BY JEFF FALK
ANNVILLE – Adam and Andrew Long aren’t multi-sport athletes. They’re balanced, well-rounded young men.
Adam and Andrew Long don’t live to work. They work to live.
Adam and Andrew Long don’t follow the herd. They milk it.
The Longs – seniors at Annville-Cleona High School – are the most athletic set of fraternal twins that you’ll ever come across. But what really sets them apart is the balance they have struck in their lives, between sports, work, school and family.
Sure, there’s a whole lot of juggling that goes on. And yeah, the Longs could play more and different sports if they were so inclined, just like they could work more if they chose.
But what they have seemed to have stumbled upon – intentionally or accidentally – is the fact that sometimes less can be more. Or that the key to life is some sort of personal balance.
“If I didn’t have this job, I’d have a landscaping job,” said Adam Long, while cleansing the teets of a cow. “We like the flexibility with sports. We wouldn’t play more sports. We enjoy doing this, helping friends and family. We’re learning responsibility.
“It’s a whole different thing than sports,” Adam continued. “Sports is physically demanding. Here, you’ve got to be ready for anything, whatever. Here, the cows are your money-makers. They’ve got to come first.”
“Right now, I’m happy with the level of sports I play,” said Andrew Long, between shovels full of used bedding. “I like being well-rounded, not solely into sports. I like making money. Our family is big into hunting, plus family time is important too. Sports are a pretty big dedication during school.
“If we didn’t work here, we’d work somewhere else,” Andrew continued. “Probably my uncle’s landscaping business, or we’d try to find another job.”
For the better part of the last three years, Andrew Long and Adam Long have worked at Dubeco Dairy Farm in South Annville, an operation that includes up to 300 cows. Primarily, their responsibilities include milking, feeding and cleaning up after the ‘cash cows’.
It’s outside work that can be difficult at times.