Shannon DeShield
The "Time Out" feature will provide St. Joe's
followers with an opportunity to learn more about our athletes and
other individuals involved in athletics.
The short interviews will focus on recent events in professional
sports or St. Joe's athletics, possibly current issues in the news.
No specific format will be followed; we will ask open-ended
questions and discover where the conversation takes us from
there!
This week we will feature senior Shannon Deshield, a Berkeley
Institute graduate from Bermuda and a member of the 2007 Men's
Soccer team. Deshield is a Sports Management Major at Saint
Joseph's College and was captain of this year's team. Contributing
writer Pat DeCola conducted the following interview:
Pat DeCola: How's your last semester going?
Shannon Deshield: It's going
great, actually. I've had a lot of free time to just relax and
chill.
PD: Now that your last season as a soccer player
is over, how have you been spending your last few months off before
you graduate?
SD: Well, I've been putting a resume together and
a coaching manual too.
PD: Coaching manual?
SD: Yeah it's full of soccer formations.
PD: What are your plans for after graduation?
SD: Eventually I want to teach high school, but I
think I'm still a little too young to teach. So I'm going to try to
come back here to coach soccer.
PD: What subject do you want to teach?
SD: Physical Education
PD: So, here's the big question. You're from
Bermuda, right?
SD: Yeah.
PD: So...why are you going to school in
Maine???
SD: (Laughs) well that's a long story. I started
at Bermuda College. I went there for about 6 weeks and decided I
didn't like it. One night I was at a restaurant and I ran into the
soccer coach for St. Joe's at the time, Chris Parsons. We talked
and he convinced me to come here. He came and watched me play for
my club team and liked what he saw. So in the fall of 2004 I showed
up in Maine.
PD: Must have been quite a shock.
SD: Oh, it was. He told me Maine was just like New
York City. I was misinformed!
PD: That's definitely not what I would compare
Maine to! The cold weather must be a little hard on you compared to
Bermuda, no? What makes you want to keep coming back after spending
the summer down there?
SD: Well, I see it as just finishing what I
started. Plus the cold weather doesn't bother me. I dress really
warm.
PD: How'd you feel about the Super Bowl?
SD: Oh, man, the Giants are my TEAM! It was kind
of nice to walk around here and be able to rub it in people's faces
for a change. It's backwards. Plus it doesn't help that I'm a Cubs
fan, too. They always lose.
PD: Yeah, I think at this point we're all a little
bit of a Cubs fan at heart. They're even more cursed than the Red
Sox were.
PD: Did you play any other sports in high
school?
SD: I played cricket until I broke my finger. And
softball too, but it wasn't as organized as it is here.
PD: What was it like being a captain this
year?
SD: It was different. The younger kids had to
listen to me, which was nice, but being a captain can be mentally
draining at times. In practice I megged this kid 5 times in a row
and I thought to myself, "How can you just let me put it through
your legs like that, man?" But I kind of took him under my wing and
he ended up starting.
PD: Any parting advice to give your teammates?
SD: Yeah, when they make mistakes that are
unacceptable, not like a bad pass or anything, but mental mistakes,
they need to learn how to take responsibility for them. And they
need to learn that every game is 90 minutes and even if they get
down in the beginning there's always time to come back. Play the
whole game.
PD: That's some good advice. How would you rate
your overall experience here at St. Joe's?
SD: My overall experience was good. I mean, my
first year the team had a lot of talent but weren't as disciplined
as we should have been. This year was definitely the best
though.
PD: Thanks for taking the time for our interview.
It wasn't so bad, right?
SD: Ha, no. No problem, man.
