In soccer, all players need to know where their fellow teammate will be on the field in order to dribble the ball down the field and score. This sense of knowing where each person will be comes over a long span of playing with the same personnel game after game, year after year.

With Adam and Chris Bettencourt, this sense of knowing where each other will be on the field has been there since the age of 4. Adam and Chris Bettencourt are cousins who play for the Sacramento State men’s soccer team.

In a recent home match against No. 10-ranked UC Irvine, the cousins teamed up to score both goals in the game.

“I picked the ball off just above the center spot of the field. I found Chris in front me, passed it to him,” Adam Bettencourt said. “Then I went around him. The rest was him, he passed the ball in front of me and then I finished.”

Chris Bettencourt said it is intuitive for them when they are both on the field.

“It is like second nature. We just know because we have been playing together for so long,” Chris Bettencourt said. “I know what run he is going to make. So when he made that run to the goal, I just played him through.”

Even though they have been teammates for most of their lives, Adam Bettencourt said they each share an aggressive desire to win, even if they are on opposite sides of the ball.

“We practiced every Tuesday and Thursday for our club team. And not to sound cocky, but we’re definitely the two better players on the team,” Adam Bettencourt said. “So when we were split up during practice, we would always butt heads. I feel like we are both really competitive and neither of us want to lose.”

Chris Bettencourt said he valued those conflicts when they were growing up because they learned how to be adults, but also still be spirited when playing soccer.

“It’s been a good thing and a bad thing. When we were young, we would have short tempers because of all the arguments over soccer,” Chris Bettencourt said. “But now it made us grow up and become more competitive and more mature.”

Head coach Michael Linenberger said the cousins would do anything for their team members to ensure success.

“Chris as a person is a fun guy to be around. He will do anything for his teammates off the field,” Linenberger said. “He is two different personalities for me; he is Chris, the person who is just a great guy and then there is Chris the soccer player who would give a body part to help his team win.”

Linenberger said Adam Bettencourt is the adhesive that helps the team function.

“Adam for me is like the glue that holds this team together. He is a tireless worker and an unbelievable competitor,” Linenberger said. “He is just the guy that keeps all the parts together and heading in the right direction.”

Agnel Bettencourt, Chris Bettencourt’s father, said a parent must be in tune with the needs and desire of the child.

“You can’t really push a kid into doing something that he really doesn’t want to do. But if they want to do it, just guide them in that activity,” Agnel Bettencourt said. “And if he has the talent, then the child will pick it up and go further than anyone else.”

As their club level coach, Louie Bettencourt, Adam Bettencourt’s father, knew there had to be a line between being their coach and being a dad and uncle to the two boys.

“I have always treated them like soccer players. But if you don’t perform on the field, then I will do what I need to for the team,” Louie Bettencourt said. “Sometimes I was harder on them than other players, so that other players knew there were no favorites.”

Louie Bettencourt only wants to see his son Adam and nephew Chris succeed. Louie has asked Linenberger to continue encouraging the cousins to develop their skills as soccer players.

“I expressed to him, that he keeps pushing them and help them to get to the next level. And to get the exposure they need if they wish to play professionally,” Louie Bettencourt said.

Matt Harrington can be reached at [email protected]