But all three Hansen boys are capable of playing some spectacular shots on the squash court.
Otago Boys’ High School brothers Ashton, 18, Mason, 15, and Zavier, 14, Hansen combined for a rare feat in Invercargill at the weekend.
They formed the three-man Otago Boys’ team that rolled through the South Island secondary schoolboys tournament unbeaten.
A team of three brothers must be rare enough but it was also the first time the Dunedin school had won the tournament after umpteen years of trying.
"We’ve been second, three or four times," teacher-manager Andrew Swan said.
"It’s something a bit different to have three brothers involved, and I’m so chuffed for the boys and for their family."
The Hansen lads grew up in a squash family in Gore.
They did not drop a match at the South Island tournament, sweeping Cashmere High School, Marlborough Boys’ College and St Bede’s College 3-0.
Tournament organisers believed it was the first time the champion team consisted entirely of brothers.
"It’s pretty cool," Ashton Hansen said.
"To do something like that as a family ... it’s an experience you won’t get very often. And winning it together was nice."
Ashton confirmed he was able to give his little brothers some guidance — in the nicest possible way, of course.
"Yeah, definitely. I try to be a bit of a coach for them, and when they’re playing, I give them some tips along the way."
For Swan, it was — pardon the pun — the ideal swan song as he prepares to have a well-earned break after 30-plus years of involvement with the school squash team alongside tennis commitments.
"That was probably my last South Island tournament. That’s the plan, anyway."
The Hansen lads will not get an opportunity to take their family links to the next level.
A scheduling quirk means the New Zealand secondary schoolboys tournament has already been held this year, and eldest Ashton is completing year 13 at Otago Boys’.
Nevertheless, their remarkable brotherly success is in the record books, and may never be matched.
