Matt Helm and fiancee Jenna Ure.
Fire Gods Jerry (left) and Matt Helm. (Photos courtesy Jerry Helm)
Younger days with sister Mollie.
Let’s mix it up and get personal.
As we send a 43rd class into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame today, it’s going to be a one-man class and I’m going to leave the heavy lifting up to someone else.
Matt Helm was (is) a superb athlete and an even better person, and older brother Jerry, already a Hall member, is stepping forward to induct his lil’ bro.
After this, you’ll find both of them sitting together atop this blog, under the Legends tab.
So, without further ado, I give up the stage to Jerry.
My brother Matthew and I were always competitive towards each other.
As hard as it is for the older brother to publicly admit, he was a much better athlete then I ever was.
I was the hot-headed older brother; he was the quiet smooth assassin.
His ability to focus on the game and shut out the noise always made me envious. He could dribble circles around me, and shoot three pointers in my face all day long.
A very unique opportunity surfaced when I started coaching the high school track and field team.
That year, his senior year, he decided to join the track team for the first time.
Track for me was the last sport where I thought I still had the upper hand on him.
Then during his first meet, he decided to show his older brother up and crush my best height in the high jump event.
As proud as I was, I secretly was still being the hot-headed older brother inside.
What took me four years of hard work, he was able to best it, at his first attempt.
My brother and I also shared a very hard lesson our senior years.
We both ended up breaking bones that sidelined us during our senior year of football.
While mine was in the beginning of the season and I was able to make it back for the final stretch of the season, Matt’s was towards the end, which forced him to miss a big portion of his final basketball season.
In the end we both ended up missing huge portions of the sport we loved the most.
Seeing the pain on his face while sitting on the sidelines, brought back a flood of memories and was a moment of déjà vu.
My heart hurt for him and I could totally understand what he was going through at the moment.
The love I have for my younger brother is laced with tremendous pride that we wore the same Coupeville uniform and shared the same playing fields.
His bravery and strength to this day is something that still inspires me.
His decision to join the US Navy to help protect our country shows his incredible strength and dedication.
Siblings often don’t tell each other often enough how much they love each other, but Matthew’s slower, less-talented, older brother loves him very much and is very proud of him.
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