F

or all the bad that has come from the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a silver lining.

The opportunity for families to reconnect.

Lacrosse has always been a unifying force for the Kent family. With the pandemic shutting down the sport, the glue may have come a little undone, but the family remains as close and connected as ever.

“Parker was playing at Lehigh and Kenzie coaching at Harvard … then the next thing you know, I go from no kids home to everyone home,” said Jennifer Kent, who’s not only a 12-year assistant coach at Boston College, but also the mother of six lacrosse players. “The time we typically have together is around the holidays, but it’s always quick and we’re constantly on the go.

“Having them home has been amazing.”

When you take a deeper dive, the Kent family is pretty amazing.

Kenzie enjoyed a historic career with Boston College, most known for her incredible 2017 NCAA tournament performance in which she was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after posting 21 goals and 16 assists in five games.

She has four sisters — Alicia, Callahan, Addison and Bailey — and a brother, Parker, who recently graduated from Lehigh.

“People always ask what it was like as the only boy in the family,” Parker said. “It was honestly great. Having them is really the only thing I’ve ever known. It’s been awesome, including from the sports side of things.”

Each sibling was interested in a variety of sports growing up, including lacrosse. Jennifer played lacrosse at Colby College and coached at Norwell High School before taking a position at BC. Their father, Jeff, wrestled and played football at Bowdoin College.

Sports being engrained in the Kent family from a young age kept everyone on their toes.

“There was never really a dull moment,” Parker said. “If you ever wanted to go outside and play backyard lacrosse, street hockey or anything, there’d always be someone willing to join you. That helped fueled the competitive nature in all of us.”

The Kents’ competitiveness has always been on display, no matter the activity.

As Kenzie said, “When we were younger, my dad, Parker and I used to play football catch in the backyard. It was always Parker and I against each other, and my dad would throw it to us. I’d be on offense for five throws and he’d be on offense for five throws. It was super competitive and fun.”

All the Kents have played lacrosse throughout their lives. Along with Kenzie and Parker, Callahan was an All-Big East goalkeeper at Vanderbilt. Addison is a rising senior defender at Boston College, and Bailey is a rising junior midfielder who plays club lacrosse at the University of Denver. The oldest Kent sibling, Alicia, played in high school and has a 3-year-old son who is already picking up a lacrosse stick.

“It was super helpful having my older sisters, Callahan and Kenzie, as role models, people to look up to, because they were going through the recruiting process and going through that whole stage of their lacrosse career,” Parker said. “I was able to watch it first-hand. I’d see how much work they’d put in, which gave me a really good roadmap of what I needed to do. I watched how they interacted with college coaches on visits and how they would go to the turf and train for a few hours every day.”

The Kents are as competitive as they come, but they have fun at the same time.

It’s the perfect blend.

“Anything they do, they have fun while also having that competitive edge and wanting to win,” Jennifer said. “They never went overboard with sibling fighting.”

It’s not to say they never argued or had disagreements, but it was all in good fun. Just take one example from a cold winter night.

“Kenzie and Parker were having a debate about men’s versus women’s lacrosse,” Jennifer recalled. “It was the middle of a snowstorm. I don’t even know how old they were, but they went outside and played in a blizzard. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

“With all my kids, it’s that backyard mentality. We’ve played a three-on-three lacrosse game with our entire family in the backyard. No matter the sport, everyone’s always wanting to have fun.”

Because of their strong relationship, support is another word that describes the Kent siblings.

“We’ve supported each other so much throughout our high school and college careers,” Kenzie said. “It was obviously hard once everyone got to college and everyone was in their own seasons. But throughout, we’ve watched each other online and if we could catch a game, we would. We’d always send texts, wishing everyone luck and sending congratulations after a big win.”

There was no better reason for congratulations than the 2017 NCAA semifinals at Gillette Stadium, just a stone’s throw from the Kents’ Norwell home. Kenzie was playing and Jennifer was coaching for Boston College, leading the Eagles to a thrilling 16-15 win over Navy to advance to the national championship game.

“My entire family was all there — my dad, my sisters, my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents,” Parker said.

With that game being in late May when most other lacrosse seasons were completed, it provided the opportunity for the entire Kent family to come together.

Sports, especially lacrosse, have been a unifying force throughout the Kents’ lives, so the pandemic taking it away turned their world upside down.

“I took a second to be devastated about my situation, all the BC girls and Addison, but then I thought about Parker with it being his senior year,” Jennifer said. “This was his last opportunity. When Kenzie lost in the national championship game for hockey, she reminded me that as a coach, you get another chance next year. It’s even tougher as a senior, and I think the same thing was true for Parker, ending so abruptly and not getting that ending of your final season and your graduation.”

The family has gotten through these times by the only thing they’ve ever known — leaning on each other.

“Initially, everyone was struggling with different things, but we had each other and we’re so thankful for that,” Jennifer said. “We’re so blessed to have everyone home.”

Only student-athletes and coaches can truly understand the challenge of going from such a hectic lifestyle to next to nothing.

“I’m usually always thinking about the next game, game planning and watching film,” Jennifer said.

Now, like so many people around the country, the Kents have been forced to take a collective step back.

And for all the bad the pandemic has brought, they are grateful for family.

“People have been going in many different directions for a very long time,” Jennifer said. “Now, every meal is together and everyone’s cooking together. Parker is building a patio. It’s been great.”

“It goes to show how lucky we are,” Kenzie said. “It shows a silver lining where we never would have had this time. All of our lives have been on pause for a few months. I’m so appreciative of the time we’ve been able to spend together.”

Parker is also building a fire pit, which in many ways signifies the family’s fire for the sport of lacrosse, which continues to burn.

“We’re very passionate about the sport,” Jennifer said. “All of our nieces and nephews, all of my brothers’ kids, every single one of them plays lacrosse. Now, my kids are taking them to practice like my brother and his wife took my kids to practice.

“There are 25 cousins who all play.”

Quite a legacy.

More than just players, the Kents have created a legacy as coaches as well. Jennifer is a longtime head coach, Callahan coaches at New Hampton School and Kenzie was in her first season coaching at Harvard.

“Originally, I never expected I was going to coach, and then I started doing my old clinics and camps and individual lessons,” Kenzie said. “I felt a certain passion for having that one-on-one time with players and seeing their growth. My mom is one of my biggest role models, and it just fell into place.”

Kenzie isn’t sure how long she’ll coach; she’s taking it one day at a time and savoring every second because it can be taken away in the blink of an eye.

“Lacrosse has brought so many of us together,” Kenzie said. “When I think about lacrosse, I do think about my family often.

“It’s part of the glue that sticks our family together.”