Player Highlight: Byron and Jason Ng

The Ng twins have been making waves in MLQ since they joined the New York Titans together in 2022. MLQ DEI Director Christian Barnes sat down with Byron Ng (now on Chicago Prowl) and Jason Ng (New York Titans) to chat about their experiences in quadball.

First off, introduce yourselves to our readers.

Jason: My name is Jason Ng, and I am a beater/seeker for Rutgers University and also the New York Titans. I was captain of Rutgers for the 2023-24 USQ season but started playing back in my sophomore year (2021). I’m a member of the US National Team Developmental Academy, and I’ve just graduated from Rutgers with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I’ve played two years on the New York Titans and am entering my third season—looking forward to enjoying this summer with my friends and quadball before entering the workforce. 

Byron: I am primarily a keeper/chaser for Rutgers University, but I have played beater and seeker for a short amount of time. This summer, I’m playing my second MLQ season with Chicago Prowl and my very first season was with New York Titans in the summer of 2022. I’m also a member of the US National Team Developmental Academy, and I will be co-captain of the Rutgers team for the 2024-25 USQ season. 

What got you to try quadball?

Jason: I always knew that quadball (really the word “quidditch” is what got me) existed because of an ESPN clip I saw a while back, and when I got to college, I saw the booth for quadball at the first involvement fair I went to during my sophomore year. Given that my freshman year was online, I told myself that I had already lost a year so I am going to try all that I can. Since I was an active kid and played three sports growing up, I wanted to find something where I could stay active. I went to the first tryout and was supposed to go with my roommate and Byron but neither showed up when tryouts came to start. I was debating on bailing but ended up saying why not and had a great time at the first practice. Eventually I stuck with it and the first Oktoberfest Invitational rolled around and I had a blast, so I stuck with it. 

Byron: Jason actually brought me into quadball. I was across the street at the gym playing pickup basketball and blew off the tryout. I showed up for the last five minutes of the tryout and everyone was like “wait, there's two of them!” I just said I am the same person as him, and, I’ll tell you, Naresh was probably very happy.

Tell me about your first full season together.

Jason: The first full season was one to remember. To start, I always wanted to play the same position as Byron, whether it be beater or chaser. But the first practice we went “Okay. I will do beater and you will do chaser and then we will see which is better and then we will convert”. But that just never happened and we ended up staying in different positions. Throughout the season it was great to hear our names—“the Ng twins”—out there in the community as “one of them beating and one of them chasing”. But I also want to emphasize that the first full season playing together was not only fun because I was playing with my brother but because we made so many fun memories and friends together. Driving to “Not North East Regionals”, having multiple tournaments, flying to Salt Lake City and making program history was all super memorable and having my brother experience it with me makes it even better. Although it may be fun to play the same position, playing different positions is still an equally amazing experience. 

Byron: Our first season was incredible. We really liked playing and staying active and even meeting everyone. We played different positions, but we were able to explain the position to each other—kind of. Chaser was much simpler and all I heard from Jason was “I still don’t know what I’m doing half the time”. I would say if we didn’t do it together, then I think I would not have stuck with the sport because it was nice going into something new with him. 

What was it like playing on different teams in MLQ? 

• At the beginning of the season? 

• Jason: Not being there with my twin, especially for one of the first times not being together for an extended period of time, was definitely a change of pace for me. At the same time, not having Byron there throughout the summer was a way for me to become more independent. I continued focusing on developing my beater game and there was not much else to worry about. I knew Titans wouldn’t play Prowl in the regular season so it made me equally as excited to see Prowl during MLQ Championship and to see how Byron fit in. 

• Byron: I was looking forward to playing against Jason the whole season, actually. I wanted to see what it was like to do it competitively instead of at practice or a fantasy tournament. See whether he’d treat me as much of a threat and see if I could get by him. 

• Before the game? 

• Jason: Thinking back, before the game it was more time to lock in and focus. I wanted to see him on the pitch, and I was preparing myself and thinking about all his moves and what he would do. Of course I’d say hey good luck but I was more focused on my team and preparing myself for just another game. 

• Byron: Before our series, it was like “hey, good luck” as we passed each other on the benches and then it was just game time and we locked each other out until after the game. In between the games I think I went up to Jason to check on him because I saw he was hurt. 

• After it was over? I don't think you two managed to play on the field at the same time (Jason I know you were injured for at least part of it).

• Jason: After it was over and Titans had just lost, I felt more of the feeling athletes have of losing out on tournament play. I wasn’t really thinking that I had just lost to my brother but I had...just...lost. I was thinking of how I could have done better, what I could have done better, and how much it sucks to have been injured and unable to play. He did check up on me after the game, and it was nice. I said “good game”, and he played really well. I knew he had a championship game to go play so I assured him that I’d be fine (as we always do) so he could focus up. 

• Byron: After the series I was just checking up with Jason. I saw he was hurt so I just wanted make sure he was okay. Probably part of the reason we didn’t step on the field at the same time. I was super bummed about that, but, honestly, I didn’t even realize until I watched back the film. I knew he had my back going into the championship game, just like if they moved on I would’ve had his. 

Chasers and beaters never seem to be on the same wavelength. Do y'all think being twins makes this worse or better?

Jason: This definitely makes things better by 1000%. I feel like beaters, (and don’t come at me for this), but beaters have a lot more to think about on the pitch than chasers. During the game, it’s easy for Byron to read what I am going to do and how I am going to do it so he can follow and pick up on the play. When we watch back the film together, we always highlight “when you were doing this and stepping here, I knew to go and attack this part, etc, etc”. One specific time that we are really proud of is in Brandeis vs. Rutgers at the 2023 USQ Boston Qualifier. At around the beginning of the game you just see the two of us fly up the pitch and attack and score. Having the same mindset and the chemistry makes playing so much more fun and exciting. As a twin, I’ll say there’s no such thing as twin telepathy, but I can see why people may think it’s real. 

