Better Together
4/24/2014 2:37:00 PM
Deanna and Dana Edwards bring “sisterly” love, and competition, to the Eagles
STATESBORO, Ga. – Only one time in their lives did Dana and Deanna Edwards, identical twin sisters, switch places, attempting to trick their middle school teachers in homeroom. The next time they would try and pull a fast one would be in seventh grade. That time, though, they weren't switching places, they were switching stories.
Swimmers and baton twirlers in elementary school in Athens, Ga., Deanna and Dana wanted so badly to play basketball, but weren't allowed. They lied to their parents, saying they were staying after school for a club, but instead, tried out, and made, the seventh grade basketball team. After confessing to their father, they convinced him to tell their mother the real story.
Deanna, a point guard, and Dana, a small forward, continued playing basketball for Clarke Central High School. Their coach suggested that they run track to stay in shape between the end of the season and the start of summer basketball. That suggestion would help them secure scholarship offers and land at Georgia Southern.
"We played basketball and competed in track and ended up getting better scholarship offers with track, so we decided to stick with track," Deanna said. "My dad even told the basketball coaches, that, 'if you don't sign one, you won't sign either.' He wanted us to be the 'dynamic duo,' so to speak. Luckily, we did get some of the same offers."
Even though they were in agreement that they wanted to go to college together, and even with some of the same offers, the sisters weren't in agreement with their college choices.
"When we were looking at colleges, Georgia Southern was the only one that had the Athletic Training program, so that major drew us in, and when we visited the campus, I liked it a lot better than the other campuses we saw," Dana Edwards said. "I liked the "small feel" aspect too. Campus was pretty, and small, and it had more of a family setting than the other schools."
One thing in particular made an impression on Dana when they were walking on campus.
At one point, a student on campus yelled "Hail Southern!" and from across the way, his friend, yelled it back "Hail Southern!"
"I liked that tradition," Dana said. Deanna decided she'd follow her younger sister, even though Dana is only younger by eight minutes.
"I just followed her," Deanna said. "All the schools I wanted to go to, she didn't want to go to, and she has always followed me since I was the older one. I thought I'll just go with her, maybe her gut instinct is better than mine."
Both sisters will graduate with degrees in Exercise Science. Dana switched to the major and added a second major in Spanish. Deanna stayed in Athletic Training longer, giving up Track & Field for a season to do so. For Deanna, it was a tough decision to step away from the track, but looking back, she said the decision was the best for her. She eventually switched her major to Exercise Science, and then returned to compete for the Eagles.
One thing is for sure – whatever the next path for Deanna and Dana is, they'll be making the journey together. They have applied for graduate school and plan on studying occupational therapy. It's the second time that Deanna has let Dana take the lead in their lives.
Dana was reviewing a book that featured descriptions of position for exercise science majors and spoke to her sister about the position.
"Occupational therapy was close to athletic training," Dana said. "One of the things that was appealing was that there was a set schedule – athletic training can require you to work around the clock. The more I read about occupational therapy, I liked it, and told Deanna about it too."
One big difference between Dana and Deanna is how they approach things. Deanna hasn't taken the GRE, an exam for acceptance to some graduate schools because she wanted to take the time to study. Dana, who is taking 16 academic hours this semester, went ahead and took the test on a whim. That characteristic applies to most things -- even visiting with family for the recent Easter weekend, Deanna planned everything.
Track and Field, which is comprised of two seasons, an indoor and outdoor season, starts competition in December and can go through May. Training begins mid-fall and many of the meets are two-day events and occur throughout the southeast region. Dana and Deanna make the most of their bus rides, reading, doing homework or studying.
"We try and stay ahead, when we get the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, we write everything down on the calendar," Dana says, and Deanna nods in agreement. "We try and start early so we can stay on top of it and ahead of it. It never stops. We're always doing homework or studying."
"Dana has always been smarter than me, so when I had a higher GPA than her last semester, I had to say something," Deanna said. "In track, when we first started, I used to wear her out.
"She did, she did," Dana admitted.
"I would get on to her," Deanna quickly added. "Then, when we got here, she was three seconds faster than me. I'm going to shock her at conference, don't worry."
Dana, though, won't relinquish her lead easily. When the two race against each other in practice, Dana mentally pushes herself to not let Deanna beat her.
The daily challenges are having a positive impact. Dana took over second place on Georgia Southern's all-time list in the 400m Hurdles at the Florida Relays earlier this month and she has the top time for the Eagles this season in the 100m Hurdles. Deanna hit some milestones as well this season with career bests in both the 100m and 400m Hurdles.
Competitive on the track, they are also competitive in the classroom. Deanna had a 3.41 grade point average last semester and Dana a 3.0. They balance a busy schedule with planning and a conscience effort to stay on top of assignments and ahead of deadlines.
There's at least one place where they can find some tranquility. Surprisingly, it is not the same place, but they are both on the Georgia Southern campus. For Deanna, it's Sweetheart Circle while Dana is more specific as she enjoys watching the baby ducks by Lakeside in the springtime.
"Every time I go to that place (Sweetheart Circle), I just feel so much more relaxed and I can get away from everything," Deanna offers. "It's so soothing."
The exact opposite comes into play for Deanna when she talks about her favorite Georgia Southern memory.
"I get chills at our football games every time two sides of the stadium compete with each other to see who can be louder," Deanna said. "And, baby Freedom, I love that bird." Deanna gestures to her sister. "She still cries when he flies over, I've gotten my composure."
Dana nods in agreement, sharing that love of that tradition with her sister and friend.
