Inferno looking for more of the same 
By Norman Kwong 

Toronto Inferno 

(July 25, 2002) 

This article appears in the July/August issue (#56) of 
Inside Soccer Magazine

Early into the 2000 W-League season, the Toronto Inferno signed a couple of players 
who had been training with the team. Most of the Inferno had no idea who they were 
getting, in more ways than one. 

Janine and Rochelle Willis are twin sisters, with the latter having been born 25 minutes 
earlier. Janine primarily patrols the midfield area, although she sometimes is found at 
forward or defence. Rochelle has earned the nickname "Rocky" for the unyielding wall 
she becomes when opposing forwards try to move in on the Inferno goal. 

Together, the Willis twins bring much of the Inferno's team grit. When asked, both cite 
physicality as a big part of their games. Rochelle will often be the first Inferno player to 
seek retribution on the field for any maltreatment of her teammates, with her sister 
undoubtedly not that far behind. 

When the Willis twins are at the University of Princeton, they are faced with something 
one might deem improbable. On their Princeton Tigers women's soccer team is another 
set of twins in the Ariss sisters, Krista and Lynn. Janine and Rochelle, natives of Markham, 
Ontario in addition to Krista and Lynn of Burlington, Ontario must make New Jersey 
residents think that everything from Canada comes in pairs. 

It is confusing enough for new teammates of the Inferno and Tigers to tell Janine and 
Rochelle apart, so how hard must it be for opponents or referees to do so? Rochelle 
admits to having received some fouls that should have been levied on Janine when 
she has joined her sister at midfield with the Tigers. 

One team that Rochelle has yet to join her sister on is the Canadian women's national 
team that represents Canada at international events like the 2003 FIFA Women's World 
Cup in China. Janine plays defender while wearing her country's colours, but she 
acknowledges along with the prestige and higher competition come times when her 
nerves are tested. Too bad she does not have Rochelle's lucky sports bra, which she 
reserves for her important matches. 

The Willis sisters have been playing soccer since the age of four when they started 
playing on an all boy's team until they turned twelve. Now at the age of 20, they can 
still find several ways that their games can be improved. Rochelle notes her 
fundamentals are what need some work, giving examples of when she moves up 
in line with the Inferno defence and attempts to handle passes while maintaining 
vision of the entire field. Janine is focused on becoming a more complete player 
at the three positions she frequents, citing winning additional air balls as a defender 
and finishing more opportunities at forward among what she would like to work on. 

Each sister feels that the other sister is her biggest rival, since they are able to push 
each other like no one else can. They bring out the best in each other by trying to 
outperform the other. Their sisterhood rivalry has developed them into the aggressive 
soccer combatants that they are today. 

The nature of their aggressive game has led to current and former teammates 
commenting on how glad they are playing with and not against the Willis twins. 
That love-to-hate relationship characterizes their style of play, but can also result 
in a game of hit-or-miss. In the case of a miss, their aggressiveness may backfire 
and lead to a scoring chance for the opposition. 

After taking a few moments of reflection, the sisters each came up with an Inferno 
player that compliments their styles the most. Rochelle felt that fellow defender 
Gigi Cignini, with her experience and knack for knowing where to be, gave her 
more confidence to play her style knowing someone dependable was back 
there as well. Janine believes Cindy Walsh does much of the same when the 
two are midfielders. 

Surprising to some is that there are ways of telling Janine and Rochelle apart. 
Aside from the jersey numbers, one might wait for someone who can tell them 
apart to address one of them by name. Another way to tell the difference between 
the two is to notice which hand they use to write with, Janine being the lefty. It is not 
impossible to tell them apart from each other, people attempting to do so just 
have to make sure that they are in a talking or writing mood. 

Telling the Willis twins apart from many soccer players is more difficult and is 
generally reserved to one criterion. 

At a recent Inferno practice, the team was performing a drill of finishing 
crossovers into the box. Janine's crossovers led her teammates perfectly into 
the airborne soccer ball. When the ball was headed into the net, Inferno players, 
including Janine, commented on how nice the finish was. Cindy Walsh corrected, 
"No, you're making her look good." 

That is the difference between the Willis twins and most soccer players. Janine 
and Rochelle help make players around them better, meaning they are usually 
hitting all the time. 

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