Latini Brothers Add Some Spice to the Mix

Capistrano Valley boys’ soccer Coach Ron Willms has never had two players who looked so much alike, played so well together and argued so much about the way the other one plays.

Then again, Willms has never coached identical twins. Though he can rarely tell them apart--both are 5 feet 11, 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes--Willms is happy to have Chris and Phil Latini for their talent, competitiveness and for the comic relief they provide.

Willms was still chuckling when he recalled a classic Latini brothers story from this season.

“They argued about one play for 20 minutes while the practice was going on,” Willms said. “They sat on the bench after practice and argued some more. When they changed to their street clothes, they were still arguing about it. They were walking away from the gym and I couldn’t see them anymore, but I could still hear them arguing. I think it’s like a pastime for them.”

Chris, the older Latini by eight minutes, plays sweeper. Phil plays forward and leads second-ranked Capistrano Valley in scoring with 11 goals. Chris says he’s the mellow one and Phil’s the hyper one, but neither likes to lose and that’s usually why the bickering starts.

“If he’s not doing well, I’ll give him a lot of pressure and if I’m not doing well, he’ll do the same to me,” Chris said. “We’re not best friends on the field. I know the team probably doesn’t think so, but I think [arguing] gets us going.

“I feel more comfortable that way. I feel like I can tell Phil anything. I can say things to Phil on the field that I wouldn’t be able to say to my teammates because it would hurt their feelings.”

Phil said he’s never offended by his brother’s barbs. “Sometimes we find it hard to agree with each other,” he said. “We both play hard and we both like to win.”

Once in practice, Chris thought Phil was playing a little too hard. “He came into me a little too hard,” Chris said. “It was getting a little too physical. Then it just got a little out of hand.”

Willms didn’t know whether to laugh or separate the brothers. “They were rolling all over the place,” he said. “I started to break it up, but I could see they weren’t hurting each other. Everybody on the team was laughing.”

When the team isn’t laughing at them, they’re usually looking up to them.

“Just by their play, these kids are respected,” Willms said. “Most of these kids wish they had the talent the Latini brothers have, and I have a good team with a lot of good players.”

This year’s Cougar team might be Willms’ best in his 21 years at Capistrano Valley. The 1981 team won a Southern Section title, but Willms said many of those players were overachievers who snuck up on people. This group won’t sneak up on anybody. They are out of the gate at 15-2-2.

“I know people talk all the time about [section] titles, but this team has a chance,” Willms said.

A better chance because of the Latini brothers, whose father played semipro soccer in Italy and got his sons interested in the game.

Chris, in his third season with the varsity, was a Times second-team all-county selection last year and is having another big season. He has four goals, one of them coming in the Cougars’ 1-1 tie with Mater Dei last week.

“Chris is super cool back there,” Willms said. “He’s got great control with the ball. We’d like to bring him up to the midfield where he could score more, but we don’t trust anybody else back there.”

Phil, in his second season with the varsity, has become one of the more dangerous forwards in the county. In addition to his 11 goals, he has five assists.

They play different positions, have different personalities, but if they’re wearing the same practice jersey, it’s nearly impossible to tell who’s who.

“I had trouble telling them apart for a long time,” Willms said, “but this year it’s easier because Chris has a more defined part in his hair.”