In just a matter of a few Saturdays, Freedom will be soaring over them, signaling the end of the commencement ceremony and the beginning of their next steps. First, though, Deanna and Dana will be spending this weekend with their teammates, flying on the track in the quest for a conference title in their final SoCon Outdoor Championships.
Swimmers and baton twirlers in elementary school in Athens, Ga., Deanna and Dana wanted so badly to play basketball, but weren't allowed. They lied to their parents, saying they were staying after school for a club, but instead, tried out, and made, the seventh grade basketball team. After confessing to their father, they convinced him to tell their mother the real story.
Deanna, a point guard, and Dana, a small forward, continued playing basketball for Clarke Central High School. Their coach suggested that they run track to stay in shape between the end of the season and the start of summer basketball. That suggestion would help them secure scholarship offers and land at Georgia Southern.
"We played basketball and competed in track and ended up getting better scholarship offers with track, so we decided to stick with track," Deanna said. "My dad even told the basketball coaches, that, 'if you don't sign one, you won't sign either.' He wanted us to be the 'dynamic duo,' so to speak. Luckily, we did get some of the same offers."
Even though they were in agreement that they wanted to go to college together, and even with some of the same offers, the sisters weren't in agreement with their college choices.
"When we were looking at colleges, Georgia Southern was the only one that had the Athletic Training program, so that major drew us in, and when we visited the campus, I liked it a lot better than the other campuses we saw," Dana Edwards said. "I liked the "small feel" aspect too. Campus was pretty, and small, and it had more of a family setting than the other schools."
One thing in particular made an impression on Dana when they were walking on campus.
At one point, a student on campus yelled "Hail Southern!" and from across the way, his friend, yelled it back "Hail Southern!"
"I liked that tradition," Dana said. Deanna decided she'd follow her younger sister, even though Dana is only younger by eight minutes.
"I just followed her," Deanna said. "All the schools I wanted to go to, she didn't want to go to, and she has always followed me since I was the older one. I thought I'll just go with her, maybe her gut instinct is better than mine."
Both sisters will graduate with degrees in Exercise Science. Dana switched to the major and added a second major in Spanish. Deanna stayed in Athletic Training longer, giving up Track & Field for a season to do so. For Deanna, it was a tough decision to step away from the track, but looking back, she said the decision was the best for her. She eventually switched her major to Exercise Science, and then returned to compete for the Eagles.
One thing is for sure – whatever the next path for Deanna and Dana is, they'll be making the journey together. They have applied for graduate school and plan on studying occupational therapy. It's the second time that Deanna has let Dana take the lead in their lives.
Dana was reviewing a book that featured descriptions of position for exercise science majors and spoke to her sister about the position.
"Occupational therapy was close to athletic training," Dana said. "One of the things that was appealing was that there was a set schedule – athletic training can require you to work around the clock. The more I read about occupational therapy, I liked it, and told Deanna about it too."
One big difference between Dana and Deanna is how they approach things. Deanna hasn't taken the GRE, an exam for acceptance to some graduate schools because she wanted to take the time to study. Dana, who is taking 16 academic hours this semester, went ahead and took the test on a whim. That characteristic applies to most things -- even visiting with family for the recent Easter weekend, Deanna planned everything.
Track and Field, which is comprised of two seasons, an indoor and outdoor season, starts competition in December and can go through May. Training begins mid-fall and many of the meets are two-day events and occur throughout the southeast region. Dana and Deanna make the most of their bus rides, reading, doing homework or studying.
"We try and stay ahead, when we get the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, we write everything down on the calendar," Dana says, and Deanna nods in agreement. "We try and start early so we can stay on top of it and ahead of it. It never stops. We're always doing homework or studying."
"Dana has always been smarter than me, so when I had a higher GPA than her last semester, I had to say something," Deanna said. "In track, when we first started, I used to wear her out.
"She did, she did," Dana admitted.
"I would get on to her," Deanna quickly added. "Then, when we got here, she was three seconds faster than me. I'm going to shock her at conference, don't worry."
Dana, though, won't relinquish her lead easily. When the two race against each other in practice, Dana mentally pushes herself to not let Deanna beat her.
The daily challenges are having a positive impact. Dana took over second place on Georgia Southern's all-time list in the 400m Hurdles at the Florida Relays earlier this month and she has the top time for the Eagles this season in the 100m Hurdles. Deanna hit some milestones as well this season with career bests in both the 100m and 400m Hurdles.
Competitive on the track, they are also competitive in the classroom. Deanna had a 3.41 grade point average last semester and Dana a 3.0. They balance a busy schedule with planning and a conscience effort to stay on top of assignments and ahead of deadlines.
There's at least one place where they can find some tranquility. Surprisingly, it is not the same place, but they are both on the Georgia Southern campus. For Deanna, it's Sweetheart Circle while Dana is more specific as she enjoys watching the baby ducks by Lakeside in the springtime.
"Every time I go to that place (Sweetheart Circle), I just feel so much more relaxed and I can get away from everything," Deanna offers. "It's so soothing."
The exact opposite comes into play for Deanna when she talks about her favorite Georgia Southern memory.
"I get chills at our football games every time two sides of the stadium compete with each other to see who can be louder," Deanna said. "And, baby Freedom, I love that bird." Deanna gestures to her sister. "She still cries when he flies over, I've gotten my composure."
Dana nods in agreement, sharing that love of that tradition with her sister and friend.
In just a matter of a few Saturdays, Freedom will be soaring over them, signaling the end of the commencement ceremony and the beginning of their next steps. First, though, Deanna and Dana will be spending this weekend with their teammates, flying on the track in the quest for a conference title in their final SoCon Outdoor Championships.
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