By Kevin Nix and Patrick Schneider, Cronkite PR Lab
When two people are on the same wavelength, they know exactly what each other are doing and how they’re feeling. Rarely are two people in such perfect sync as the Gaspar twins.
Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Bella and Gigi Gaspar made sports a part of their lives ever since they were little, often going out and playing hockey and basketball. All it took was their hockey coach to get them interested in the sport that changed their lives forever: Lacrosse.
“In Canada, a lot of people in hockey season play hockey, then in the spring season, when we’re not training for hockey, we’re playing lacrosse,” Bella Gaspar said. “So, our hockey coach actually asked us if we wanted to pick it up because he was also the lacrosse coach of our city team, and we’re like, ‘sure.'”
The Gaspar twins, both graduating from ASU in 2024, grew up with a very competitive mindset in a very competitive household, whether they were playing Monopoly or basketball in the pool. Their parents have been instrumental in fostering this persistent intensity, giving the twins that fire and drive to participate in any sport they wanted. They picked up lacrosse for the first time at age 13.
“They would put us into any sport that we wanted to,” Gigi said. “We played hockey, basketball, volleyball, field lacrosse, field hockey, like any sport… [and] I think them encouraging us to play in all these sports, we began to see success at a young age…, And obviously when you're successful at something, you want to keep doing it, you want to keep getting better at it.”
This freedom to live vicariously through sports allowed the twins to flourish at their craft, and that same autonomy is what brought them over 2,000 miles away to Arizona State. It was love at first sight with the Grand Canyon State, and they quickly settled in with women’s lacrosse.
While at ASU, the women’s lacrosse coaching staff brought their play to new heights. Both Bella and Gigi have received national recognition for their abilities. The twins credit their national experience on Team BC in Canada for much of their success as well, particularly due to the coaching staffs who worked with them.
“The new coaching staff…brought a completely different aspect of our game out as well. I think it's cool to have different role models in the coaching field that have been able to pour into us as players and just help develop different skills,” Gigi said.
Bella, as a freshman and sophomore, was named to the First-Team All Conference. She was the only lower division undergraduate each of those years to receive that honor in lacrosse. In 2023, Gigi was named to the PAC-12 All Tournament team.
What is that main factor that makes the twins so equally, yet tremendously, talented? Perfect synchronization.
Bella and Gigi, when on the field together, are as intuitive as can be. One twin knows exactly where the other is, often to the bewilderment of their teammates and opponents.
“We’ll do some things in games where I won't even have to look where she is, and I could just pass her the ball,” Bella said. “I know where she is at all times. If there's a loose ball, I'll kick it, and she'll just be there. Like, stuff like that will happen in the games and people will just… be like, ‘That was twin telepathy at it’s finest.’”
“So [it’s] the sort of plays like that where we don't have to talk or do anything. It's all nonverbal communication, we can just know each other's next move…”
The twins push each other to be better, both on and off the field. Where one goes, the other soon follows. Before the twins came to ASU, they were heavily recruited by universities across the country, but they made one thing clear: they were a package deal. If one twin didn’t want to go to a college for lacrosse, the other would not go either. It was all-or-nothing.
This philosophy, combined with their ultra-competitive mentalities, holds them both accountable in their day-to-day lives. Both Bella and Gigi have someone to lean on when the going gets tough. They both are there for each other in their academic, personal, and extracurricular lives.
“Me and Bella are two of the most competitive people that I think I know,” Gigi said. “We always have at least one teammate to train with, so that’s been super, super crucial to our development as athletes… We’ve always wanted to excel in the classroom, on the field, and obviously as people in life, just kind of pushing each other and holding each other accountable.”
While they are both similar in many ways, they often get compared to each other. However, neither twin believes that they are better than the other.
“We really are so even and so identical to everything that we do that I wouldn't be able to honestly choose who’s better,” Gigi said.
The Gaspars continue to dream big and work toward greatness within the sport. Lacrosse is planned to be part of the 2028 Olympics, and they are working hard to represent the Canadian team when the time comes.
When not playing lacrosse, the Gaspar twins have career aspirations of their own. Bella would like to be a footwear engineer, as she claims the production of lacrosse cleats is a “pretty big untapped space.”
Gigi strives to work on the business side for a professional sports team, either in finances or team coordination.
Even when their aspirations differ, the Gaspars always have each other's backs and strive for greatness together.
“I feel like I am a half without Bella,” Gigi said.
“Bella is my whole.”