Amanda (left) and Shannon (right) are in their fourth season with the Cougars.
Photo Courtesy: APU Sports Information
Amanda and Shannon Hardy have always had very similar lives. Both are soccer players for the Cougars, cinematic arts majors interested in video editing and happen to be fraternal twins.
The two both looked into playing soccer at the collegiate level, but were encouraged to look at other aspects of university life as well. Their parents, Ted and Jo Hardy, encouraged them to choose a school not based entirely on soccer, but to find one that had their desired major.
Upon discovering that Azusa Pacific had a good film program plus a well-established soccer program, they decided to become Cougar athletes together. Originally Amanda Hardy was the first to hear back from Azusa Pacific, but after talking to head coach Jason Surrell, both were chosen to be a part of the Cougar soccer program.
“Faith was another really big aspect in it for us as well,” Shannon Hardy said. “It was a really cool thing where we could play in a competitive sports environment and also have the faith component to tie it all together.”
Faith has played a major role for both Amanda and Shannon Hardy since coming to Azusa Pacific. When they came to APU in 2011, the senior soccer players led a Bible study with the rest of the team. Now, Amanda and Shannon Hardy have stepped up and lead their teammates in fellowship every week.
“Soccer and Christianity have a lot in common, I think,” Shannon Hardy said. “Both take commitment, both take work. It doesn’t revolve around feeling the entire time. I might not feel like running during double days, but I do it because I’m committed to it. I might not feel like doing everything the Bible says, but I do it because I made a commitment.”
As two of the four seniors on the Cougar soccer team, Amanda and Shannon Hardy both had to step into leadership roles this season. Surrell has coached both players on this over the years, and couldn’t be happier about how the pair is doing.
“Their attitude is so infectious with the team,” Surrell said. “They’re upbeat, happy-go-lucky, you never see them down even when they have down moments. You can’t tell. They’re very influential that way.”
Shannon and Amanda Hardy do not identify themselves as strong leaders however, despite the approval their coach gives them. Both of them use a lot of effort to step out of their comfort zones and into the roles that their team needs.
“Shannon and I are by nature not very vocal people. We are very much internal processors,” Amanda Hardy said. “But when you are [a] leader, you need to help prepare the team, and if that means with your voice and standing up, we had to really try to come out of ourselves and be tougher with people sometimes.”
Amanda and Shannon Hardy are both set to graduate in May 2015, but right now their attention is focused solely on the remainder of the soccer season. If the Cougars win through the rest of the year, the Hardys will have a chance to be among the first APU athletes to compete in NCAA playoffs.
After they graduate, the two hope to go on a mission trip to Thailand where they can utilize many of the skills they learned at Azusa Pacific; however, they emphasized they do not plan to work together in the future, unless they both are presented with the same opportunity again.