Brotherly sportsmanship, ‘His plays matter more than mine’

The Hazen name is one of the most recognizable at Bellaire.

AJ, senior, and Will, sophomore, Hazen are brothers on the varsity football team and lacrosse team. Although AJ is two years older than Will, their bond with each other is strong. They often care more about the other than themselves when on the field.
“I care more when [AJ] goes in,” Will said. “I care more about him making a [good] play than my making a good play.”
The brothers remember playing football in the front yard and never being on the same team.
“It wouldn’t have been fair,” AJ said, “we always used to have to play manager to make teams fair.”
When the brothers were in first grade, their dad placed them in the Southwest Football League. Neither brother was ever on the same team because of the age difference, but the support was constantly there. The brothers attended each other’s games, and their dad was a constant source of inspiration.
“He definitely pushed us very hard,” Will said, “and almost expects too much, but that’s kind of a good thing.”
This motivation has worn off on both brothers, both on the football field and off of it. They strive for perfection in all they do, but also understand the chances to grow. This is AJ’s first year playing football at Bellaire, as he was too busy with lacrosse and advanced level coursework to add football to the list. Will was the primary reason that AJ ended up joining the football team.
“My brother was asking me to play, so I just kind of was like ‘why not?’,” AJ said. “It’s my senior year.”
On the football field, AJ is a linebacker and Will is a quarterback, but it doesn’t matter that one plays offense and the other plays defense. They continue to push each other each day, wherever they are: at practice or at home. Both want the other one to get better, so temporarily, excessive competition has been set aside in the Hazen household.
“We’ve always been competing with each other,” AJ said. “I’d say recently we’ve been working together more because we’re on the same team now.”
The brothers have big goals and they know that by working together they can achieve them. AJ knows that Will is still a sophomore with plenty of high school left in front of him, so he pushes his brother to his dreams.
“If I could go play in college I would,” Will said. “That would be like the ultimate goal, to play at Texas or a big school like that.”
Brotherly love continues to be the name of the game for the Hazens. The brothers have come a long way since they first began playing in their front yard, and their stories about supporting each other through SFL up until Bellaire continue to warm hearts.

Dancing together but apart, twins’ individuality through dance

Behind the curtain, junior Gaia Giuliani watches her twin sister Sofia turning across the stage. Seconds later, Gaia will join her sister on stage for a dance they have practiced together for months.
The sisters have always participated in sports together, but say that they quickly developed a passion for dance three years ago. They both now dance for the eMotion Dance Company under the direction of Paris Kent. Emotion is a place where the Giuliani’s can express themselves as different people; a lot of the time, they are seen as the same person and people can’t really distinguish them. But dancing sets them apart and reveal their differences and unique qualities.
The Giulianis emphasize the struggles of being an identical twin in dance.
“I know we look really similar, so when people just meet us they have a hard time telling us apart,” Gaia said. “I really appreciate it when choreographers or teachers take the time to tell us apart.”
Although their appearances are similar, their dancing styles could not be farther apart.
“It’s super obvious to tell which ones which just by the way we dance,” Sofia said. “I think that sometimes just knowing our faces people have a hard time telling us apart, but because these people see us dancing, they can like see the difference in like the way we move in our own styles and I think that’s how people tell us apart.”
Even though the Giulianis dance in different styles, they still find ways to support each other, whether it’s giving tips on a certain skill or just being there for each other.
But, there is one big challenge for them.
They cannot choreograph together.
“We definitely cannot choreograph together,” Gaia said. “We’ve tried that and it just kind of ends up because we have no filter with each other. So it kind of just ends up being us like against each other. But we do like to be in the same room when we choreograph with each other.”
Although being together exposes weak spots, the Giulianis make each other stronger by building off one another and working together as a team.
“I know it’s hard being in the same sport as your sibling because obviously everybody associates you with each other, especially as twins,” Sofia said. “But dance is an individual sport. Find individuality.”

Generations of lacrosse

Standing in the goal at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, senior Joe Beasley watches the Bellaire men’s lacrosse team face off during a scrimmage.
He watches with anticipation as his little freshman brother Lee Beasley wins the ball.
The brothers, who started playing four years ago, credit their older brother Jake, who graduated in 2022, for being such an inspiration.
“We used our competition to make the team better,” Joe said. “When people see us competing and they see Jake’s trying to score on me, I’ll try my hardest to stop the ball.”
Their introduction to lacrosse was rough, but they quickly fell in love.
“My best friend took me to a lacrosse camp and it was hard,” Joe said. “I threw up like 20 times. I was severely dehydrated. It sucked. But that’s when I learned to love the sport.”
For the Beasleys, tough experiences made them stronger. The brothers continue to put their blood, sweat and tears into the game.
“[There was a time] when I could not catch a throw, I sucked at everything, but then, you start to know you can,” Joe said. “It just gets to the point where you’re confident in your ability and you’re able to pass and catch and make moves and all that without second-guessing yourself.”
Lee’s debut on the Bellaire men’s lacrosse team is something his friends and family look forward to. His middle school coach at Pin Oak happened to be one of his older brothers, Jake Beasley.
“He definitely went a little bit harder on me because I was his little brother.” Lee said.
The brothers aren’t yet sure what they want to do in the future.
“Everybody says it’s their dream to go pro, but I don’t know how I feel about that,” Joe said. “I’ll be happy if I can play in college.”
Bellaire’s Men’s lacrosse team continues to focus on keeping the energy going. After making their way to state last year, there are high expectations for the team this year, but the Beasley’s believe that the team has what it takes to win it all.