This article, authored by Angela Barrett-Jewers, Director, Athletics and Recreation, is republished from the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA-AASC) and MSVU Athletics.
It’s a family affair at the Mount this year, with three sets of siblings competing on three different varsity teams this season.
The men’s basketball team accounts for two of those sets of siblings now that newcomer Kyan Feron has joined older brother Keigan on the roster. Two years Kyan’s senior, Keigan joined the Mystics program in September of 2022 after graduating from CP Allen High School in Bedford. He’s made big strides in his first two years with the Mystics, thanks to hard work and resilience.
“Keigan is someone that brings his best to every practice and game, and carries himself like a professional,” says head coach Danny De Palma. “His habits, combined with how confident his teammates are in him, has led to Keigan earning a starting position in his third season.”
A centre/forward, Keigan has taken advantage of the starting opportunity and is averaging 9.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game so far this season. Keigan has welcomed his brother into the fold and their natural competitive nature has motivated him even more to succeed.
“I didn’t think it was possible, but Kyan’s arrival has made Keigan even more competitive and brought out the best in him as a leader.”
A guard, Kyan has had an impressive start to the year, playing in seven of the Mystics eight regular season contests, averaging 5.3 minutes per game. The jump from high school to university level basketball can be challenging, but Kyan has had a little help.
“The transition has been a big adjustment,” says Kyan. “The game is faster, and the competition is tougher, but having Keigan on the team has been a huge help. It’s great to have someone I trust completely to lean on. We push each other to be better, and it makes the experience even more special to share this journey with him.”
As with any family dynamic, conflict and challenges still arise, but the younger Feron brother is confident they can find balance.
“The biggest challenge playing with Keigan has been separating our relationship as brothers and as teammates,” says Kyan. “We are both very competitive people, and we have to hold each other accountable and make tough calls. Finding that balance, where we push each other to be better without letting it affect our relationship as brothers, has been a learning experience.”
Striking that balance is something the Feron’s can look to the Smith brothers to for guidance.
The dynamic duo of Jaydan and Jaxon Smith are back for their fifth and final seasons after helping to lead the Mystics to a conference title last year. Both ACAA all-stars during the 2023-24 season, the Beechville, Nova Scotia natives are hyper focused on leading the team to another championship title.
The Smith brothers have been playing together on and off for many years and while they each have their own style of leadership, they have developed into a well-balanced leadership team.
“Jaxon is our emotional leader on and off the court,” says Jaydan, the eldest of the two. “He is always playing hard on the floor and as a leader, expects the same from us – you can feel his passion in practice as well as in games. I am more of an ‘experience’ leader, I’ve played basketball at many levels and have been able to win at many levels; I feel like there isn’t much I haven’t seen from the game and I’m always looking for an opportunity to lead others using my past experiences with the game.”
Jaxon, who is averaging 12.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, agrees with Jaydan’s assessment and says they work together to meet the needs of their teammates to help the team be successful.
“It’s always a tough task trying to lead a squad like this that has so many different personalities and differences in the ways some guys respond so we try to stay on top of the ways we can get the most out of everyone in practice and in games,” says Jaxon.
The Smith brothers have enjoyed having another set of siblings on the team.
“It’s a fun dynamic for sure, seeing how they operate in comparison to Jay and I has been great in every aspect,” says Jaxon. “I feel it also helps the team as a whole with connecting the younger guys and the veterans.”
“I think it’s great,” adds Jaydan, who currently leads the Mystics in scoring and assists with 19.8 and 4.0, respectively. “They have a pretty strong relationship like me and my brother, so it’s cool to see. Also, as older brothers, me and Keigan really enjoy when our younger brothers succeed on the court.”
This isn’t the first time De Palma, who is in his fourth season as head coach with the Mystics, has coached two sets of brothers on a team. He once had two sets of identical twins on a U15 provincial team which was challenging and worked out in large part due to them all having different shoes.
As unique an experience as that was, De Palma says this one has a lot of meaning as well.
“The difference in age of brothers this time around makes it even more unique of an experience given the fact that Jaydan and Jaxon are team captains, and that Kyan’s experience of playing at the next level gets to be shared with Keigan,” he says.
“Having one Smith or Feron on any team would immediately help improve a group. The fact we have two sets of each is not something we take for granted, and it makes it even more special that Jaydan, Jaxon, Keigan and Kyan aren’t taking it for granted either.”
In addition to the Smith and Feron brothers, the Mystics have another set of siblings in fraternal twins Mhyah and Madesen Allen.
Mhyah joined the Mystics women’s soccer team in the fall of 2023 and had an immediate impact. She started in all 12 of the Mystics regular season games and scored five goals in her rookie campaign to be named the ACAA rookie of the year and an all-conference second team member. She had another great showing this year, scoring three goals during the regular season to help lead the Mystics to a championship title and a great showing at the national championship this past November.
Madesen transferred to the Mount in September 2024 after a year at Acadia. A member of the cross country team, she had an outstanding season this year winning all three ACAA races she entered, including the ACAA championship. The ACAA MVP led the team to a third-place finish at the championship and went on to place 55th at the national championship.
The Allen sisters played many sports together growing up including dance, soccer and track and are very happy to have the other attending the same school again.
“It is amazing having my sister here at the Mount with me,” says Madesen. “We get to experience university together which makes it a lot more fun, and convenient as we can drive to and from school together.”
Mhyah echoes Madesen’s thoughts and adds the positive effect it has on their respective performances.
“We are both always there for each other as sport and school can get busy and be a lot, but knowing I have someone so close to me going through the same experience helps as we can talk and help each other through it,” says Mhyah. “We are also always cheering each other on at games or races; even when we’re away, we watch the livestreams.”
As both sports take place in the fall and usually the same weekends, it’s been a whirlwind for their families to keep up with them going off in different directions. The ACAA and CCAA championships for soccer and cross country were held on the same weekends in different provinces, forcing their parents to split up to support the sisters.
“It was a lot for our families as they had to split up when CCAA championships came up with Maddie going to Ontario and me going to BC,” says Mhyah. “But even being in different places, we made sure to have the time to watch each other through livestreams and I knew Maddie and my mom were cheering me on in Ontario, just as my dad and I were cheering her on from BC.”
The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia natives have already had a tremendous impact with the Mystics and will no doubt continue to succeed and enjoy the ride together.
“Having my sister at the school with me and being student-athletes together is an amazing experience,” says Madesen. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