Byron: I think it’s the best thing ever. It goes back to basketball, but the chemistry is off the charts. If you are close with your twin, you know, but when we are on the pitch at the same time, it just tells me I can take my game up to another level because I know what Jason is capable of and what he can do. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if we played chaser together or beater together. There was a glimpse of it when we played Penn State and UVA, and I’ll let that film speak for itself. I’d love it if he would play chaser with me. 

Byron, if I'm not mistaken, you donned the black headband for Rutgers this past USQ season. How was it jumping into what was known as your brother's position? Might we see this reflected on Prowl at all?

Byron: I did have the black headband for a bit, and I was excited to play a new position. I definitely came in knowing there is no shot I could live up to him, even though I wanted to so badly, but I just thought of what he was like when he first started and thought maybe it could be great. It is definitely a learning curve and I have A LOT to learn, but he could just help me out with that. Whether we see it at Prowl, who knows, maybe… but I think I’ll be more helpful in a white/green.

Jason, any chance of you wearing the white in your future?

Jason: As a beater, I definitely want to try on the white. Not to brag. BUT. Growing up, I’d like to say I was more agile and quick, and I definitely had the better vision on the basketball court. I have always wanted to see how I would do as a chaser and if I would be just as good as Byron OR, who knows, maybe better. But I think that I would love to try out the chasing game and have fun just enjoying the sport. 

What are you most looking forward to this season? What series do you think is most important for your team?

Jason: I am looking forward to just playing this season and also having the fun that's associated with the sport off the pitch. Staying in the AirBnB with the team and those late night hangouts is a big factor on why I wanted to come back. Yes, I still want to win. Injuries in the past always come up during the big games, so I want to keep myself healthy and win with the team with which I started playing MLQ. I definitely think Boston Forge is a big series for us Titans as they have a lot of great players and key stars in the quadball community. 

Byron: I think our most important series is against the Detroit Innovators. They gained a few noticeably great players and with it being our first series of the year, it’s important that we set the tone of our season early. There's a sense of Prowl being hunted, and we are going to show that we are ready for any fight that comes our way. 

What's been your favorite moment together playing quadball? What's been the hardest?

Jason: My favorite moment playing quadball is hard to choose from. I would say the USQ NERC 2022 Rutgers vs. Harvard game was very fun and the reason I chose this game is not because we won, but how we won. I had just caught the flag runner, and Byron was right next to me waiting for the ref meeting to see if the catch was good or not. I always watch it on film to see that we just celebrated once they called the catch good and we had won the game. That will always be a core memory in my mind. The hardest moment would definitely be when Byron first started playing with Prowl and we were separated for the first time. Not only was this our first time playing quadball apart, but it would be our first time living away from each other. 

Byron: Playing together for the USNT Developmental Academy at training camp was really cool, but my favorite moment would probably be the 2023 USQ Quadball Cup 2023. We were playing UTSA in the final moments of the game. We were playing together, and our family was watching on the sideline for one of the first times in person. That was really cool because it was a really close game, and I’m glad they were able to watch us play. The hardest for me was probably when I moved out to Chicago for the first time, knowing that I wouldn’t be playing with Jason at all. 

Any warm-up rituals y'all take part in together?

Jason: I definitely do not have any superstitions or rituals, but one thing I noticed about Byron is that he will always ask me right before we get to the line “This ok?” as he refers to his headband on his head. 

Byron: Surprisingly, no. Other than a typical game plan and how our team is doing (with Jason being captain and all).

Has playing together increased the legitimacy to your family at all?

Jason: My mom definitely thinks—and always says whenever I am doing something quadball-related—“I still can’t believe you actually play this sport still”. Our little sister will make as many jokes as possible to, not only us, but her friends and her friends will always say to us “How’s quadball?!?”. But in my mind, I always think “hey, free publicity for the sport”. Our dad thinks otherwise. As confusing as the sport is, my dad will always try to figure out how to play and will watch the livestreams and try to make sense of the game. 

Byron: Yes and no. My sister and my mom laugh about it. Our sister will joke as much as she wants but she definitely wants to try it one day. Given the amount of times I have hit my head, our mom is really just worried for our safety when she isn’t laughing. Our dad follows along and likes to watch every livestream he can. He will follow players and go “this player joined this team and then I saw that this one left” so it’s cool to know that he follows.

Any other Ng siblings that'll be the next to try the sport?

Jason: I personally think that there is no way that my little sister plays this sport, but there is a chance. She is very serious about playing soccer, so if she gets to play for a college she would not play quadball. But as much as I would love for her to play, I don’t think another Ng will play in the near future. 

Byron: Our sister laughs at us a lot about playing but she’s a soccer player. Depending on what college she goes to and if they have quadball there, I think there is a 99% chance she tries it out. 

What's one thing you want any reader to take away from this?

Jason: I would say to the whole community that…we are all on the same side. On the surface, some people don’t like this player and some people have even more hatred for that player. But what makes this community so great, and what I love about it, is you can go up to anyone and always have a fun time. What I mean by we are all on the same side is that we all want this sport to grow. We all want new recruits to come and play, and we don’t want this sport to die. I think I can speak for everyone, or at least I haven’t met a person who feels differently, but, let us grow this sport together.  

Byron: Everyone in this community is so great, just keep playing and having fun. Compete and work your butt off. However, I have created so many incredible relationships with people that it has made the sport so much more fun. These aren’t just quadball friends, they are some of my best friends.

Watch the Ng twins in action all season long on the MLQ Network.