Spring Break
Shepherd puts last season behind her by focusing on the future
Nicole Jacobsen, Associate Sports Editor, njacobse@smu.edu
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Sports
"You can look at it in a negative or positive way," explained Shepherd. "If you don't win, then you come into your conference games with a negative attitude. Or you can look at it as, 'OK, we've played these tough teams and stuck with them, so conference play should come out easier.'"
As can be expected, tougher match ups surface in college play, but along with a more intense course load and practice regiment, just moving from one school to another can be intimidating enough. Fortunately for Shepherd, she found the transition easy.
"In high school, practices were a joke. In club, we only had two to three practices a week," said Shepherd. "College play is completely different because we lift Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for an hour and then play and hour. On Monday and Wednesday we play for an hour. It's five-a-days for two hours every day. It keeps you connected to the ball all the time."
A four-time letter winner from Lake Highlands High School, Shepherd was named first-team All-District her senior year and second-team All-District in her junior year. Other recognitions Shepherd received in high school include District 9-5A Newcomer of the Year honors as a sophomore, and team MVP and captain in her senior season.
Shepherd also played on the North Texas State Olympic Development Program team, and was a member of the Solar soccer club where she served as a team captain for six years. The club team was the state semifinalist in 2005, a two-time state finalist in the Disney Soccer Showcase and quarterfinalist in the Texas Cup in 2004.
Outside of soccer, Shepherd graduated as the senior class secretary, a member of the National Honor Society and was an honor graduate in 2007.
"I'm excited because this past year didn't go very well. It's behind us and I'm ready to progress after a bad season," said Shepherd. "Everything that went wrong did and we kind of got screwed over at the end. I'm ready to prove ourselves again next season."
As can be expected, tougher match ups surface in college play, but along with a more intense course load and practice regiment, just moving from one school to another can be intimidating enough. Fortunately for Shepherd, she found the transition easy.
"In high school, practices were a joke. In club, we only had two to three practices a week," said Shepherd. "College play is completely different because we lift Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for an hour and then play and hour. On Monday and Wednesday we play for an hour. It's five-a-days for two hours every day. It keeps you connected to the ball all the time."
A four-time letter winner from Lake Highlands High School, Shepherd was named first-team All-District her senior year and second-team All-District in her junior year. Other recognitions Shepherd received in high school include District 9-5A Newcomer of the Year honors as a sophomore, and team MVP and captain in her senior season.
Shepherd also played on the North Texas State Olympic Development Program team, and was a member of the Solar soccer club where she served as a team captain for six years. The club team was the state semifinalist in 2005, a two-time state finalist in the Disney Soccer Showcase and quarterfinalist in the Texas Cup in 2004.
Outside of soccer, Shepherd graduated as the senior class secretary, a member of the National Honor Society and was an honor graduate in 2007.
"I'm excited because this past year didn't go very well. It's behind us and I'm ready to progress after a bad season," said Shepherd. "Everything that went wrong did and we kind of got screwed over at the end. I'm ready to prove ourselves again next season."
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