Bret Watson uses only the inside of her foot to dribble her soccer ball during a skill drill at the Free State Soccer Camp. The camp was held June 26-30.

Everything seemed to come in pairs at the Free State soccer camp on Thursday.

First, campers began the camp by partnering up for a game of Chain Tag. Later on, Free State varsity boys and girls soccer coach Jason Pendleton handed out dual-stick Popsicles to the campers.

“As you can see, it’s the most exciting part of the day,” said Pendleton, carrying the sack of Popsicles to the field while campers cheered him.

But the camp wasn’t all playground games and refreshing treats. Between tag and Popsicles, campers worked on fundamentals.

The coed camp, held at Free State High School, was open to children between third and eighth grade.

Three groups rotated from field to field for different drills that focused on spacing, passing and scoring.

Adam Auer enjoys a Popsicle during a break at the Free State Soccer Camp. Camp participants said they enjoyed the popsicles in the warm weather outside.

As Thursday’s camp moved along, a few more pairs stood out. Among the 33 campers, there were five sets of siblings. Two pairs at the camp on Thursday were Alexia and Adriana Jadlow and Regan and Maren Kahler.

For these sisters, the camp gave them the opportunity to do something they don’t typically get to do – play soccer on the same field. Alexia, 12, and Adriana, 9, have never played on the same soccer team and it’s been years since Regan, 12, and Maren, 10, last played soccer together.

Outside of the camp, both sets of sisters said they only got to face one another by playing one-on-one at home.

“I usually win, though,” Maren said.

“No, it’s usually me,” Regan said.

Fortunately, these two sets of sisters were in separate age groups so their competitive juices didn’t spill over at the camp.

In the past, though, Pendleton said sometimes siblings ended up in the same group and the competition between them got a pretty intense. Other times, it didn’t matter if siblings were in the same group or not.

“Even in different age groups, it’s not uncommon to see elbows come out, pushing and things like that,” Pendleton said. “Then you wonder what kind of conversations go on in the car on the way home after that.”

Despite their competitive nature, the sisters do occasionally try to help each other improve their games. Adriana said her sister has helped her improve all of her skills.

“I show her moves that I’ve learned like step-overs and stuff like that,” Alexia said.

As for the Kahlers, it’s another debate as to which sister gives the other the most help.

“I’ve tried, but she doesn’t always take them,” Regan said. “She’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I already know that.'”

“I give her tips,” Maren said. “Shooting tips because last year she didn’t really know how to shoot.”

Pendleton said he can usually tell when there are siblings at his camps and while he is there to help them with their fundamentals, the older siblings usually help their younger siblings keep up with what is going on at the camp.

“They tell them to pick up their stuff and, ‘Hey, did you get a Popsicle?’ or the older one tries to convince the younger one to give them their popsicle,” Pendleton said.

Speaking of the Popsicles, the Jadlow sisters agreed that they enjoyed the camp as much as the Popsicles, but the Kahler sisters were split. When asked to pick between the camp and Popsicles, Regan chose the camp while Maren shouted, “The Popsicles!”

Popsicles aside, the camp not only helps campers hone their skills, it offers Pendleton a look into the future as to what players he may get to coach at the high school level. Pendleton said having siblings at his camp was especially positive because it provided a little insight into the players’ soccer background.

“You can tell that it’s a family that likes soccer,” Pendleton said. “Any time that you get families here, it gives you an idea of the families that, maybe down the road, they’re going to still be into it and play high school soccer.”