By Lama Tassabehji ----

Twin sisters, members of both the AUB women's volleyball and soccer teams, Nadine and Noha have been taking part in sports ever since they opened their eyes to the world. Their whole family participates in sports and they have been brought up on them. The volleyball and soccer training sessions fall one after the other, but neither of the girls gets tired. "We think of it as volleyball training the arms, and soccer training the legs," Noha told Outlook. "It causes [a] major adrenaline rush that just becomes part of your normal life," added Nadine. The twins now live alone after years of moving around, from San Diego, where they were born, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and finally back to their home country of Lebanon. At ACS the girls joined all the sports teams available. "In ACS sports were seasonal and we did not want to have a season without sports, so we joined all the teams," Nadine told Outlook. Once in university, classes became a bit more difficult, with both girls working towards medical school. Their first semester they only played on the volleyball team because they could not be on two teams and do well in studying, but this year they were back on both teams. "Sports is just as important as studying," Nadine told Outlook. Playing on the volleyball court as twins is the same, but then again not the same as playing with other teammates. "You are used to getting support from your sister," said Noha to Outlook when talking about the experience in Rhodes (the athletics trip this year), when the twins were separated due to the coinciding timings of the matches, Nadine to play volleyball and Noha to play soccer. "Surprisingly I played better when I was more tense on the soccer field, expecting her to show up," said Noha. Nadine on the other hand, knowing that she wouldn't be able to make it to play with her sister and teammates on the soccer field because the volleyball team needed her, became very tense and missed many spikes. Even though the Hachach twins play the same sports, they do not excel at the same techniques. Nadine plays midfield/attack on the soccer field, and Noha plays defense, different positions with different requirements. "In Rhodes coach Vatche put me in midfield for awhile, and I couldn't focus; it was like, 'Nadine, where are you? You are meant to play this position,'" Noha told Outlook. One problem the girls sometimes face on the volleyball court, considering there are no positions (it is all rotation), is that sometimes the referee or players from the opposing team mistake them for each other and accuse them of being in the wrong place. One point the twins highly emphasized about sports was support. "The support in Rhodes and all the cheering increased our jump 180 degrees," said Nadine. Unfortunately, both girls are transferring at the end of this year and will no longer be playing together on the same sports teams. Nadine will return to San Diego to continue her pre-medical studies there and then enter medical school to study either sports medicine or orthopedics. Noha will go to Vancouver, Canada, to continue pre-medicine and then continue medical school to become a plastic surgeon. Sports molded Nadine's character, whereas Noha has the same love for sports, but this love does not show in her personality as much. "Sports change your life. They make you more responsible and dedicated and it is a way to let out stress," said Nadine. "There is always this misconception that we are totally alike, but people who truly know us, know that apart from our appearances, we are very different." To the twins, an athlete's dream is to be able to play professionally, and to be applauded for his/her talent. "Sports take a lot of talent and practice and it would be nice to be recognized. Tryouts start with 30 girls and then they are brought down to around ten," said the twins. "You'd become more dedicated and give one hundred percent if you had a scholarship." Scholarships are one way to motivate athletes, according to the girls. Another more basic and very cheap method is fans and supporters. "We play much better if we have fans," said Nadine.