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University of Houston Athletics
Shelby Scott Earns Spot With Israeli National Team
3/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
March 7, 2007
HOUSTON - For most student athletes, the semester break is a time to recharge the batteries and take some time off. Not so for sophomore goalkeeper Shelby Scott (Mesquite, Texas/North Mesquite HS) who took a unique trip to Israel to try out for the Israeli Women's National Team.
The trip was a success and Scott will train and compete with the team throughout this summer in matches all across Europe.
Scott made 19 appearances for UH last year, factoring in each decision with a 9-10 record. She made 103 saves in over 1,600 minutes of action, allowing 32 goals and keeping four clean sheets. She was an honorable mention academic All-Conference USA selection following last season.
Recently, Scott took time out to sit with UHCougars.com for a Q&A about her experiences in Israel:
Did you contact the coach or did he contact you?
I actually found one of the girls from the team on facebook and sent her a message on there. She contacted the coach for me and told him about me. Soon after that, I talked to him on the phone and he invited me to come to Israel and try out. He said they needed some more goalkeepers because their main goalkeeper was aging out.
Was this your first time into camp?
Yes, it was my first time overseas at all! I remember when the plane was coming over the Mediterranean Sea into the country. It was beautiful to see all the old architecture of the buildings bunched together.
Was the team welcoming?
Yes, they were incredibly welcoming and nice to me. Two of the girls picked me up from the airport and immediately took me out to eat some authentic Arabic food. The girls on the team went out of their way to take me around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We went to restaurants, cafes, the Western Wall, museums, and the markets.
Where did you stay? I ended up staying at four different places with different girls during my visit. They were all so nice to me when I was there. The always asked if I needed anything, and let me know to treat their homes as if they were my own.
What are the fans like in Israel?
Women's soccer is on the rise in Israel, however, it's still very new. Traditionally, soccer has always been looked to as a male sport there, so the idea of women playing competitive soccer needs some to time to take hold. However, women's basketball has taken off big time recently, so they are hoping that more fans will catch on to soccer now that they are ranked in the top 30 in Europe.
Where will you be traveling with the team?
The team has the World Cup Qualifying games in the summer. They play Austria, Poland, Russia and Norway both home and away. So, I will be traveling to all those countries.
What are your National Team aspirations?
It would be amazing to go to the World Cup. That's been my dream since I was 5 years old and the possibility of it actually coming true is crazy. I know they already have a starting goalie a few years older than me, so its going to be a challenge to get some playing time in. I'd love to say I played against such talented teams as Norway who's ranked #3 in the world right now.
What is the next event you are training for?
The World Cup Qualification games.
What have you learned while representing Israel?
Soccer there is completely different. Most of the girls played with boys growing up so their style has a lot more finesse. They try to take each other on 1-vs.-1 a lot more than compared to the U.S. where most of the game is 1 or 2 touches. It was interesting to see a different style of play compared to what I'm used to here.
Do you ever get tired of playing?
Soccer is definitely a love-hate relationship. I love the sport and have always dreamed of doing what I'm doing now, but I'd be lying to say its not hard. Early morning workouts, weights, fitness, and countless drills can be exhausting, but in the end its all worth it. I think anything worth accomplishing in life is going to be hard. The sweat, tears, hard work, even the frustration, are what make it worth it when you accomplish your goal. If it was easy, there would be no pride in it.
How can your international experience help the UH team?
I hope that it will make me a better player so I can bring something back to the field at UH. If any positive publicity comes out of it than thats awesome too. I'm looking forward to this UH team becoming stronger than it ever has. I'd love for us to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament next year and walk away with the Conference USA Championship. I'm also looking forward to graduating with good grades so I can continue my education in graduate school.
Why do you thrive in the goal?
Well, anything I've accomplished should be credited to being blessed with great coaches growing up. I worked with Krys Sobieski, who played for the Polish National Team, and Matt Jordan, who played goalkeeper for the Dallas Burn (now F.C. Dallas). I've also had a really supportive family who encouraged me pursue my goals in life. When it comes to me personally, there's always been a part of me that's never satisfied. I always feel like I could be quicker, stronger, or jump higher and that keeps that desire going to get better. People used to tell me in high school that I was too short to be a goalkeeper and wouldn't make it at the Division I level. Those comments really pushed me to prove to myself that there were no limitations to what I wanted to do.
Are there any national team traditions that you would like to bring to UH?
Well the only tradition I've noticed so far is that most of the girls drink coffee or tea before practice. They like the caffeine boost, but I don't think that would fly here at Houston.
What kind of leader are you on the field?
I think I'm a very vocal when it comes to games. I'm always talking to and organizing the defense, but I think that just comes along with being a goalkeeper. Beyond that, I think I try to push my teammates to reach their potential. I've been told that I'm very demanding and blunt with others on the field. I think that's important because at this level you have to push each other. I just try to get everyone to play their best and work hard.
What is your best soccer characteristic? I think I'm good at making quick decisions in game situations. When I see my chance to come out on a break away or corner I don't hold back. I think it took me a while to get there because its hard not to hesitate and second-guess yourself in those situations.
Why UH?
UH had the perfect mix of what I was looking for in a University. I wanted to go to a Division I school in the South not extremely far from home. It also had the Honors College, great coaches, and amazing facilities. I also picked UH because the atmosphere is so unique. It's the second-most diverse school in the nation, which makes living here such an amazing opportunity to meet people from all different cultures and backgrounds.
Talk about an experience, funny story or anything you learned on your trip.
Here's one experience... I had the incredible opportunity to visit the Old City in Jerusalem. Everything there is so old, dating back thousands of years. I got to go to the Western Wall, which is the holiest location in Judaism. The wall dates back to Second Temple (515 B.C.-70 B.C.) before its destruction. It was amazing to touch something so old and know that my ancestors had prayed at this spot for thousands of years. I was also able to take part in the tradition of writing a prayer on a slip of paper and placing it in one of the cracks in the wall.
A Funny story ... One day, one the of girls I was staying with dropped me off at the Tel Aviv Museum while she went to class. Unfortunately the museum happened to be closed that day so that left me with a good hour and a half to kill. So I started to take pictures of the museum and buildings across the street. After standing around for about 30 minutes a policeman came up to me and started bombarding me with questions. He asked me, "Who are you? How old are you? Where are you from? Why are you taking pictures? Who are you showing these too? Why are you just standing out here?" Eventually I explained to him that I was just a tourist taking pictures to show my friends and family. Only later did I realize that I had been taking pictures of one of the military bases. I could have been in big trouble if I hadn't convinced him that I was just a naive tourist.
