What is it like having a twin? It's a question University of South Alabama senior soccer players Rio and Steffi Hardy have been asked hundreds of times, and their answer, invariably, is "What is it like NOT being a twin?"

It's not a crazy question, considering just 3 percent of all births involve multiple babies, and of those, only one third are identical – which is attributed to pure luck or chance, not genetics.

But really, have you ever wondered what it's like to have an identical twin?

"It's great," Rio said. "You've always got someone there who has your back. You always have someone to practice with and push you. That's really good because maybe when you don't feel like doing it, the other person is like 'Come on! Let's go!'"

"It's like having a free best friend, unconditionally," added Steffi. "Our dad always says 'If you're going somewhere, you're going together.' You never go anywhere on your own, or worry if someone is going to do something with you. You always have someone with you, whether it's eating dinner or going to class."

And it's true. Rio and Steffi do everything together. They have the same class schedule. They eat together, train together, and study together. In fact, the only time they're not together is when they're sleeping.

They do have some differences. After all, they're not the exact same person. Steffi is left-footed and more shy. Rio kicks with her right foot and is more stubborn. Rio's face is more round, and she has a mole on her cheek, which Steffi does not.

To dispel some common myths, no, they can't feel each other's pain, and they don't have a sixth sense for when the other is in trouble. They've also never stood in for the other on dates or tests, except for the one time they switched classes in high school as a joke.

Their family and close friends instinctively know who they are by now, except for their grandfather when one of them answers the phone. It helps that they deliberately dress differently, even changing clothes when they realize they've put on the same shirt.

Born and raised in Workington, England, located near the coast in the northwest corner of England, Rio and Steffi were destined to be soccer players before they were born. Their parents, Corrine and Steven, who didn't know whether they were going to have boys or girls, just that they were having twins, decided no matter what they got, they were going to be soccer players.

They were competitive from the start. The only rule when they would play 1v1 in the park with their father was 'don't kick at each other,' and when they were done, he would console the loser and congratulate the winner. And they were competitive in everything.

"When we say everything, we mean everything," Rio remembered. "School, or who could pick up the most toys. That's how they got us to clean up after ourselves, see who could pick up the most, and we'd scatter."

While soccer was their passion, they played a number of other sports at school, including netball, field hockey, track & field, rounders and tag rugby. "When we went to school and saw all of the other sports, we said, 'Let's try them.' But football was always No. 1," Rio said.

They started playing as wingers on opposite sides of the field when they were young, but it wasn't until they tried out for their county team when they were 10 that they found the positions they play today.

"We went to trials for our county team, and we sorted out into groups," Steffi said. "I saw the people putting their hands up for forward and midfield. You didn't know your ability at that age so I waited for the defenders and there weren't as many, so I put my hand up and I've been there ever since."

Rio started in the midfield, but her goal-scoring record left her coaches no choice but to move her to forward.

Their path eventually led them to Blackburn Rovers Ladies, which gave them thoughts of playing professionally.

"We had an offer from a team when we were 16 but we wanted to stay at Blackburn because it would have involved moving even further away from home than we were at Blackburn," Rio said. "We just loved Blackburn. The setup was unbelievable there. The best coaches, the best facilities. Everything at Blackburn was what we were about: hard work and winning games. We worshipped the coaches. That was a great time for us so we didn't want to leave that."

Playing at South Alabama, much less in America, was never in the plans. It took former South Alabama head coach Graham Winkworth scouting two of their high school teammates before it occurred to them that it was even a possibility.

"We were studying at our college in Accrington, and we were practicing one day and we heard that Emily (Farrell) and Nikki's (Shirtcliffe) American coach is coming to watch them in practice today," Rio said. "We didn't know anything about it. We just practiced and Graham came in to talk to us and said you can go and live in America, study abroad and get a degree."

Farrell and Shirtcliffe joined the program in 2013 and helped recruit the Hardys.

