Bell twins sign with Washington & Jefferson College
Mar. 20—They came into this world together. They became four-year starters together. Now, they'll go to college together.
Twin brothers Aiden and Cooper Bell put together solid soccer careers at Woodrow Wilson. They will continue their careers at the college level, both signing to play at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa.
Other schools were considered, but the chance to stay together was too much to pass up.
"Ultimately the decision came down to me wanting to go to school with my brother," Aiden said. "Once this opportunity came around, I couldn't say no to it.
"We sort of just made (the decision) together, really. It's something we have discussed a lot, so once the decision came around we both just kind of agreed that this is the right option."
Sticking together wasn't necessarily the plan all along, but as decision time approached the opportunity presented itself.
"We didn't really talk about it for a while, but once we got to that recruiting stage we were like, 'Do we want to leave or do we want to go together?' We just decided together was the best option."
Aiden was a Class AAA first-team all-state midfielder last fall after posting six goals and four assists. He was also selected Midfielder of the Year by state coaches.
"He's a player that's got some great technical ability," Flying Eagles head coach Steve Laraba said. "He hardly ever receives the ball not being able to see everything that's in front of him. That makes it look as if he's playing that much faster, because he doesn't have to take extra touches to get the ball someplace where he can play. He's good on set pieces, very good at scoring goals.
"I don't want to say he's a quiet player because he's not. But he's not overly boisterous. He goes out and gets the job done, and does it very well."
Cooper was a second-team all-stater who, like his brother, started all four years for the well established Woodrow program.
"This isn't to be a bad thing, but he's got that mean streak going. If you need the dirty work done, he'll do it in a way that isn't cheap and dirty and ugly," Laraba said. "He has a great ability to make a quick but simple move and beat you one on one, and the next thing you know he's made this killer pass or hit this shot that you just weren't expecting. I love that work rate that Cooper has."
Both brothers are thankful for their experience with the Woodrow program.
"The idea was I wanted to be a leader for this group, starting as a freshman and seeing how things were then," Aiden said. "Things have changed a lot now. We've progressed a lot. There were teams that maybe we feared more when we were freshmen. The whole idea is just different now. We know we can play with anybody. I'm hoping that at least helped to set a better example so we can move forward some more."
"It's been amazing," Cooper added. "It's been four of the best years of my life really. The team just gets better and better. It's a great environment and it's really fun."
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