MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Twin sisters playing for the MacEwan women's soccer team, Marina and Selynna Simao bring a unique perspective to the pitch.
Both rookies on the Griffins in 2022, the Simao sisters were born in Edmonton after their parents immigrated to Canada from Angola by way of Brazil (dad) and El Salvador by way of the U.S. (mom). They got into soccer at a young age and grew up playing in the Millwoods-based Selects FC program.
The twins have an inherent connection on the field, playing together throughout their youth, as Marina plies her trade in midfield and Selynna patrols the back line.
As part of Black History Month, the Simao sisters sat down recently for a Q&A session:
W⚽️| Q&A
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 28, 2023
As part of #BlackHistoryMonth, we sat down for an interview with twin sisters Marina and Selynna Simao of @GriffinsSoccer on their success of making it to @USPORTS_Soccer @CanadaWest as teammates.#GriffNation
STORY➡️https://t.co/AOMDr579xY pic.twitter.com/DfzBAP7l5S
When did you first start playing soccer?
Marina: "I think we were about five years old when we first started."
How did you fall in love with it? What drew you to soccer?
Selynna: "I think the aspect of it being a team sport really drew me to playing soccer – to be able to play with my sister was something that made me fall in love with the sport."
How fun was it to play as twins, probably on the same team growing up?
S: "Yeah, same team all our life. There were sometimes arguments on the field, but we get over it and continue to play. We love it."
M: "Playing with my sister was the best experience I could ask for. We're very alike in mind, too. What she does, I try to play off of it."
As you continue to play, when you did you realize this is something you want to pursue at the post-secondary level?
M: "As soon as my dad said, 'if you want to play at a high level, you have to work hard for it.' From that moment on, I started putting everything I could into trying to excel to play at this university."
S: "Yeah, exactly what she said. You just have to put in the hard work. Soccer is something we've done all our lives. I don't think we would ever give it up. Our goal is to make it to the highest level that we can."
Selynna Simao moves the ball against Manitoba in a preseason game last August (Jefferson Hagen photo).
How did you sharpen each other when you were competing to play post-secondary?
M: "It was mostly arguments we would have with each other like, 'you need to fix your first touch' or 'you need to bring the ball down better.' It's those little things that helped push us to be better. If she did something good, I'd always want to do way better than her. If she scored more goals than me, I'd have to score more than her next game. It was always the competitive side of us that pushed us to be better."
Was there anyone you looked up to as a role model in either your personal life or as an athlete?
S: "Yeah. Obviously we would say our parents. Our parents were the ones that pushed us the most – 'if you want to get better at something, you have to work for it and work hard every day.'
M: "Yeah, no one else can do it except you. It's your life, you have to push for it if you really want it."
What was your mentality or something that you did that you really feel helped you excel?
M: "My mentality is that you're only competing against yourself. There are 11 players on the field and 11 on the other team, as well. You can't keep getting down on yourself every time someone makes a bad play, or you make a bad play. You've just got to get up, look around and realize you're meant to be on this field, and continue on with the game."
S: "Just to work off what she said, you're competing with yourself, along with 10 other players from your side and 11 on the other side. You're competing with yourself and against others. Being one of the coloured players on the team, you really are competing with yourself to show you want to be on the field."
Marina Simao gets around a Concordia defender during a preseason game last August (Jefferson Hagen photo).
What's been the most memorable moment of your Canada West career so far?
M: "So far? Playing with my twin. That's been the best experience I could ever ask for. Not being able to play with her would be heartbreaking for me because we've been playing together for so long. If we were to be on different teams, I don't know what I'd do."
Do you have a sixth sense out there for each other, know where each other is going to be?
S: "Something like that."
When you started to look at schools, what brought you to MacEwan?
S: "Me personally, the program. I am in police studies, and I've always had interest in that. Also, this school with the women's soccer team being national championship winners. Then also, bringing inclusivity to the team is something that I was really interested in moving forward."
What made this program inclusive for you?
M: "Being able to have sisters here, teammates. The women's soccer team is such a family. No matter what – if you're feeling down, you know they're going to be by your side to support you and what you're going through, no matter what. Us being coloured and we have one other (black) player, that pushed us to want to come here. That family type of team is one we want to be a part of."
S: "And to know we have another sister on the team, you're not alone. You always have someone to go to if we need anybody to talk to."
Selynna (top row second from left) and Marina (bottom row second from right) Simao have fit right in with the Griffins' 2022 rookie class, finding a bond with a group of new sisters (Rebecca Chelmick photo).
Were there any racial barriers along the way?
S: "Not that I can recall."
What do you hope to communicate to young athletes hoping to follow in your footsteps?
S: "We have been really fortunate to be in sports and to have the supports that are all around us. We know it's not easy for everyone, but if you continue to work hard and push forward, you will make it. Don't ever give up."
M: "And it's the little things that push you to excel and get to the highest level you want to be. You can imagine I want to play at that level – the university level or pro – but you can't continuously imagine that if you don't put the hard work in."
Anything else you'd like to share about your journey to becoming an elite athlete in Canada West?
M: "Our parents were the support we needed to be playing at this level. Our parents supported us from the minute when we started playing soccer at five to now. I think that's really pushed us to get here."