"We started hearing from Nikki and Emily about what they got to do," Rio continued. "We started researching it, they told us how good it is, and Graham gave us an offer. We had never been to America before and it was unheard of from where we're from. It was a huge deal. We committed as soon as we found out because we didn't know anything else."

"We were really close with Emily and Nikki so we trusted them and their decision," Steffi said. "They said how much they loved it. That was a big influence, as was having an English coach."

Their transition to America wasn't nearly as difficult as they imagined. For one, they stayed in a hotel when they first arrived, so after training sessions, they'd lay out by the pool. Their attitudes quickly changed once camp started.

"We had some conversations about the heat," Steffi said. "The very first session Rio threw up and I was in the shade after five minutes. This is at like, 7 a.m."

Rio said, "We were looking at each other, like, what have we done? We just couldn't believe the heat. It's unbelievable when you're from England."

Thankfully, Shirtcliffe and Farrell eased their minds by saying it would get better, and the Hardys eventually got used to it.

"We knew it was what we wanted to be doing. We knew we wanted to be playing football every day and a degree to come out of the other end with," Rio said. "There wasn't a moment where we wanted to go home. It was just a bit of, 'Oh God, what have we done?' But once training starts, you forget all about it. You're just in the zone of what you want to be doing."

Rio and Steffi wasted little time in getting acclimated to Division I soccer. They were both named First Team all-Sun Belt Conference as freshmen, and Rio was second on the team in both goals (12) and points (32). Steffi started 22 times and added four goals of her own as the Jaguars won both the conference regular season and tournament titles for the first time.

The following season, Steffi keyed a defense that led the league in shutouts and was second in goals against average, and contributed six goals, including a hat trick in the home finale. The league's coaches voted her the defensive player of the year.

South Alabama made its third straight NCAA appearance that season, and hosted LSU in the first round, a first for the program.

With the duo in the starting lineup, the Jaguars scored two first-half goals en route to a massive 4-0 victory. Steffi played all 90 minutes, holding the Tigers to just three shots on goal, and Rio found the back of the net early in the second half.

"The LSU game was a special night," Steffi said. "That will go down in soccer history here. To have that many people there to actually watch you. They were engaged in the game, especially because we scored so early."

"It couldn't have been more perfect," Rio stated.

The 2016 season was bittersweet for the Hardys. Rio ranked second on the team with eight goals and earned another First Team all-SBC honor, but Steffi got injured, missed some time, and found it difficult to get back in the lineup.

"That was hard because the game before, our parents got here, and that was the night I hurt my quad," Steffi reflected. "Obviously I wanted to play so bad because my parents were here and I played when I probably shouldn't have played. I made it a lot worse and had to come out. It put me out for two weeks. I've always played, so sitting out was hard, but it was harder because I knew our parents came to see us and I couldn't play. That was the hardest thing, watching them watch me on the side."

"It's always bittersweet when we win and Stef hasn't been a part of it," Rio said. "I scored a couple of goals when mom and dad were here, and that was great, but I look to my side and Stef's not there to celebrate. It's great to score a goal, but I want Stef next to me to celebrate. It was tough knowing how hard it was on Stef to wait all year for mom and dad to come and not play while they're here. I had to play extra hard now for both of us."

Steffi did start the final two games of the Sun Belt Tournament, and Rio scored a goal and an assist in the semifinal as the Jaguars won the league double for a third consecutive season.

Their senior season is just beginning and the final chapter has yet to be written. But once it is, they know what they want to do next. Both have an eye on playing professionally back home, and maybe even pursuing coaching.

And what if that means they'll be separated for the first time in their lives?

"I wouldn't like it, but it would be something that you'd have to get used to, if we were both doing what we wanted to do," Rio said.

"There's going to be a time in life where that's going to happen, who knows when it's going to be," Steffi said. "I'm not worried about it. I think we'll be alright."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Upper 90 Club, the soccer specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All gifts to the Upper 90 Club go directly to support the South Alabama soccer program.  For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/upper90

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