Scott Sisters Among Local Athletes Headed Off To College Sports

For 18 years, twin sisters Ava and Emerson Scott have done virtually everything together.

They played soccer on the same teams, standing out on their individual merits but tag-teaming leadership to push forward. That ended with three straight high school state championships at Severna Park, some recognition through their club team at Maryland United, and the attention of college scouts.

Then, knowing their time of playing together was growing short, they took on a couple more endeavors and picked up a bit more hardware. They teamed up in girls doubles to help the Falcons tennis team win a state championship this spring.

“We love high school sports, and we’re so grateful to be at a school that has a multitude of great programs,” Ava said. “We loved playing basketball and we had a bunch of players on the tennis team. Our mom played tennis, we have tennis rackets and we hit the ball around a lot, but we had never played organized tennis. We like being active, we like high school sports, club (soccer) is winding down, (so we thought) let’s just do it and have more time together and with our friends.”

The “twin telepathy” certainly helped, as the instinct of having a twin in competition with you adds the so-called sixth sense in many cases.

On the soccer field, it was certainly no exception. Emerson helped hold down Severna Park’s defense at fullback, while Ava drove forward through the midfield. As much as the Scotts worked well together, the differing positions allowed them to grow as their own players and as people.

“We’ve been playing together our whole lives, so being able to do that and do club (soccer), and play in high school together, and have such a great experience and be put in an environment where we have been able to grow as a unit and to grow individually has been awesome,” Ava said. “We’ve had coaches who don’t lump us together and we can be recognized as individuals. I love being a twin, but we also both enjoy being our own people and bringing our own stuff to the table.”

That ultimately has led their paths to finally diverge, as Emerson will play soccer at Florida Atlantic University, while Ava will head to Flagler College, a few hours up the highway from her sister.

“We play different positions, so not everyone was going to have a need for both of us, and our parents told us early on not to let that limit us,” Emerson said. “If Ava comes with me or if I go with Ava, that’s great, but we tried to attack the process as individuals. I think having that ingrained in us early on made it less difficult to do that, but I feel that when we get there, it’s definitely going to be an adjustment from where you’ve spent every waking moment with someone and played sports with them your whole life. Nothing can prepare you for something like that.”

The Scotts have a few more weeks together, as they both tried out for and made the Annapolis Blues women’s roster for the semi-pro club’s second summer season. They’re soaking in as much as they can for college prep and relishing the fact that they have squeezed every ounce out of their shared athletic journey: They head off to their respective colleges with club travels, semi-pro experience, and several high school titles in tow.

“Playing together became second nature, and I’ll miss that connection and the type of environment we can create together,” Emerson said. “Severna Park has been such a great environment for high school sports and high school soccer, and I’m so lucky I got to experience that with a family member. We’re so sad that the experience had to come to a close, but that goes both ways; we got the very maximum we could have gotten out of it, and you can’t ask for more than that.”

The Scotts are just two of 80 local athletes whose plans to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate varsity level were reported to the Severna Park Voice.

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