“He is like my life long best friend”: twins by each other’s side through life
Coppinger twins do everything from playing sports to embarking on business ventures together
Wearing pirate hats, the twins get their picture taken as toddlers. “At first the expectations were the same, we did everything together and with relatively the same skill,” Michael said. “But as we’ve grown older our parents have accepted that we have different talents and needs, and they have begun to treat us accordingly. Our parents push us to succeed according to what they believe we can handle.”
Matching in Texas Rangers hats, the twins talk with each other on the baseball field. Fast forward to high school, and the Coppingers are still playing baseball with each other, practicing after school.
Christopher(left) and Michael (right) sport their middle school Vandeventer Vikings at a cross country event during middle school. Sports have been a large part of the twins’ lives, as their mom said they started playing sports as soon as they were three years old.
Suited up in shirt and tie, Christopher(left) and Michael (right) Coppinger pose for a picture together.
Christopher(left) and Michael (right) smile in the snow. Though life with a twin isn’t always smiles, as they both said every now and then they’ll argue, though the disagreement is usually over within 30 minutes and some alone time.
For 60 seconds, there was only one.
But then there were two.
And since the day they were born in 2003, Michael and Christopher Coppinger have been together, on the baseball field, running cross country, in classes, and at home.
“It’s been interesting for sure,” Michael said. “It’s had both helpful parts and parts that make it more complicated than being an only child. On the bright side we get to have a permanent and always available teammate and peer. We help each other with homework, sports, and all sorts of stuff. But on the other hand, because we do a lot of the same things, we are constantly compared by coaches, teachers, friends etc. It definitely bolsters our competitiveness.”
“It’s really convenient having a twin, there’s always someone I can practice sports with or someone who can help me with school.” Christopher said.
Many people assume expectations are the same for the boys, but that’s not necessarily the case.
“At first the expectations were the same, we did everything together and with relatively the same skill,” Michael said. “But as we’ve grown older our parents have accepted that we have different talents and needs, and they have begun to treat us accordingly. Our parents push us to succeed according to what they believe we can handle.”
“We both have very different personalities so I guess in that sense yes, but I don’t feel like one is expected to ever do more than the other,” Christopher said.
In the morning they go to cross country practice together, then baseball after school, and then go home, but they’re not always together.
“Even though we’re twins we don’t really stick together all the time and when we’re with our team we just act like normal teammates,” Michael said. “Every once in a while when there’s a disagreement I’ll get tired of Chris, but not usually.”
“Not really, we don’t hold grudges against each other for too long,” Christopher said. “Every now and then we will have a disagreement, but it is usually over after 30 minutes and some alone time.”
Mom Lisa Coppinger knows them better than anyone else, and she knew they needed a way to let out all their energy.
“We put the boys into sports as soon as they were 3 to give them an outlet for their energy,” Lisa said. “Had we waited until they showed interest in any particular sport, they might have picked completely different activities. When they were little, they just wanted to run around so they did not really compete with each other. As they got older, being in the same team created some uncomfortable competition for positions especially in baseball where they gravitated to the same spots. I think in hindsight although there were lots of benefits for playing sports, the only benefits of being on the same team were time together as a family and our convenience for game and practice times.”
Now the Coppinger twins are embarking on another project together: a mobile app.
“One of Michael and I’s best friends, Yuval came to us with the idea to start an app for civil debates,” Christopher said.
“We’ve partnered up with a shared friend to brainstorm some business ideas,” Michael said. “Right now our favorite idea is to develop an app for knowledge based debate. We believe in today’s volatile political environment, people need a place for intellectual discussion and debate.”
Having twins as best friends is convenient for Yuval Marom, but they are far from the same person in his eyes.
“Having twins as best friends is actually pretty convenient.When we are trying to make plans if one of them doesn’t answer the phone I can just call the other twin,” Marom said. “Michael and Christopher have the same sense of humor. I would say Michael is more outgoing and opinionated while Christopher is more relaxed and goes with the flow. They are both super funny and they love to play sports and be outside. Hanging out with them is always super fun and easy.”
But at the end of the day, it’s usually Michael and Christopher together.
“Michael is definitely my best friend,” Christopher said.
“I’m so glad I’ve gotten to grow up with my Chris,” Michael said. “He is like my life long best friend.”
Emily Thomas is a junior and this will be her second year in the program. Emily contributes news stories and opinion pieces to the site and has always...
