Gaspar Macalutas knows better than to fall into the trap.

One of his two tennis-playing sons will ask, "Who are you rooting for today, Dad?"

"I just don't say anything," Macalutas said. "They get mad at me. They are so competitive."

On at least two days during the high school tennis season, Gaspar Macalutas sits quiet as a statue while his sons play.

Julius is a senior at West Ranch High School. J.R. is a sophomore at Valencia High.

When the two teams played each other on Tuesday, the two brothers were on opposing teams, if not opposite sides of the net. Because Julius played doubles for West Ranch and J.R. played singles for Valencia, the two didn't face each other.

Which made things easier for Gaspar.

Last season, Julius and J.R. faced off in doubles matches twice.

"He won both times," Julius said of his brother. "But both of them were close."

At one of the matches last year, Gaspar sat holding a placard his daughter Kristine made.

"On one side it says, ‘Good shot, J.R.' And the other one, you just flip it around and it says, ‘Good shot, Julius.' The parents kept asking me, ‘who are you rooting for today?'

"I don't say anything."

The intra-family battles became possible because of a move the family made from Castaic to Santa Clarita. At the time, Julius was already at West Ranch, but J.R. was able to choose between West Ranch and Valencia and opted for Valencia because "most of his friends are in
Valencia," Gaspar Macalutas said.

"I guess we're missing out on brother bonding," said J.R., whose nickname derives from being named Gaspar, Jr. "Last year was strange because in middle school, I used to see him a lot. I still notice it, but not as much any more because I'm just used to it."

Julius said the arrangement is fun.

"Parents don't know what to cheer for," he said. "I'm sure it will be a good story to talk about when we're older."

When the two are not playing on the same court, Gaspar and wife, Amor, will alternate, so that one parent is at each match.

Tuesday's match wasn't close. Valencia, behind its strong singles players, won 16-2, eliminating some of the stress for Gaspar, whose most difficult moment may have been when J.R. came to tell him he'd broken the strings on both of his tennis rackets.

"I string all the rackets," Gaspar Macalutas said. "They break them like, every week, so I decided to string them myself."

There can be a lot of rackets in the Macalutas home. Along with his sons, Gaspar, daughter Kristine and Amor all play regularly. Julius and J.R. have both been playing since they were nine years old. Kristine was a singles player for West Ranch, too.

"I have my friends," Gaspar Macalutas said. "We have a club at the YMCA, a big group of about 30 players, and we always play every weekend. I still bring them sometimes to play but they are much better than us now, so people don't want to play them."

The broken racket didn't deter J.R.

"He ended up playing with one of the subs' rackets," said Valencia coach Annie Kellogg. "He lost one game all day."

J.R.'s game has him playing as Valencia's No. 3 singles player as a sophomore.

"Last year, he played doubles and did an awesome job," Kellogg said. "He's a beautiful player to watch. He's a free-swinging kid out there on the court."

He's also left-handed.

"I think there's an advantage to that," said Gaspar. "Right-handed players seldom play with left-handed players and it's hard to read sometimes. I think he has a big forehand and a good spin on his forehand."

J.R. said he's still adjusting to playing singles this season.

"I really need to improve my fitness," he said. "I need to be able to last and win the points. In singles, it's harder because you're not always at the net."

Julius' game relies on his quickness.

"He's an excellent volleyer," West Ranch coach Eric Spiecker said. "He has quick hands and those are his strengths."

Julius said he's working on his serve and hopes to get the chance to move to singles this season and maybe play his brother.

"Next time we play them, I might," he said.

J.R. hopes it works out that way, too.

"It would probably be more friendly and less competitive," J.R. said.

Of course, they won't tell their father that.