Jaedyn Shaw Reveals What It’s Like to Join the USWNT: ‘It’s Almost Like a Superhero Putting on His Cape’

With just a few months to go until the Olympics, there is no other player in the U.S. Women’s National Team pool making a bigger case for selection than Jaedyn Shaw. The 19-year-old forward has been part of senior national team camps since September 2023, when she was first brought in by former interim head coach Twila Kilgore, and has since quickly become a mainstay on matchday rosters.

Meanwhile, Shaw has made 11 appearances for the national team and scored seven goals, five of which came in her first five starts. Her smoldering start to 2024 has earned her plenty of praise and highlights in the media.

“I’m so grateful for all the praise,” Shaw said recently on CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy. “I’m just really happy that I can contribute to this game in the way I always dreamed of. I’m really happy that I was able to influence the national team in the sport in this way.”

Shaw’s arrival to the senior teams comes at a time of change for the program. The U.S. Soccer Federation hired Emma Hayes as its next head coach in December, and her impending arrival in June marked a joint effort in building the roster with Kilgore. It’s a new era, meant to see new faces in training camps, and although Shaw was an early introduction following the team’s disappointing elimination from the 2023 FIFA World Cup, she was a regular part of the team both before and after Hayes’ long-distance commitment the selection. .

Kilgore will now transition from the interim role to a full-time assistant on Hayes’ coaching staff. In her final media appearances as interim, she was full of praise for the teenage striker, but was quick to note that Shaw is only at the beginning of her journey – and joked that everyone should be patient “because there is more”, if it the time has come. Shaw.

The San Diego Wave FC player credited her teammates and coaching staff with a seamless progression from youth teams to club to country.

“She [Kilgore] believes in us so much, it’s like you guys don’t understand how hard that is, to be in that position and believe so, so much in every single player,” Shaw said. ‘I felt so supported in this. environment and they made sure – like the coaching staff and the players – that I got everything I needed to succeed, and that’s because [of] the environment they have created for this national team. I feel like it’s really helped us young players integrate into the team, like onboarding things, just making sure that we’re prepared to succeed, and not just throw ourselves into the fire to throw.”

That kind of holistic approach is another way to support players and keep things in perspective. It might even be necessary considering how the team continues to win titles in 2024. A month ago they won the inaugural 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and recently claimed their seventh SheBelieves Cup title.

“I knew I really wanted to be a part of this team and I knew I was going to do everything I could – off the field, on the field – to get to this point,” Shaw said. “I think once I put on the jersey, it’s almost like a superhero putting on his cape. It’s just a different feeling to put on that jersey and be able to play on this team. I feel like it’s just adds a new level to your game, and being in that environment just makes you so much better.”

In just eight months with the senior team, Shaw has already used her versatility in attack. While she naturally feels she can play anywhere her coaches want her to play, she doesn’t shy away from her favorite role, the number 10, where she can help facilitate the attack as an attacking midfielder.

“I’ve said before that my favorite position is the 10. I like being center stage, being creative and creating things out of nothing. I feel like that’s one of my strongest points. But I mean I’m everywhere can play.” …I am versatile. I actually don’t mind having different positions,” Shaw said of her favorite role on the team.

Her flexibility in attacking roles offers different looks in layered formations, something Kilgore, and by extension Hayes, have been working on leading up to the Olympics. In previous cycles, Rose Lavelle served as almost the definitive number 10 for the national team. However, with recent injuries in the run-up to the previous World Cup, she is once again dealing with a lingering problem with her lower leg now that the Olympic Games are away.

Shaw’s emergence puts an end to some of those dicey scenarios with Lavelle. The truth is that at an international level it should be about who can deliver performances on the biggest stages. Although Shaw has yet to compete in a World Cup or Olympics, two recent title wins with the USWNT only help cement her name toward an Olympic roster that will be finalized in the coming months.

“I would feel so special if I could play with this team in the Olympics,” Shaw said of Olympic selection opportunities. “And that’s something I’ve been talking about for a long time. So I’m just crossing my fingers and toes and hoping that I can continue to make an impact on this team and do what I need to do to make it a success. .”