Cobber Ink Tales - The Wiitalas
COBBER INK TALES
Welcome to the newest Cobber Sports Information feature. Cobber Ink Tales is meant to highlight the individuality and personality behind Concordia student/athletes. Tattoos have become a way for people to provide permanent memories, motivation and remembrances of loved ones. This feature series will attempt to show another side of Cobber student/athletes – a side that family, fans and alumni rarely get a chance to see. We hope you enjoy this new feature.
Do you know a Cobber athlete, former Cobber athlete or Concordia professor or administrator that has a meaningful tattoo and would like to share the story behind it? Please contact CobberSID at cella@cord.edu so we can share their story.
COBBER INK TALES: Ally and Ashley Wiitala
Feature written by Concordia sports information student assistant David Youngs
MOORHEAD—Fans of the Concordia women’s hockey team have gotten used to seeing double for the past four years. That’s because identical twins Ally and Ashley Wiitala have been mainstays of the Cobber program since their freshman season in 2017. This season Ally patrols the ice as the team captain while Ashley’s presence is seen, and heard, from the stands where she cheers her sister on as team manager.
“She's at every game and it's so nice to have someone in the stands watching that can talk with me in between periods and tell me what to do,” Ally boasted of her sister.
The two sisters from Plymouth (Minn.) are practically inseparable. They grew up on the ice together, have lived together and are both accounting majors with jobs set up in Denver (Colo.) following graduation.
“When it came time to look for schools It was already assumed that we were going to go to college together,” Ashley said. “It wasn't a question of if, it was the question of ‘what school are we going to?’”
“We’ve had the exact same schedule throughout college, we've never had one (class) apart. “People thought we were crazy,” Ally added.
While the two sisters are connected by family, their sisterhood has blossomed into a beautiful friendship over the years. There is a mutual support system that is shared by the two as they go about their daily lives.
“If I'm going through a hard time in school, I know she's probably going through it too, Ashley said.
The deep connection between the two has helped them grow over the past four years. As they prepare to take the next big step in their lives, they are reminded of their unbreakable bond by a series of tattoos that they share and remind them of their roots.
“Ducks Fly Together”
The importance of family is a main theme that is woven throughout the tattoos that the Ally and Ashley have chosen. The theme first appeared with their identical “Forerver and Ever Amen” tattoos they have on their forearms in remembrance of their Grandpa Mike whose favorite song, and life inspiration, was the hit by Randy Travis.
“The title of that song kind of reflects on his entire life,” Ashley said. “He always thought that whenever you were going through a hard time you could pray to God and think of how your family will love you forever and ever. It gets us through the hard times.”
Ally took the theme to the next step in August of 2017 when she had five birds inked on her shoulder to represent her mother Deb, father Wade, older brother Derek, and sister Ashley.
“It represents that even though we’re all going to be physically separated from each other we’re still going to flock together and be one as a family and communicate with each other,” Ally said.
The Wiitalas certainly will have the map covered when Ashley and Ally move to Denver to pursue post-graduation careers at Eide Bailly. Brother Derek works as a Stock Portfolio manager in Milwaukee while Wade and Deb hope to move to Florida once Ashley and Ally graduate.
Both sisters take after their father Wade, who is a current Certified Public Accountant. Their mother Deb was also an accountant but now has shifted to the world of education as a teacher.
“She’s kind of the black sheep of the family,” Ashley laughed.
And while the family has many similarities, the twins take pride in being independent.
“Even though we all do our own thing we’re always very close. We always take family trips, we have a group chat and we’re always texting,” Ashley said.
A Big Adjustment
One of the biggest challenges in Ashley’s and Ally’s relationship came when Ashley decided not to lace up the skates for the Cobbers during her sophomore year so she could focus on school and work.
“That was super difficult for me because I’ve always been with her on a line since we were 2-years-old,” Ally said. “Once she decided she wasn’t going to play anymore I was like ‘Oh my gosh what am I going to do this is going to be so weird.’”
“It’s (hockey) the thing that always brought us together,” Ashley said. “We were always learning things together, the first time we ever learned to skate we did it together, the first time we ever played hockey we did it together.”
While the transition was difficult for the two it helped their relationship grow stronger than anything ever had in the past, teaching the sisters to grow.
“I think quitting was the biggest thing for us to grow together because we were so co-dependent of each other,” Ashley said. “When I left and decided to do my own thing it kind of showed her and me that we need to figure things out for ourselves.”
Ashley has learned to appreciate the sport of hockey in a new light. Even last year when she wasn’t a team manager Ashley would make it to all of Ally’s games.
“She would still go to all the home games,” Ally said. “We had our internship, she’d work and then bust it to the rink to watch our game. Even when my parents wouldn’t come, she would be there.”
As Ally caps off her final season of college hockey there isn’t another person that she’d rather have cheering her on from behind the glass.
“I love it because going into a faceoff she's the first person I hear cheering for me,” Ally said. “It's nice having a sister who cares and wants me to do well. It's super nice to have that support system.”
Fluttering Away
As Ashley and Ally prepare to embark on a new adventure together, they decided on getting one last unifying tattoo before they leave the Red River Valley for the Rocky Mountains. On Sunday (Feb. 16), the twins relied on the artists at 46 and 2 Tattoo in Fargo to ink intricate matching butterflies on their arms to signify the new road ahead.
The two knew they wanted butterflies to symbolize their upcoming move but wanted to make sure they chose a species that represented the change ahead of them. The Monarch did just that.
“The meaning of the Monarch represents rebirth and a new path, us branching off on our own and starting a new life,” Ally said.
“The colors of the tattoo (black and white) mean that your spiritual journey is in full swing and it gives you the encouragement to start, kind of like a refresh,” Ashley added.
While Ashley and Ally prepare to take on life’s new adventures, they will always be thankful for the sense of home that their tattoos bring them.
“I like putting something on me that I can see, and it will remind me of something every day,” Ally said. “That way if I’m just sitting there, I can look at it and I am reminded of the meaning and memories behind it. And it's going to be with me forever.”