Family affair: Mansfield Senior's DeBolts making most of time together on soccer pitch

Siblings playing together in sports is not uncommon. We see it often, whether at the pro, college or high school level around the globe.

For high school sports purposes, sometimes you'll have two brothers who play sports but one might be playing baseball and the other is taking part in wrestling. Take three sisters — two are on the varsity volleyball team, while the other is on junior varsity. You'll have a sibling pair where the oldest sister is a senior varsity starter in basketball and the youngest will just miss likely playing with her big sis in high school because she's a basketball player herself but in eighth grade.

Yet, the times are few and far between when you'll come across not just two, or three but four siblings playing with each other on the varsity level in any sport. That's not to say there aren't any out there, but it's scarce to say the least.

Well, we have our rare instance at Mansfield Senior High, where four DeBolt brothers — senior Camden, junior Quinten, sophomore Griffin and freshman Jameson — all play varsity soccer.

If having the four DeBolt brothers on the same team wasn't enough, to top it off their father, Bryan, is the coach. It's Bryan DeBolt's first year coaching all four of his sons on the same team and fourth season overall as Mansfield Senior's soccer coach after a stint in the same position from 2014-2016.

This season, Bryan's guidance and the brothers' play on the field have helped the Tygers' struggling program to its best season in years, winning nine games (9-9-0 record) — as many wins as the program has had in the last five years combined — while also making a playoff appearance.

But before playing and coaching high school soccer became a thing, the DeBolt family story extended away from American soil where they explored what life would be like from a far distance abroad.

The DeBolt family found a new beginning moving from Ohio to Germany

Bryan DeBolt has lived in Mansfield basically his entire life. He graduated from Madison Comprehensive High School. He met his high school sweetheart and wife, Holly, during their high school days. They married in 2003. He then attended and earned a pharmaceutical degree at Ohio State University. In 2004, Bryan was deployed to Belgium for a year while serving in the army reserve. While there, he found out that Holly was pregnant with their first child.

Camden was born in 2004; Quinten in 2005; Griffin in 2007; and Jameson in 2008.

"My wife came over to visit even while she was pregnant and started the idea of, 'Wow, Europe is really awesome' and we dreamed of going back," said Bryan. "That kind of started it. When the kids got a little older, it was like, 'We either do it now or they'll be too old.'"

After living on a farm in Lexington and then moving to downtown Mansfield, Bryan had decided that he wanted to give his sons a totally divergent experience in a different country.

"It was right around when the kids were in middle school. That's a big move for people, especially people in that timeframe," said Bryan. "I think two of them were happy and the other two of them were like, 'Dude, I got good friends. I really don't wanna go.' They played soccer with some of the guys they're playing with now. It was tough to get them to move."

The overseas location to which the DeBolt family of six moved was Kaiserslautern, Germany. They left in 2018 and spent three years living in Europe.

"I used my knowledge of the military system there where civilian jobs in military bases in Germany were at," said Bryan. "They have a large army hospital in Germany. There's a website you can go to and find out what jobs are available. They have a rule as a civilian working for the government over there that you can only be somewhere for five years. They hadn't enacted that until recently, so there was a lot of people who were over there for over five years and a lot of jobs opened.

"It was a pharmacist position, and I'm a army reservist. I think that was helpful. There were 70-something applicants for one job. If you're over there, they pay for your housing. It's a great mission being able to care for wounded soldiers and retirees. And you're right near everything to be able to travel."

European family adventures on a German military base

In Germany, the boys went to school on a military base and the family lived in a house off-base.

"I was 10 when we left for Europe. It was a lot different. No one spoke the language except the people who lived on base," said Jameson. "I really liked it. The houses. The markets. The villages. All of it. It was really amazing."

"It was really different because no one spoke the language except for people on base," said Griffin, who was 11 when the family left for Europe. "We all did well making friends. We handled the language barrier pretty well. Moving in, it's kind of just do your part. My parents did an amazing job for us. They took care of everything."

"I was 12, turned 13 when I got there," said Quinten. "It was a big cultural difference. I had my parents there to guide me through it. We got with friends and other people we connected with that helped us understand the culture more. While there, a lot of people spoke English there on the military base because there were a bunch of Americans there. It was a bit different but I liked it a lot."

"It was a good experience," said Camden, who was 14 when the family made the move. "It was challenging at first but it was nice to be there for three years."

"What we think is normal here in the states is different in another country," said Bryan. "I think they realized that. Germany is a little more rigid with some of their rules and it takes a little more time to get into that. It was a big learning curve, but once they did they loved it. They formed a lot of friendships over there."

While there are obvious contrasts from living in America compared to making roots in a unfamiliar foreign land, one of the biggest adjustments kids have to make is that transition into a new school system. Yet, one of the brothers found the change not as difficult.

