When ‘sibling rivalry’ is a blood sport
By: ELLEN SCHUR BROWN Editor, Family Section
What’s a friendly wrestling match between brothers 13 months apart?
A shove here, a takedown there? When Beachwood brothers Jordan and Kevin Lipp wrestle, it’s not friendly, and it usually results in (a touch of) bloodshed.
“It’s just that we don’t want to lose to each other, “says Kevin, a junior at Beachwood High School. “The other day I was riding him and I was about to score a point when he ripped the sleeve of my shirt off.”
That was just practice. In tournaments, they stay safely in their own weight class n Jordan, a senior, weighs in at 130 pounds; Kevin wrestles at 135. But clearly, it’s the not-always-friendly competitive streak that has spurred each boy to reach the very top of their chosen sport. Both are ranked nationally and training for a national meet in Cleveland, April 1-3.
“We’re extremely competitive in wrestling, “says Jordan. “In everyday life, we don’t have much to compete for.”
“Except the car, “quips their mom Peggy.
After a day that included a cousin’s bar mitzvah party, a banquet for the Beachwood youth wrestling program and the Beachwood Booster awards dinner for winter sports, Jordan can barely keep his eyes open.
He’s sprawled across the leather couch with his mom and dad Alan in the family’s stylish, modern home. Jordan’s in grey sweats, his sandy brown hair tousled and falling in his eyes. Kevin wears a neat polo shirt. Off the mat, they’re each other’s best cheerleaders.
The brothers have literally put Beachwood High School’s wrestling team on the map.
Each won third place medals from the Division II state tournament in Columbus, Feb. 24-26.
“It was our fourth year going down (to the state tournament), so we knew what to expect, “says Jordan. Jordan placed first in the state in 2002 followed by Kevin in 2003, and they’ve each placed every year since: They now have seven state medals between them.
With Jordan’s 30-1 record going into the state tournament, he was favored to win first place at the meet. Without making excuses, Jordan accepts the disappointment like a pro.
“I just focused on winning the rest of my matches and supporting the rest of the team, “he says. Kevin, with a 36-2 record, was also pegged for a first place title at the state competition.
“Jordan and Kevin are outstanding athletes, and they would be good at any sport because they know how to win, “noted Ryan Peters, assistant coach of the Beachwood Bison team in a phone interview. Peters has trained the boys since they were 9 years old. “These kids get up at 5:30, run, lift weights, wrestle, then go to school, practice with the team, then lift and wrestle some more, “he says, audibly in awe of their 30-hour-a-week training commitment.
“You won’t find a more demanding sport, “says Peters. “If you don’t work hard, it shows in the first five seconds of a match. You can’t hide behind the team.”
At wrestling meets, the brothers are like rock stars with a “fan club “of young wrestlers. Even their parents are greeted with, “Ooooh, you’re the Lipps.”
Back at school, “Mat Mates “(wrestling cheerleaders) are long gone, and the only fans at wrestling meets are, basically, parents.
“They (other kids) don’t get it. They don’t know how exceptional me and Kevin are at our sport or the commitment it takes to be good at this sport or at any sport, “says Jordan.
Wrestling is the most grueling sport, he explains. It requires hard work to be successful, “but I like that you get out what you put into it.”
The brothers got out of fighting and into wrestling as a sport at an early age. Today, when one brother has a good match, the other intensifies his training.
The whole family is athletic. Peggy plays tennis, Alan plays and coaches tennis, and sister Alison is a great soccer player, say her brothers. But weekends and vacations revolve around a wrestling-meet schedule, so everyone’s dedication is required.
Jordan is being heavily recruited by top colleges, including North Carolina State, Ohio University and the University of Maryland. “Money talks, “Peggy interjects, as Jordan explains he’s looking for a good team and a solid business degree program.
Although it might not qualify as a “hobby, “Peggy points out that the boys had the commitment to attend religious school through their confirmation at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun.
When he’s not wrestling (or practicing one of his other sports, cross country and lacrosse), Jordan plays guitar or relaxes in his clubhouse/bedroom. The walls are decorated with posters of Bruce Lee, Scarface and Bob Marley, brackets from his 2002 first place title, pictures, collages, newspaper articles n and a rack of medals. Jordan has packed many of his trophies away.
Kevin’s room has medals and trophies shining from every available space. Tumbling out of his closet is a pile of soft-soled wrestling shoes. His only hobby is wrestling, he jokes.
Congratulations also to Adam Solomon and Andrew Weiner, Beachwood wrestling teammates who also went downstate.
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