Laramee Brothers Represent Harwich In Northeast Regional Futsal Championships

HARWICH – For the past three years, Harwich natives Ryan and Tate Laramee have showcased their brotherly bond while leading the Monomoy boys soccer program. 

 Ryan, a senior, and Tate, a sophomore, recently had the opportunity to add their younger brother, Derek, to the mix when the trio represented the Lower Cape while competing in the Under-19 Northeast Regional Futsal Championship Jan. 17 to 20 at Starland Sports Complex in Hanover. 

 It was especially memorable for their father, Jason, who coached the team alongside St. John Paul II coach Kal Bogdan, who was also coaching his son, Cody, a sophomore at JP II.

 “As a father, being able to coach three of my four boys on the same team at the same time was awesome,” Jason Laramee said. “My oldest is a senior and going off to school next year, so to have him and his two younger brothers on the same court together was fantastic. My only regret was that my youngest son was too young to join them.”

 The youngest Laramee brother, Kevin, 11, will have to wait a couple of years to join Derek, 13, in high school. But after watching Ryan, 17, and Tate, 16, star for the Sharks at the high school level, it was a thrill for Derek to finally have the opportunity to suit up with his brothers — even if he was five years younger than the competition — while playing futsal, a fast-paced indoor version of soccer traditionally played on basketball courts.

 “It was really exciting because I’ve always wanted to be on the field with them because of how big of a brotherly bond they have when they are playing together,” said Derek. “It was a really big step up for me, but I still had a lot of fun with it. I felt like for my age I had respectable performances when I did go in.”

 The brothers joined forces with Bogdan, Sandwich junior CJ Bice, and Barnstable juniors Marcelo Diamantino and Sebastian Lliguichuzhca to make up Ernie FC, a team name that was derived from Bice’s father’s first name. 

 The team — composed entirely of players 18 or younger — defeated two teams from Canada before suffering a 7-3 loss to Rhode Island FC in the finals. 

Although the squad fell short of its championship goal, it was a thrill for the players to unite together after previously competing alongside each other in the Harwich Police League led by detective Bobby Brackett and on FC Bolero, a futsal club that was started by former Barnstable coach Sam Viena and D-Y coach Matheus Moreira. D-Y assistant coach Jason Farjado helped assist Ernie FC.

“FC Bolero started years ago and this team was a castoff of those earlier teams that competed together,” Jason Laramee said. “Just an outstanding group of boys, character and talent wise, to be able to work with.”

After competing against the Barnstable, JP II and Sandwich players in high school soccer, the Laramees said it was a thrill to suit up on the same team while representing the Cape in the nation’s largest youth futsal tournament.

“We’ve all played each other at some point in our career, but it was cool we were all able to come together at this age and play against those other top teams,” said Ryan, who is undecided about his college plans next year.

“We’re all buddies, we’ve all known each other,” added Tate. “We have all played on club teams together at different times, so it was really about coming together.”

After playing alongside Ryan for the Sharks during their high school careers, Tate said the tournament was a good preview of the connection he looks to build with Derek when he enrolls at Monomoy in the fall. 

“With Ryan, as we got to high school and played together more, our connection kind of became psychological,” he said. “I knew where he was on the field at all times, and that also happened in futsal. I haven’t been able to play with Derek as much, but I’m hoping in the next couple of years, our bond will grow like mine and Ryan’s was.”