''Double Teamed'' is a 2002

Disney Channel Original Movie Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...

based on the life stories of professional identical twin basketball players Heather and

Heidi Burge Heidi Ann Horton (née Burge; November 11, 1971) is a former American professional women's basketball player. She is the twin sister of Heather (Burge) Quella. Early life As a 5-month-old in 1972, Heidi Burge was found to have a second aorta wr ...

. The film premiered on January 18, 2002.

Plot

In 1985, fourteen-year-old identical twins Heather and Heidi Burge are forced by their overly-pushy father to leave their former school and attend a different school to have better chances at college scholarships. Heidi, however, tended to think that she was athletically inferior to Heather, and in an attempt to get out of Heather's shadow, she joined in a school play. Heather and Heidi are both attending the school to play

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

rather than

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, but the girls' basketball coach notices Heather because of her height. She seizes this opportunity to play basketball to help her train for the coming volleyball season. Heather meets Nicky Williams, the star of the

Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes High School (PVHS) is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County, Southern California, USA (the others being Palos Verdes Peninsula High School (formerly Rolling Hills High School) and Rancho ...

Sea Kings. Heidi, in the meantime, learns that her father told the coach that both of the girls would play on the basketball team, despite the fact that Heidi had already committed to performing in a school play. Heather and Heidi are both furious over the situation - Heather because she didn't want Heidi on the team and Heidi because she thought Heather put their father up to it. Heidi wanted to be independent of Heather and pursue her own interests. When the twins first start playing for the Sea Kings, they leave a bad impression on the team by lying and implying that they are rich like many of their teammates. Heather and Nicky form a serious rivalry and Nicky even tries to run the Burge twins out of school by telling the school about the Burges' living situation. They both eventually befriend Nicky when they see that her father is too preoccupied with business to attend her basketball games. At their first tournament in New York, they win second, and Heather wins

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. However, in another game, Heidi is selected to take the game winning free throws. This makes Heather, the usual star, extremely jealous, so she later plays a late-night one-on-one game with Galen, a senior basketball star who lives in their apartment complex. While playing, Heather falls and severely twists her ankle, which prevents her from playing their next game. During that next game, while she's sitting out, Heather sees the need for teamwork rather than the need to be the "superstar" and decides to play again despite being injured. Her effort is rewarded, and with some clever teamwork, Heidi hits the game-winning basket for the Sea Kings. After the game, their coach approaches the twins and their parents, Mary and Larry Burge, and tells Mr. and Mrs. Burge they should consider putting the girls in summer basketball camps, saying they have a very bright future. Mr. Burge proudly says that his girls are going to play college ball - but the coach says, "Maybe more. There's talk of a women's pro-league." Mr. Burge also apologizes for putting so much pressure on Heather and for forcing Heidi to play basketball in the first place. They forgive him. Mr. Burge says that Heidi has plans for a summer at a drama camp, which pleases her and reveals how important it is to be well-rounded. A flashfoward is then shown, and both Burge twins are playing on professional WNBA teams. Heidi plays for the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

and Heather plays for the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

. Heather and Heidi talk before the game, and Heather says, "Once second best, always second best." The game begins with a tip off and they both jump for the ball. In reality, the twins' time in the WNBA did not overlap and they never faced each other in a WNBA game.

Cast

* Poppi Monroe as

Heather Burge Heather Marie Quella ( née Burge; November 11, 1971) is a former professional basketball player and is the twin sister of Heidi (Burge) Horton. Early life Prior to starting high school, the Burge family moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California ...

* Annie McElwain as

* Teal Redmann as Nicky Williams *

Nick Searcy Nicholas Alan Searcy (born March 7, 1959) is an American character actor best known for portraying Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on FX's '' Justified''. He also had a major role in the Tom Hanks–produced miniseries ''From the ...

as Larry Burge * Tanya Goott as Madison Stricklin *

Joey Miyashima Joseph Paul Miyashima (born November 18, 1957) is an American television and film actor. Early life Miyashima was born in Los Angeles to Japanese parents on November 18, 1957. Career Miyashima played Pee-wee Herman's Japanese pen pal, Oki Doki, ...

as Wendall Yoshida * Julia Andrews as Henley Burge * Mackenzie Phillips as Mary Burge * Chris Olivero as Galen Alderman *

Tammi Reiss Tammi Reiss (born April 2, 1970) is an American actress and former professional basketball player. She is currently the coach for the University of Rhode Island. Reiss is a native of New York state. Reiss graduated from the University of Virginia ...

as Volleyball Coach (Reiss was the Burge twins' teammate at

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

)

Reception

A reviewer for the Sun-Sentinel gave a mixed review for ''Double Teamed'', saying it was "paint-by-the-numbers" but that the "happy, Disney-style ending is a slam-dunk."

References

External links

* {{Duwayne Dunham 2002 television films 2002 films American basketball films Disney Channel Original Movie films Films about twin sisters Films about women's sports American television films Films set in 1985 Biographical films about sportspeople Cultural depictions of basketball players Films directed by Duwayne Dunham 2000s American films