"We were in an American school on base. The culture there, it was people from everywhere," said Quinten, who said he wanted to take a language class in French but since the school didn't offer it he took a Spanish course instead. "You have people there from everywhere. You have people on the military base from China, Japan, Germany, Belgium and from the United States.

"I don't know about real German school off-base. School there was around the same thing as here for the American side of it. It was pretty easy to pick up on."

Quinten also pointed out that they didn't see many kids his age when they first arrived in Germany.

"There are a lot of older people, less younger people," he said. "We go walk outside the city or go to the mall and you don't see kids. Eventually, we ended up settling in."

Asked if any of them picked up a new language, Griffin said, "No. Last year there I took a German class. Might as well take it. People are going to ask about it. I learned like two words."

During the DeBolts' three years residing in Germany, many of the family's lasting memories were created in the numerous adventurous trips they took part in all over Europe. The destinations ranged from Paris, France, to Malta (an island country in the Mediterranean Sea) to Prague, Czech Republic, during the Christmas holidays, to Schwangau, Germany, to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, to the Spanish Canary Islands, to London, England, where they attended Wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, and more.

"Our dad wanted to have an adventure," said Jameson.

"Oh, there's a lot of them," said Griffin, trying to come up with his fondest European memory. "I don't remember stuff well but I have keychains that help me remember."

"The family one. We were going on a trip to Austria," said Quinten. "It was like a toboggan run. We were on a sled. We went down. We went like four or five times down. It was super cool. We spent the whole day there. It was like our whole winter trip. We went for like five days in three different countries. It was really cool."

International Fútbol

Find one area that bonds the DeBolts together and soccer is right at the heart of it all. Bryan played, as did Holly.

"I played at Madison. My wife played soccer at Ontario, and was probably a better soccer player then I was," said Bryan, who said Holly joined a roller derby team in Germany that gave her a chance to travel to countries like Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland. "I played right wing/fullback and I loved making those runs. I could run all day. I used to play with a guy that scored a ton and I was fine just assisting him. I like to put those crosses in."

In Germany, the boys got involved in the game. Camden and Quinten — as the two oldest brothers — played on the same team. With Griffin being a year behind, he played in another age group and then later joined his older brothers, while Jameson didn't get the chance to play with his siblings.

"They played on an American team in a German league," said Bryan. "They played against other German teams from other little villages. It was really good competition."

The boys quickly discovered that German fútbol was much distinctive from the American brand of soccer they were accustomed to playing.

"Our coaches didn't speak that much English. In Germany, they let the whistle play a lot longer and there a lot more physical," said Camden. "It taught me to be tougher and it was a big mental thing, too. Playing against a bunch of Germans who played on a team together ever since they were in kindergarten, and they had all this ability to play together."

"It's play without the whistle no matter what. They teach you that," said Griffin. "It's really enforced. It's good soccer. It's not dirty. It's clean, hard. I think they play physical here, too. We have some players that play incredibly physical like Syncere [Long], Q [Quinten] and Caden Merrell, our center defender. It's like any player over there — you play non-stop to the whistle."

"The German coaches were nice but harsh. I feel like that helped me develop a lot more," said Quinten. "Coaches taught us to be intense. Everything there was real physical. So it's like if you get knocked down and don't get the call, get back up. If the ref don't call it your way, sometimes it's because you're Americans. Some people don't like Americans over there. If they don't see it fair, you just gotta get up and go."

In terms of the style of football Germans usually play, Quinten picked up on that too.

"It's very intense, fast, close touches, pass the ball more and moving it around," he said. "You look at Bayern [Munich] and the other teams in Germany play like that."

Did the German soccer experience make the brothers better footballers?

"Yeah, I think I improved," said Camden. "I played on defense mainly in Germany. I got back here, started to get in a little bit better shape and started playing some forward."

"Oh, yeah," said Quinten. "The competition was different. I feel like over there, if you're small you gotta be smart. You gotta use your brain, especially playing with the bigger guys. It helped my soccer knowledge."

If playing soccer wasn't enough, Bryan gave his sons a universal soccer experience by giving them a full close-up view of some of Europe's top clubs like Serie A's Juventus in Turin, Italy in 2019 and FC Kaiserslautern, a German club currently in the second division of the Bundesliga.

"We saw a lot of FC Kaiserslautern games," said Jameson.

"The plan was to give the kids a present of experience while over there," said Bryan. "Quinten's favorite player was [Cristiano] Ronaldo and he was playing with Juventus at the time. We literally drove from Germany through the Alps into Turin, which is in Northern Italy. Got an Airbnb. It was rainy, cold and miserable. They played Parma. Ronaldo had two goals. They were up 3-1 and they let the lead go. They ended tied 3-3, and those Parma fans were pumped. That was the biggest game.

