Shaffelburg named to national U-17 soccer team

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

Zach Shaffelburg has another notable accomplishment to add to his soccer resume.

The 16-year-old Port Williams resident, currently attending the Brad Freidal Premier Soccer Academy in Cleveland, Ohio; received word last week he has made Soccer Canada’s national U-17 team. Just as he was the first Atlantic Canadian to be chosen to attend the Freidal academy, Shaffelburg is the only Atlantic Canadian to earn a spot on the national squad.

“I tried out for the national team two weekends ago in Montreal, and I found out this week that I had made it,” Shaffelburg said Nov. 6 while home for a brief visit.

“It feels pretty cool, and it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Shaffelburg was home for two months this summer before returning for a second year at the academy, where he says “things are going very well.”

He won’t get a lot of time to savour the feeling of making the national team. He and his teammates will represent Canada at a competition set to begin Nov. 21 in Mexico.

This tournament,” he says, “is in preparation for the qualifiers for the 2009 world U-17 championship. If we end up qualifying (Canada needs to be one of the top three teams out of North, Central and South America), the worlds are next summer in Nigeria.”

Asked if he anticipates any problems with his studies due to the added soccer responsibilities on his plate, Shaffelburg said he doesn’t really, as he has been successfully juggling soccer and school for the past several years.