Cam and Cayden Fitch admit that they are competitive with each other.

At times, their competitiveness can result in some friendly trash talking.

This fall, neither of the siblings have been able to top the other one when it comes to success on the soccer field.

Cam, a member of the girls team at Northwestern Lehigh and Cayden, a member of the boys team, both have Colonial League and District 11 gold medals this fall.

Last season was not the same, though. While both picked up gold medals at districts, the girls got gold in the Colonial League Championship with a win over Southern Lehigh, while the boys lost to the Spartans 2-1 in penalty kicks.

“Yeah, there was some trash talking last season,” admitted Cayden. “This year, though, we’ve both been winning, so there hasn’t really been much (trash talking). We are definitely both competitive, but it’s always in a friendly way.”

The pair have been playing soccer since they were three or four years old, and both came through the Northwestern Youth Association. They both also play basketball, so the competition doesn’t end with soccer. Cam’s edge in medals last season also carried over to basketball. Both teams were eliminated from districts in the semifinal round, but the girls beat Palmerton to win the Colonial League Championship, while the boys didn’t reach the finals.

The boys team had to pull off some surprises in the postseason this year after the team went through a season-long rash of injuries. Coming into the postseason, the team was healthy and has been able to knock off higher seeded teams in both the league and district playoffs. Meanwhile, the girls team came in with a full head of steam thanks to a 15-1-1 regular season record.

With the two teams being paired in doubleheader games throughout the league and district playoffs, the two siblings were able to keep an eye on how each other were doing. The girls team played in the early game, so the wins kept some pressure on Cayden for his team to match what the girls were doing in the medal count.

“At that point, I was really hoping that the boys team would win, and we would both come home with gold medals in leagues and districts,” said Cam. “It’s the same going into states. We always want each other to win and play well, and it would be great for us to both get medals at states and hopefully, both get gold medals.”

One problem with the first round of states, though, is that the teams will be separated. Although both teams were district champions, the girls team must hit the road to play in Dallas, north of Wilkes-Barre, while the boys team gets a home game in the first round against Palmyra. The reason for the split is because Dallas was also a district champion, taking gold in the District 2 playoffs, while Palmyra is the runner-up from District 3.

“We’re going to be wondering how the other is doing,” said Cayden. “The two games start a half-hour apart, so we won’t really know what’s happening until our game is over. The other tough part is that one parent will be at each game, so we don’t get to play in front of both. Hopefully, if we keep winning, the two teams will be paired up again. It really stinks that we’re not together (Tuesday).”

“It’s going to be weird, and I will definitely be focused on our game, of course, but I’ll be wondering what’s going on,” said Cam. “I’ll be looking forward to family FaceTime after the game to hear about it.”

If things go well, there could be another family photo session coming up after states.

If things go perfectly, the photos will show each of the Fitch siblings showing off shiny medals from the PIAA, covered in gold.

No matter the outcome of the state playoffs, the friendly sibling rivalry will begin again when the winter sports season gets underway next month.