For lots of kids, playing sports is a way to meet a best friend.
This wasn’t the case for Kelly and Brooke. They had been best friends for around five years by the time they picked up their first lacrosse sticks in kindergarten.
“It is just always nice having my best friend with me,” Brooke said with a smile as she looked over at Kelly. As Kelly broke into a matching smile, it was hard to tell which girl was which.
The Boyd twins have been gifted athletes since almost their first day on the field.
“We have always had sticks in our hands, and we have always been playing in the backyard together,” Kelly said. “We got a lot of experience doing that together. It has been great having each other, because it is always a person to pass with and play with.”
They excelled as they grew older. Brooke led her team in assists all four years of high school while Kelly led in scoring her final three years. They also played tennis as doubles partners, winning the 2008 IAAM Conference doubles championship, but their hearts lay with lacrosse. As they started to get recruited, there was one major factor that helped them decide on Virginia.
“We always knew we always wanted to come to college together regardless because we are best friends,” Brooke said.
For most high school seniors, transitioning into the college atmosphere is hard enough. For college athletes learning to adjust to their new level of competition, it can often be even harder. Luckily, each Boyd sister had a fairly smooth transition and successful college career with support from her lifelong teammate and twin sister.
“Coming to the college level, it was definitely a tough adjustment,” Kelly said. “That was another reason it was nice to have Brooke too, because we know each other’s style of play — we have been playing together forever — so it makes that adjustment a lot easier.”
“Socially it was definitely a lot easier coming in, and with lacrosse as well,” Brooke said.
Identical not only in appearance, but also in their position at attacker, the Boyds said that competition has never been an issue for them.
“It is actually funny, everyone asks us that, but we’re not super competitive with each other,” Kelly said. “When it comes to me being better than her or her being better than me, I mean we always want what is best for each other. So, it makes me just as happy to see her do well as it makes her to see me do well.”
The constant support from one another is one of the main reasons the twins have been able to maintain constant growth throughout their college careers.
“Whenever I do something and I hear her tell me I did a good job or vice versa, or like get a high five from her or a pat on the back from her, it is like the best feeling,” Brooke said. “Anything coming from her, any praise, I love.”
However, they say the unapologetic criticism thrown between them is always well-received and helps them both grow as players.
“We take criticism from each other much better than other people would because we are so close,” Brooke said. “We have done everything together, so when she tells me something, it’s brutally honest but I take it well.”
With a chuckle, Kelly threw in, “Nothing is really offensive, so that’s always helpful.”
The sisters have helped push each other constantly to become better members of the women’s lacrosse program. In a similar fashion, lacrosse has helped the sisters continually grow closer.
“I think it has challenged us both a little, but I think it has been really good for us to just struggle through hard workouts together and long days, and just have somebody,” Kelly said. “It is nice to have somebody who knows what you are going through and can always talk to and who can help you out.”
“Yeah,” Brooke said. “Sharing everything with each other is awesome. … [Whenever] something great happens here, we are always together for it.”
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