Telegraph photo by TOM KING Jack Arend takes a pitch during a recent Nashua Silver Knights game. Arend's sister, Katie, is the Knights assistant general manager.

NASHUA – When she was growing up in Newfield, Katie Arend used to complain about having to go with her parents to watch younger brother Jack play baseball.

Now it’s her job.

Introducing the brother-sister tandem that is a big part of the Nashua Silver Knights. Katie Arend, a team intern last year, is in her first year as the Knights assistant general manager. Catcher Jack Arend, who was picked up by the team last year after a season or two with the Brockton Rox, opted to return for this season.

And why not? He had a friend in a high place.

“It helps to know somebody,” Jack said with a smile.

Telegraph photo by TOM KING It's all in the family for the Nashua Silver Knights brother-sister tandem of catcher Jack and assistant general manager Katie Arend.

“I was down in school in Florida, and the one thing I missed being away from home was going to his baseball games,” Katie, 24, said. “Having him here definitely helped. It’s close to home, where we grew up, still being in New Hampshire.”

Born 17 months apart to Peggy and Larry Arend, they both have had athletic careers. Katie was a top swimmer at Exeter High School and the University of Vermont, while Jack, now 22, went to St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Mass., played a top-notch high school schedule.

“Baseball kind of runs in the family,” he said. “We’re just lucky to be here and playing ball right now.”

Jack has been a catcher throughout his baseball career, since his Little League days. “I loved being involved in every pitch, kind of controlling the game,” he said. “It just worked out that I got to play high school ball at such a competitive school. It was the only school I wanted to go to.”

Why was that? He read an article in Sports Illustrated that said St. John’s Prep produced the most college baseball players. It was going to be either there or Exeter High.

“Every year we had like 100 kids try out for two spots,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to make the team. They’d cut kids who would make it to college ball.”

“The culture of that school was absolutely amazing,” Katie said. “It was a cool experience to watch him go through there.”

Katie, meanwhile, swam four years at Exeter, making All-State her senior year, with her specialty breast stroke and 500 freestyle. However, at UVM she swam the 400 Individual Medley.

Swimming, which she started competing in in middle school, was something that gave Katie a litte athletic attention. Sibling rivalry, you know.

“It wasn’t necessarily jealousy,” she said. “I was just always at baseball games. I wanted to get into something of my own. He didn’t want to swim, so I think I had that one covered.”

And yes, Jack went to a lot of his sister’s swim meets. He even went up to UVM to see a few, and if he couldn’t make it, would watch them on an internet livestream.

“It was fun,” Jack said. “We used to joke when we were young that I was going to be the Division I athlete and Katie was going to be the brains. It ended up she swam Division I and I went to a NESCAC school (Division III Bates College). So I guess I’ve got the brains now. Just kidding.”

He sure is kidding, as while at UVM, Katie studied business administration with a concentration in global marketing. Oh, and for good measure, she studied coaching and special education.

From there she went to Florida State to study sports management in the college of education, getting her Masters of Science.

“I thought I wanted to be in athletic academics, academic support for a big Division I football-basketball-soccer-hockey type of program. But I learned pretty quickly I didn’t want to do that, nothing against the people that do that, it’s a lot of work and they put in a lot of hours.”

But Katie realized she was good at something else – event planning. She takes each Silver Knights game as an event, planning 39 events. “And I like being around the college players, but not necessarily within a college,” she said. “This was the perfect fit for me.”

She needed an internship to finish her degree at Florida State last summer, and saw there was an opening at Holman Stadium and called Knights GM Cam Cook. Cook last year was the assistant GM in charge of the interns and stadium operations. Cook brought her in right away as an operations assistant.

And that meant she would do just about anything and everything. Originally, she was going to work on social media, help out with tickets and things in the press box. It quickly grew to a ton more, and when the front office was re-aligned and Cook was promoted to GM, the Knights hired Arend full time as assistant GM.

“It was nice,” she said. “I got the trust and recoginition from not only Cam but the Creedons (owner John, Jr. and his father) to give me this opportunity. Obviously I’m young, didn’t have that much experience, but I worked hard, put a lot of hours in and it definitely showed for them.”

And Cook and Arend have been a successful tandem. The team had one of its best financial off-seasons before the pandemic hit, and sent plans in all sorts of different directions.

“It’s fun,” Arend said. “We definitely bring some new ideas and some youthful thinking I think to the team that may not have been seen in a couple of years, not since Ronnie (former GM Wallace) was here. Cam and I work very well together; it’s kind of unspoken what needs to be done, which is kind of nice.”

Jack, who next year will go to grad school at Nichols with one year of playing eligibility left, loves having his sister as the second in command in the front office.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s good to know people in the front office. When I was in Brockton, it kind of took a little to build that relationship with the people in the front office, get to know them.

“But coming in, having Katie and Cam who are relatively young, like more of the players’ age. So we have the perspective of not only is she my sister but she understands what it’s like to be a collegiate athlete. And they kind of tailor everything to what we need, what our needs and priorities are. They’ve done a great job making baseball happen this summer.”

•••

The two only actually see each other at the ballpark. Jack is staying with his girlfriend in Haverhill, Mass., and Katie is in Newfield.

“We see each other here at the stadium and Sunday dinners,” Katie said. “Mondays are usually off-days, so he has to comes home on Sundays. Dinner is usually chicken parm.”

The Arend family first became associated with the Futures League when it hosted some players 2011,’12, 13. But now Katie says she appreciates the game much more than when she would be dragged to T-ball, 8-year-old All Stars, etc., seeing some of the same players as youths that are in the FCBL now.

Jack is likely going to be an educational match with Katie. At Nichols, he is looking to get not one, but two Masters degrees – one in business administration, and then organizational leadership.

He wants to coach. “One of the reasons I decided to go to Nichols was I wanted to extend my baseball life on the field a little bit,” he said. “And then my second year there I’ll be a grad assistant coach. … to coach collegiately it’s highly recommended you get your Masters.”

Katie’s future plans? She says that she and Cam are enjoying the start of their careers. Ideally, she’d eventually like to move into minor league and then Major League administration with a franchise.

•••

Two siblings with their careers ahead of them. But remember, there’s always a sibling rivalry.

How has Katie driven Jack crazy? “I guess she would talk for me a lot,” he said. “When I was younger, Katie would just talk and talk and talk. I think I was seven when I learned how to speak.”

Of course laughter followed.

“She loved being a big sister,” he said. “We’d always argue but it all works out….Now we just get on each other’s nerves.”

And Katie? She’s keeping that close to the vest.

“We grew up not really knowing life without each other,” she said. “We look a lot alike, a lot of people think we’re twins. Similar characteristics, intellectual wise, a lot of the same mannerisms.

“Somtimes I think I took a lot of things more seriously when we were younger and he was kind of laid back.”

The irony is they come from a big family, big enough to field a baseball team. Peggy Arend comes from a family of 14 and Larry is one of nine.

“And,” Jack Arend said, “they were good with two.”

Two of a Silver Knights kind.

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