Any parent who has twins would probably say it’s not only a blessing, but a challenge. So imagine the excitement and trepidation of Nick and Candi Athens of Menlo Park when they had a second set of twins 17 years ago.
“It’s been fun,” said Candi, a Notre Dame-Belmont grad. “They’ve constantly had us on the go and our younger set of twins more because they’re more active in sports.”
Olivia Athens plays soccer at Sacred Heart Prep. Her twin Angelo Athens is a rising junior who stars in basketball at Bellarmine College Prep. He’ll play for Northern California in the Prep2Prep California All-Star Classic at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at Las Positas College.
The older Athens twins are John and Erika, age 22. John played lacrosse and Erika was a dancer.
“We also have cousins who are twins, so I guess it runs in the family,” said Angelo who averaged 14 points, seven assists and three steals per game last season for Bellarmine.
The fact Olivia is athletic – she’s committed to North Carolina for soccer -- has helped Angelo, Candi said. Both played basketball and soccer as children, with Olivia choosing soccer and Angelo hoops.
“They get along well,” she said. “Olivia is well-suited to him because she could always play right alongside him. It kept Angelo on his toes because Olivia has always (trained) so hard, playing outside of her club team and high school team. She’s so athletic that it could be intimidating.”
Except that Angelo is pretty athletic himself. His father played basketball at Hillsdale High and he’s inherited the athletic genes, helping him to make All-WCAL first team as a sophomore this past season. He’s been on varsity since he was a freshman at the all-boys’ school of 1,700 students.
“My mom really wanted me to go there and it’s a great academic school and the WCAL is a good league,” Angelo said. “It’s worked out for me.”
But even for the most advanced of players, the WCAL is an eye-opener, with raucous crowds awaiting at places like Mitty, St. Francis, Serra and Bellarmine. And the level of play is top-notch.
“It’s a crazy environment, with the Sixth Man Club and all that,” Angelo said. “It could be a little overwhelming, but I adjusted to it and wound up starting.”
Angelo said former teammate Masa Swain, two years his senior, helped him.
“He just said to stay calm, go out there and play and have a good time,” Angelo said.
The 6-foot-2 junior has, and his play has attracted the interest of Portland, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and UC-Santa Barbara. Grades will not be an issue, as Angelo has a 3.2 grade point average.
Regarding being a twin, Angelo said: “I like it a lot. I’ve always had someone to play sports with and she’s good, so it’s been fun. She’s also smarter than me, so she’s helped me out in school.”
Both of the younger Athens twins are competitive, but Olivia is more reserved, said Candi.
“Olivia is much quieter,” she said. “Angelo is more gregarious and talks a lot. He could talk a big game if he wanted to, but she wouldn’t do that.”
However, there was one occasion when Olivia piped up and rained static down upon her younger (by six minutes) brother. That was when her high school (Sacred Heart Prep) stunned Angelo’s (Bellarmine) in last season’s CCS Open championship football game.
“She razzed him pretty good after that game,” Candi said.
Said Angelo: “She gave me a very hard time. I was upset. But I knew they were pretty good.”
