For many families, siblings don’t want to do the same thing. They try to choose separate paths for their lives. Many times this sentiment flows into the world of sports. For sophomore Trinity Lewis and her freshman sister, Jade Lewis, this is not so.

From church leagues at ages 4 and 5 to playing  AAU basketball (Amateur Athletic Union), and Grady, these sisters have always taken on basketball together.

“We’ve played together since we were really little,” Trinity said. “We’ve played on different teams sometimes where we weren’t playing together, but yeah, we have been playing basketball our entire life.”

Basketball has not always been the family sport of choice. The sisters’ father had always played football, but enjoyed watching basketball.

“I didn’t really choose it [basketball] particularly,” Trinity said. “It was more chosen for me. When my dad found out that his first three [children] were girls, he was like, ‘I’ve got to find some type of sport that’s not football,’ because he played football. We came into it [basketball], and after we were in it for a while, we made our own choice.”

According to them, the choice they made to play basketball was one they would not regret.

“My favorite part of playing basketball is just the ability to play with the team and be a leader,” Trinity said. “Those moments where you just do something so good, when people are running on the court and stuff, are just so good.”

While the sisters vary in opinion about their favorite part of the sport, their underlying love of the sport is equal and unmatched.

“Basketball is significant to me because, one it keeps me in shape, and that is extremely important to me,” Jade said.  “Another reason it is significant to me is because it makes me happy like nothing else can. It is one of the major things I am most passionate about.”

For both girls, playing both AAU and basketball at school has brought its own experiences.

“Inman is closer to Grady than what I thought it would be when I came to Grady,” Trinity said. “For travel ball, it’s completely different. Here, I am one of the best players on the team; people look to me to be the point guard. In AAU, I’ll just be a guard. Point guard is not my natural position. It’s a lot more competitive; people are trying to go to college for basketball. People actually try really hard.”

Now, that the sisters are back on the same team after being apart for a year. This shared love of basketball has brought them to become even more tightly knit.

“Playing at Inman last year without my sister was different because I didn’t really have as much of a support system to lean back on if I was having a bad game,” Jade said. “I had to be a leader and be the scorer. Coming to play with her again has been better and less stressful.”

Trinity  agrees.

“I really like playing with my sister,” Trinity said with a smile. “I’ve been playing with her for my entire life; so, it’s just another layer you add to the game. When you’re playing a game with your sister, it changes things up. Jade is a really good shooter, so she can knock down those buckets really easily.”

Since they play AAU travel basketball and Grady basketball together, the siblings are always around each other. Even outside of basketball, they are together at home.

“It affects our relationship because it gives us a very tangible intersection,” Trinity said. “We’ve always got the same schedule; we always have to wake up in the morning and play basketball, stay up later after everyone else to clean up balls or go to coach’s room for basketball. We’ve always just got an intersection; so, we can always talk about it, it’s something in common.”

Jade backs Trinity’s sentiment up.

“I think by us playing together, it affects our closeness,” Jade said. “It is easy for us to bond and relate to one another, but if we get mad at each other on the court we stay mad for awhile after the game.”

In addition to the sister relationship, being together on the court adds a whole new dimension to the game that would not be present if they did not both play basketball.

“It definitely brings another aspect to the game because you have another person who has been playing basketball their entire life on the court,” Trinity said. “You’ve grown up with them, and there are days when we all have our good days where we are all like ‘Yeah go Jade,’ but there are other days where we get onto each other for stuff.”

Basketball  will continue to be an important force in both sisters’ lives, one that will continue to bring them together for years to come, from Grady and beyond.

“Basketball has always been a part of life,” Trinity said. “Without it, I would be like ‘What am I doing all day, what am I thinking about, what am I talking about?’ It’s just been something that’s been a part of my life.”