ person and she tend to be more laid back and she just tends to play soccer that way,” mother Tamara Piper said. “Madeleine and Elizabeth are both very type “A” and get very involved in winning. They want to win all the time and they tend to translate that into aggression on the field.”
It’s a mindset that can help on the field, but perhaps not as much as the nature of their relationship.
“I think they have a stronger bond than they do between other members of their team,” mother Tamara said. “I think they communicate pretty well on the field which helps them, and they do tend to listen to each other better than not off the field on the field.”
