Listen to this article
Estimated 4 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Linda Shaffelburg jokes that her neighbours likely thought she and her husband were crazy when they built a soccer field for their three kids in the backyard of their Port Williams, N.S., home.
Stray balls broke windows and outdoor lights and even damaged the eavestroughs.
But now that her son Jacob has become the first player from Nova Scotia selected to represent Canada at a men’s World Cup, she says it was all worth it.
“I’m proud of him. And it’s not just Jacob. I’m really proud of our family and the support that they give him,” said Linda, who will be attending all three of Canada’s games in group play.
Canada sees its first action against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday in Toronto, then has matches in Vancouver on June 18 against Qatar and June 24 against Switzerland.
The Shaffelburgs are a tight-knit bunch with four generations living near each other. Grandparents, parents, siblings and the community have all helped the 26-year-old’s growth.
“We went to a lot of soccer games in the Valley here and it was just go, go, go. His brother and his sister were involved and everything … we got a great family,” said an emotional Marvin Messom, Jacob’s grandfather.
‘He’s got a support system around him’
Jacob is the youngest of the Shaffelburg kids, with eight years between him and the oldest sibling.
But the age difference never stopped him from competing against his brother, Zach, and sister, Jessica, his mother said.
The older siblings were good mentors on and off the field, she said, and played an essential role in his development.
“They were really good people to look up to and to emulate,” she said.
Now that her youngest has grown up and is playing for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, Linda said Jacob’s wife, Robyne, and kids Daisy and Baker keep him motivated.
“It’s not just Jacob, he’s got a support system around him.”
Shaffelburg makes impression off the pitch
That support has spread throughout the wider community, not so much because of his achievements as a player but more so because of the impression he’s made on people.
“I’ve coached baseball and soccer and things like that and you just know good kids,” said Ross Patterson, owner of the Noodle Guy, a Port Williams restaurant Jacob has frequented since he was 11.
Patterson said he was struck by how polite Jacob was when he’d come into the restaurant.
He said it’s always great to see someone local achieve their dreams but it’s a bonus when they stay humble.
“When they still come back and say hi and bring their kids in and things like that, it kind of transcends sports,” Patterson said.
Randall Gates owns the Soccer Shop in nearby New Minas and has watched Jacob play since he was eight years old.
Jacob was always more skilled than the other players, Gates said, but that’s not the only thing that stood out to him.
“He’s one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met and anything that comes to him, he deserves it,” Gates said.
Jacob Shaffelburg is the first Nova Scotian selected to play for Team Canada at a men’s World Cup. The CBC’s Josh Hoffman visited Port Williams, where the 26-year-old grew up and his soccer dream began.
The diehard soccer fan said despite Jacob’s hard work, he still admits it’s hard to believe a kid from the Annapolis Valley is going to the World Cup.
“I want to say it’s a dream come true, which is kind of ridiculous hearing it from me because I’m not even his family — but knowing him for that amount of time and actually seeing him grow as a player,” he said.
MORE TOP STORIES
Source link
