The pursuit of greatness comes easy for senior academic athlete Shelby Howard. The 5’6” soccer player for Calvary Day School is not only the goalkeeper for the Lady Cavaliers, she is also quite an overachiever in the classroom. She was born in Canada and moved to the United States at the age of nine. While in Canada, Howard skied and was a Provincial Champion (equivalent to a U.S. State Champion) for her age group. She also played indoor soccer and that is where she learned to love the sport and the position of goalkeeper.
“[Indoor soccer] is a completely different game. You can play off the walls. I think that’s what truly developed my skills as a goalkeeper because you have to become more aware of the position of the ball. If the ball hits off the wall and comes back out for a shot, you have to be ready for that,” says Howard.
Howard’s list of achievements in high school is long and varied. She has earned awards in academics for AP Chemistry, AP European History, AP Language, honors biology, honors chemistry, honors English, honors geometry, honors physics, French II and honors precalculus. She was also rewarded with the Georgia Merit Award given by the University of Georgia, a Technology Award, HOBY “Outstanding Seminar” and was a Governor’s Honors Program nominee for chemistry. For her freshman, sophomore and junior years, Howard received academic scholarships.
“Learning comes naturally for me,” says Howard. “I’m really obsessed with school. Forever now, academics have come first. I try to be the best at almost every subject and all that works towards my goal of becoming valedictorian. I absolutely love organic chemistry, which may be weird because it’s most people’s least favorite form of chemistry, but it’s just puzzles. Ever since I was little I liked solving puzzles – I try to figure out the unsolvable. I think chemistry uses puzzles to figure out what’s happening in the world.”
Howard really pushes herself in school. “I’m in everything. I’m my class’s vice president, I’m in Science Bowl, I’m on the Math and Literary teams, the NHS relay coordinator and I co-chair CLeW (Community Leadership Workshop), the Savannah chapter of HOBY (Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership),” says Howard.
Howard says that HOBY really changed her life and she has learned to develop other parts of her personality to become a great leader. Since attending, she started the local Savannah chapter of CLeW. The HOBY organization aims to inspire and develop its global community of youth and volunteers to a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation. HOBY recognized Howard’s efforts by offering to host a CLeW event in Savannah. Even Howard’s mother, Lori Howard, became involved in the organization as a director when she saw how positively the program changed her daughter.
Howard’s mother says, “HOBY really brought her out of her shell. Before Shelby went, she was very guarded, but when her father and I went to pick her up from the event, we were like ‘Whoa! This is not Shelby!’”
Her sports achievements are just as numerous. Some of them include Academic Cavalier in volleyball and cross-country, Best of Prep Team Goalie, and All-Star Team Honorable Mention in her sophomore year for being chosen as one of the youngest soccer players in the Coastal Empire Invitational All-Star Game, a position she has attained both her sophomore and junior years though the spot is usually reserved for junior and senior players.
“It (The Invitational) is really just for juniors and seniors but she was one of the best goalkeepers in our area as a sophomore. She probably could have been on it as a freshman but they don’t let any freshmen play,” says Calvary Day School girls soccer coach Chad Griffin of Howard. “I expect that she’ll be on it this year as well.”
Howard’s favorite game memory was the occasion when, in double overtime, she made the save for her team to win. “It had been at least four years since our school had beaten Savannah Christian. We went into double overtime and we went into PK kicks. I turned to my mom and said, ‘This is my game!’ My player went up and she scored. Most of the other rival team’s players were playing to my right so I just guessed – and then, there I was, with the ball in my hands. You could see my coach’s face. He was stunned and then everyone went crazy because it had been so long since we had beaten them,” says Howard.
Griffin says, “She made the save that clinched it. It was really exciting. I had tremendous confidence in her. I wasn’t really worried. I knew at some point she was going to make the play to win the game.”
Griffin has so many inspiring things to say about Howard’s fun and spirited personality and what she means for the team. “She’s a dynamic, type-A personality. She takes everything very seriously but she has a tremendous love and passion for what she does in all aspects of her life and that correlates to how she is on the field. She’s a great leader and you know that when you’re in the fire, she’s going to be there. It’s been a great comfort to have had her between the poles the last couple years. Shelby wants to be the best at everything she does. She’s so diligent in her pursuit for, I call it, greatness,” says Griffin. “I don’t think anyone ever achieves perfection. We all stumble and fall at some point, but her pursuit of wanting to be great at everything she does in life is why she does so well academically. She gives maximum effort, in everything. We teach that anyone can be average with little effort, but what we all want is greatness, academically, spiritually, and in character. You want them to be the best son/daughter and one day the best husband/wife, father/mother. She is really the model for that.”
Jersey number: 1
Height: 5’6”
Position: Goalkeeper
Favorite sport to watch: football or hockey
Favorite Pro player: Sidney Crosby
Where would you like most to travel in the world: Europe so I can have a cultural experience through food. I love food.
Who would you like most to meet? Dr. Seuss
Who is your inspiration? My mom
Academic Athlete/Coastal Edition/January 2013
Shelby Howard
Coach Chad Griffin
Calvary Day School
Savannah, Georgia
BY: Ruby Hilliard
Photography: Tina Helmly Photography