"They also got to see FC Kaiserslautern. They played in some of the Cup games where they played against clubs in higher divisions like Mainz (Bundesliga club). Kaiserslautern actually beat them, so it was also a year after we leave and they got promoted to the second division. The stadium was packed with 30,000-40,000 people."

Add the DeBolts' trip to Zurich, Switzerland, to visit the FIFA World Football Museum in 2018 as another family highlight to check off.

On-pitch abilities and Mansfield Senior turnaround

The DeBolts moved back to the U.S. in 2021.

"I was really happy to come back, see all my friends and play soccer here," said Griffin. "That's really what I missed the most — the team, family."

Camden, Quinten and Griffin each played varsity soccer for Mansfield Senior in 2021 (4-11-2 record) but it was this season when Bryan took over head coaching duties, along with Jameson joining his brothers on varsity while splitting time on junior varsity. Despite coming off a recent tournament exit, the Mansfield Senior boys program has had something of a soccer renaissance.

"This is the best team I've had," said Bryan. "Our defense last year gave up 85 goals in the regular season. They've only given up 42 this year. That's due to our centerback Caden Merrell. He's really good, fast and good in the air. Braxton Hock, our keeper. Outside backs Cameron Carns and Caleb Bowman, both of those guys played football last year and decided to come out and play soccer. There's Sean Putt, our holding midfielder. He's a captain as well.

"We have two seniors and a lot of the team is made up of sophomores and juniors, guys like Syncere Long, Tayshon Robinson, Justin Crall and other guys. Those guys are our core. That's what's building our team."

The DeBolt brothers played a huge role in the school's most successful season in years.

Camden, who was one of the top goalkeepers in Richland County during his junior season, made a positional switch in his senior year by converting into a striker.

"Initially, I played goalie and I feel like I needed something new in soccer. I felt like playing goalie would have lit a fire in my heart and I had a good season," said Camden, who had 135 saves in 2021. "I planned on playing keeper this season but I sprained my thumb really bad. At that point I was still able to play the field, so I just started playing on top, coming in getting minutes, and one thing led to another."

"He won a lot of accolades at goalkeeper last year," said Bryan. "Last year, they gave up 85 goals, so Camden had a lot of shots on him. That's why he had so many saves. This year, we decided that we were going to see who was going to be the goalkeeper between him and our keeper, Braxton Hock. Camden busted his thumb. He's a good field player, so I said, 'Braxton has improved so much and Camden your thumb is hurt, let's put you back at striker.'"

At striker, Camden was well-suited to play in front in goal, as he scored seven goals and had two assists.

"I like playing striker," he said. "I really enjoy it. Goalie was nice, too."

Maybe the most dynamic of the brothers is Quinten, an attacking midfielder/forward who's quite nifty and eccentric with the ball at his feet. He'll try plenty of tricks to befuddle defenders and is a pretty accurate striker of the ball from distance. His 19 goals led the team and his seven assists were third. Nicknamed "Q" by his father and brothers, he was an All-Ohio Cardinal Conference first team selection this season.

"I like trying stuff," said Quinten, who was voted one of the team captains this year alongside Griffin. "I try not to go to high. Stay in the middle. Try to get it to my teammates. We got good players on the outside. But I guess I do some stuff to get out of certain situations."

"What we want him to do is control that midfield. When we attack, we attack with him," said Bryan. "He's led our team in goals. He's been voted first-team OCC. Very well-deserved. Q is one of the smartest players I've ever seen. He knows the game so well. He makes great decisions. He scores really well. He likes to slide tackle. Hopefully, he'll continue to get better. I like to see him involve some more people. He's our offensive heartbeat."

If there's one characteristic that's obvious while watching Quinten, it's the raw zeal and fire he exhibits on the pitch. His intensity is palpable. You'll see him sometimes getting into it verbally with opposing players and even make gestures to referees at his displeasure with a call or non-call.

"He has passion for the game, he really does," said Bryan. "Griffin is a little more chill. Camden is more chill. They're all different personalities, which is insane. Quin is too smart for his own good, so he wants to argue."

"That's one of the things I have to control is my temper more," said Quinten. "That holds me down as the captain."

Lining up at fullback/outside midfielder is Griffin, who plays a mixture of the two positions. Griffin is a attacking fullback at heart, making runs on the flanks and getting forward often with the ball. Once in the final third, he'll find a teammate or shoot himself. No question he was one of the Tygers' top playmakers this season, finishing with eight goals and dishing out eight assists.

"It's quite difficult to get any amount of points back there," said Griffin, who was All-OCC honorable mention. "It's kind of scattered. Beginning of the season, we lost one of our players in the second game. He was our defender. I had to take his spot for a little bit. I'm usually at right wing more attacking. I had to fill in for him and whenever somebody subs out I kind of shift around, try to fill in spots. I really like playing out near the line and use my speed."

