But that is exactly the position young curling siblings Jessica (19) and Ben (17) Smith found themselves in at the Winter Games mixed-doubles curling yesterday.
Their opposition were the Swiss team of Martin Rios and Jenny Perret, the 2017 world mixed-double champions.
After a bad start, down five after two ends, the young pair rallied back in the third end to score four and close in on the world champions.
They then kept the score close throughout the match and were down one headed into the last end.
But most importantly for the Swiss, it was they who had the last throw of the game.
With two stones left the Kiwis needed to leave a stone closest to the centre to have a chance to take the game to another end.
But they had to watch as their last stone slid too far, leaving the Swiss pair with the shot and the win.
Despite the loss, the pair were upbeat about the game and happy they kept the game with the Swiss close.
‘‘We were a bit unlucky not to have the hammer [last throw] in the last end, but we hung in there,’’ Jessica said.
‘‘It was a rough start dropping a four in the first end, but we got it back, so yeah nah, it was good,’’ Ben said.
It was a similar story on Sunday night, when they almost took a win from the unbeaten Koreans but again came up one shot short in an extra end.
‘‘We had a really good game against the Koreans, which was awesome because they are unbeaten and really strong, so we were stoked with that,’’ Ben said.
Their two wins of the tournament have come against Australia and the more experienced New Zealand pair of Scott and Bridget Becker.
It is the first time the two New Zealand junior representatives have played in an open international tournament.
‘‘Just the knowledge these guys have — I mean a lot of the juniors can probably play the same shots — but the way they skip and manage the game is so much better,’’ Ben said.
Mixed doubles will make its first appearance at the Winter Olympics in Korea next year and the young curlers also have their sights set on the following Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
‘‘We’ve still got plenty of years ahead of us yet, so we’ll just keep working away and chipping at it,’’ Jessica said.
Both will travel to Lohja in Finland in January next year to play for the junior men’s and women’s teams at the World Junior B Championships.
As for who is the boss on the ice, Jessica, who is the skip of the junior women’s team, said she was happy to let her younger brother take charge.
‘‘But if I’m doing something wrong, she’ll definitely tell me,’’ Ben said.
