SPORTS
A Look into the world of playing on
a sports team with a twin
Most athletes power through every season generally on their own, celebrating their victories with their friends and teammates. But for a few PRHS athletes, they have the opportunity to play sports with their duplicate alongside them.
Twins playing on the same team is a rare occurrence, yet fraternal twins Jacey and Jenelle Loewen have played on three teams together for over eight years -- the sophomores play volleyball, basketball, and track together. In volleyball, Jenelle plays opposite hitter and Jacey plays middle hitter; in basketball, they both play forward; and in track and field, they both throw shot put. “We have strong connections on the court. We can almost read each other’s mind,” Jenelle said about her likeness. |
"Playing with twins creates an environment like no other. You just instantly feel welcome around them when they are trying to get you on one of their sides while bickering with each other. Just all around they make the game and life more interesting," sophomore Kelen Macharia said.
Having a sibling on the same team can yield advantages to both players. With the opportunity to have each other to rely upon, it allows them to practice outside of the team together, talk about plays, and have a connection unlike any other on the court. Also, having twin players can lift the weight off of coaches and parents shoulders: one text for both, one ride for both, one copy of papers, etc. “
“Playing with twins creates an environment like no other. You just instantly feel welcome around them when they are trying to get you on one of their sides while bickering with each other. Just all around they make the game and life more interesting,” sophomore Kelen Macharia said, who has played basketball for the last two years with the Loewen sisters.Despite there being many pros to having a twin with you on the same team, it can also be a burden for the players.
“Some people see us as one, and it’s harder to see when one of us accomplishes something or makes a difference on the court,” Jacey said.
“Playing with twins creates an environment like no other. You just instantly feel welcome around them when they are trying to get you on one of their sides while bickering with each other. Just all around they make the game and life more interesting,” sophomore Kelen Macharia said, who has played basketball for the last two years with the Loewen sisters.Despite there being many pros to having a twin with you on the same team, it can also be a burden for the players.
“Some people see us as one, and it’s harder to see when one of us accomplishes something or makes a difference on the court,” Jacey said.
Identical twins Kyle and Brandon Bonham play football and baseball together. Kyle plays safety in football and first base in baseball, while Brandon plays wide receiver and corner in football, and pitcher in baseball. The sophomores have played baseball for ten years together and football for eight.
“It’s always fun to compete with [Brandon] in practices,” Kyle said. Twins aren’t typically common, but at PRHS there are 29 pairs of twins. The national average is 1 in 30 births results in a set of twins, but the PRHS sophomore class has a rate of about 1 in 25 , with 24 twins out of 596 students. At least four sets of the total twins play sports together, including juniors Xena and Janiel Stanko playing basketball, and freshmen Katie and Lexi Wagner in golf |
“Playing with Kyle and Brandon is pretty sick. They’re always fighting with each other, which only motivates them to work harder. Kyle’s got more style, and Brandon, well, Brandon is just Brandon. But when you put them together on the field, it’s pretty cool to watch how hard they push each other,” sophomore Cole Raymond said about playing with the twins. Raymond has played football with the Bonhams for eight years.
Both sets of twins want to pursue their sports throughout the rest of their high school career, with the hopes of getting college scholarships.
Both sets of twins want to pursue their sports throughout the rest of their high school career, with the hopes of getting college scholarships.
The twins Brandon (#34) and Kyle (#6) show off their skills at their game on November 1st against A-town. The final score was 49-21 against the Greyhounds.