"He's mostly on that right side of the midfield. I do put him back on defense," said Bryan. "Against Wooster, he was playing a holding mid. His main position is that outside midfielder. He will come all the way back to help and push all the way up. Griffin's got a phenomenal shot. He's a bigger kid. Probably the stockiest of the kids. He likes to play in those open spaces and play quick. Works the touchline and puts a good cross in. He had a lot of goals in the beginning of the year in some games we didn't score a lot."

Jameson plays as a striker/winger on JV and splits time on varsity. Although he doesn't play as much, Bryan said he has seen drastic improvements in his youngest since returning from Germany.

"He's taken a little time to get back in the swing of things," said Bryan. "He's showing his tenacity and relentlessness on top. He's got to make up for some of that size difference. He just doesn't give up. He was then able to swing up on varsity and play multiple games. I think he actually plays harder on varsity because he knows he's got only a certain amount of time. I think his skills has improved vastly since we got back."

"I play better against people better than me," said Jameson, who said his favorite soccer club is the Premier League's Manchester City. "It's a lot easier to play with my brothers because we have so much connection. I want to prove I'm good enough to play on varsity next year. I really hope I can hold up to the DeBolt name."

What about the on-the-pitch chemistry between the DeBolts?

"Well, were always busy so there's not much strategizing at home, but at practice and on the field we all have the same chemistry," said Griffin, whose favorite soccer player is Cucho Hernandez from Columbus Crew of the MLS. "Some stuff we look at each other and we know what's going to happen. Q, I bond well with him. Cam, too. Jameson as well."

"We play good together," said Quinten. "There's usually three of us out there at the same time. At least two of us."

As the program continues to rise and take positive steps forward, Bryan wants to see Mansfield Senior step up the level of scheduling against some of the more established local schools next season.

"We'll probably looking to put a little bit more competition on the schedule," said Bryan. "We didn't play Ontario, Clear Fork or Mansfield Christian this year. I wanna get those guys on the schedule next year. Because if our team wants to be discussed with the best teams in the area, we have to play the best teams in the area. I think that now we have the ability to play with those guys."

Family Dynamic

We see fathers coaching sons all the time in sports. Each case is unique, special, exasperating and sticks out in their own manner. No father-coach and son(s)-player circumstance is the same. That's no different with the DeBolts either.

"It's kind of difficult because my wife likes to say, 'You're a coach there and when you come back, you're a dad here,'" said Bryan, who's a pharmacist at the OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital. "So we talk about things differently and discuss things differently. My wife has been my biggest supporter. She's been all into this. Because I bring some of my military background into it, I yell a lot. I do. I'm not going to lie.

"Hopefully that's the encouragement and energy they feed off. I'm probably harder on my kids. I hope I'm harder on my kids. I don't want anyone to say, 'Well, the only reason they play is because they're your kids.'"

"I think it is cool but he pushes us a lot," said Quinten. "He holds us accountable."

"It's almost like Two-Face from the Joker," said Griffin. "You got to know who you're talking to. If you're in practice, you have two hours of coach. No matter what, it's coach, not dad. When we get home, he'll just talk to us like a dad. I think, personally, he just coaches us. He doesn't play favorites. I think he's done a very good job being fair to every single player."

Want to know one interesting tidbit about the brothers?

Try examining their hair. Each of their hairstyles are not just different but more outlandish, funky, free-spirited and unconventional than the other brother. So, who's got the best looking hair?

"Probably Griffin," said Camden.

"Don't tell him I said this but I gotta give it to Q," said Griffin.

"You gotta rule the two with the short hair out. Camden and Jameson don't got it. Get' em out," said Quinten, with full confidence. "It's me and Griff. OK, I gotta give him the curls but the color is mine. So, that's what people say about it."

Bryan went complete opposite.

"It's my wife, obviously. She's the one that gave those kids their hair. She has amazing, brown curly hair. But it's definitely not Camden. He twirls his hair and it breaks off all the time. It's not Jameson. I think he looks like a llama, but that's beside the point," he said jokingly. "But it's between the two middles. Quin and Griff. It's a toss-up, man.

"But the thing about Quin is he can't put his own ponytail in. Even at 17 years old, he walks over to my wife because she does a real good, tight-bun ponytail. You can quote that. OCC first team and can't put his own hair in a bun."

All in all, at the core of the DeBolt family is soccer. A soccer family through and through.

"I think it brings us closer 100 percent," said Jameson. "The way our dad is the coach, everyone plays and enjoys the game. It makes it more extraordinary. We get so many pictures of us on the field. Makes us a better family."

"That's what we've always done," said Bryan. "We've always been a soccer family. It's been times where we've gone everywhere but this is the one time we're all in the same spot."

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter: @JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield senior's DeBolt family enjoys time together on soccer pitch