More than Brothers
超越兄弟之情
As I write this, our cross-country teams are headed to Maine for the New England Championships, our football team is preparing for the Division I State Championship, and our Academy Theater cast and crew are preparing for their performance of The Addams Family. In the midst of all of this excitement and excellence, I want to pay tribute to a group of young men who filled our fall with excitement and excellence all their own: our boys' soccer team.
我写这篇文章的时候，我们学院的越野队正前往缅因州参加新英格兰锦标赛，足球队正在为州竞赛做准备，学院剧院的演员和工作人员也都在准备《亚当斯家族》的表演。在所有这些令人兴奋的事件中，我要向一群充满激情的年轻男子足球运动员致敬。
More than any team I can remember, this team treated each other like brothers. There was no division—no barriers caused by nationality or race, dorm or day student status, new player or veteran. They genuinely liked and supported each other, even when things were down—especially when things were down—and when they yelled "Family!" each time they broke their team huddle, I really believed it because it was true.
在我记忆中的所有球队中，只有这支球队的队员像兄弟一样对待彼此。他们不分国籍和种族、寄宿生和走读生、新队员和老队员，大家都是真心地喜欢和支持对方，即使比赛进行地不太顺利，他们也会抱在一起高喊“我们是一家人！”，我相信这就是真正的友谊。
This team competed every second of every game. They played hard, and they played together. Part of the strong emotions I felt at the end of their championship game, which could have gone either way minus a call here or a bounce there, was the recognition that I would not be able to watch this team again. The end of the game meant the end of this team. However, I am comforted by the knowledge that, given the strength of their relationships, it was not the end of the brotherhood.
这支球队在每场比赛中都全力以赴，团结一致。在锦标赛结束的时候，不管是大声呼喊或是跳跃起来为他们喝彩，我都有一种强烈的感觉，好像以后再也看不到这支球队了。比赛结束意味着球队也要暂缓训练。然而，让我感到欣慰的是，他们的兄弟情并不会随着球队训练的暂停而终结。
As impressive as this togetherness was, I was more impressed by how they grew during the season. Their teamwork was more cohesive, their passing crisper, their communication more constant. Their skills got better and better under the tutelage of Coach Steve Levesque, and their dominance down the stretch was a testament to their hard work. They grew not only as players and as a team; they grew as young men and leaders too.
这种团结精神让人印象深刻，但我对他们在赛季中的成长更加印象深刻。他们的团队变得更有凝聚力、沟通更为频繁，在主教练Steve Levesque的指导下，他们的技能也变得更高，彼此配合地更默契，这些都是他们自己努力刻苦的证明。他们不仅成长为优秀的球员和团队，也成长为优秀的青年和领导者。
Perhaps one of the best parts of their legacy came at the very end—even after they had received the runner-up trophy for Vermont Division I soccer. Having traveled back from Burlington, obviously emotional and down after the loss, they showed up en masse to the semifinal football game, where their fellow athletes were behind 9-7 at halftime. Behind the spirited chants led by Pablo Gonzalez Rotger, the team lifted the spirits of the crowd and the football players. Football Coach Rich Alercio credits that boost as the spark that ignited the football team's 30-0 second half performance.
即使他们此前已经获得了佛蒙特州足球赛亚军，但或许他们是在赛场上的最后一刻收获了最美好的东西。经过柏林顿赛事的失利后，他们出现在橄榄球比赛半决赛现场，当时以比分9:7结束了上半场。在Pablo Gonzalez Rotger团队精神的鼓励下，球员们重拾信心和团队精神。在橄榄球教练Rich Alercio的带领下，下半场以大比分30:0结束比赛。
These young men on the soccer team are the epitome of what is at the heart of our community: they have learned the joy and significance of being part of something bigger than themselves. They are brothers for sure. Close knit and supportive no matter what, they sacrificed themselves in struggles and success. But they are more than brothers, too; they are Hilltoppers. They rose above their own disappointment and found meaning in supporting others.
这些年轻的足球运动员是我们社区的核心人物：他们学会欣赏比自己更强大的事物，找到了其中的乐趣和意义。他们肯定是兄弟，无论是相互团结还是支持，他们在努力奋斗、追求成功的过程中奉献自我。同时他们也已经超越了兄弟之情，他们是Hilltoppers。他们暂时忽略失望的灰，转而找到支持他人的意义。
I would be remiss if I did not recognize others in our community who have been examples of these same values of teamwork, loyalty, and sacrifice—our veterans. They have modeled what it means to put others before self and have laid it all on the line to protect our freedom and values, and many have paid the ultimate sacrifice or watched comrades do so. Likewise, we have alumni around the world serving in the armed forces on active duty. These men and women are part of a tradition that has marked our school for generations, and our boys' soccer team took a step toward living out that tradition this fall. Thanks to them and all of our veterans and active service alumni for reminding us what it means to be a Hilltopper.
我想如果我没有认出社区中有同样价值观、团队精神和忠诚度的退伍军人，那么就是我失职了。他们永远将他人放在首位，在保护我们的自由和安全过程中，他们中的很多人都做出了最大的牺牲。同样地，我们的校友在世界各地的军队服役，他们是我们学院世世代代传统的一部分，而我们的男子足球队在这个秋天也向这个传统迈出了重要一步。感谢所有的退伍军人以及现役校友提醒了我们：成为一个Hilltopper意味着什么。
