The transition into life as a college athlete is tough for freshmen across the country. Leaving home to start a new journey as not only a college student but also a high-level athlete comes with a lot of challenges. But North Carolina freshmen Elly and Neve King have found that having your twin by your side makes the transition a little bit easier.
From the beginning of their recruiting process, Elly and Neve were a package deal. They let each prospective school know that they were planning on going to college together, so if a school didn’t want both of them, it wasn’t going to be the right fit. North Carolina head coach Danna Durante was very understanding of their situation and was excited to work with her first pair of identical twins. “We felt like if that was their goal, we owed it to them,” Durante said.
The twins looked at a handful of different programs, but North Carolina stood out to each of them. Neve is in pre-business and mentioned that “the business school here is really prestigious.” Both girls loved the team atmosphere and the coaching staff from the beginning, but what stood out to Elly was how “they’re really trying to build the program.” Both the twins wanted to be a part of the legacy that North Carolina gymnastics is working to build while also receiving a high-quality education. The Tar Heels team is a perfect fit.
Even though Elly and Neve are identical twins and were recruited as a pair, they have similarities and differences just like any other two people. Durante works hard to ensure that the twins feel a sense of individuality both inside and outside of the gym. “We take them as we take every other student-athlete on our team,” said Durante. “They do respond differently just like every other athlete that has cues or words or language that might really help them understand.” As for their differences outside of the gym, they’ve already begun to develop separate interests in their studies. Durante mentioned that Elly has become interested in speech pathology and that it’s been wonderful to see them branch out and find new passions.
Both King sisters’ style of gymnastics is unique. They take corrections differently and some of their skills look completely different. Durante noticed that the duo swing bars differently from each other. Neve also said that she admires Elly’s Yurchenko full and that she’s “always been jealous of it.” But Durante did note that “they both have beautiful dance, beautiful feet, and their showmanship is very strong.”
Durante and the rest of the coaching staff at North Carolina work hard to see Elly and Neve as individuals, but there’s no question that having a lifelong best friend by your side going into college makes the transition easier. They share a room, they can relate to each other’s homesickness, and there’s always someone to eat lunch with. “It’s just really nice to have someone that I already know so well,” Neve said. “We can just do anything together.”
The bond between the King twins helps them inside the gym as well. Neve says that “there’s no line between us as sisters and teammates.” The girls support each other no matter what, too. “We push each other,” Elly said, “and not because we’re competing, but because we want each other to get better.”
That twin bond doesn’t just benefit the two of them, either. It actually helps the whole team. Elly and Neve have had an easier transition than what is typical for a college athlete, and a lot of that is due to them having each other around. That “twin confidence,” as Durante puts it, has allowed them to become leaders on the team. “Elly and Neve were the first freshmen to be very vocal in the gym,” said Durante. “And that encouraged the sophomores to be more vocal.”
The special bond that Elly and Neve have is sure to create a lot of wonderful, lasting memories throughout their college careers. As they continue to grow together, Durante and her staff always remain aware of the individuals beyond the twins and are there to help them both “spread their wings and fly and grow individually.”
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Article by Emily Lockard
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