Norwayne’s Shelby Vaughn to represent Ohio at 2022 Memphis ODP Interregional Showcase

Norwayne sophomore Shelby Vaughn simply tore up the soccer pitch this past season in becoming the area’s best offensive weapon.

From being able to physically command her presence in the offensive third, to an innate ability to find space and an awareness of how and when to finish, her combined attributes make her nearly unstoppable.

When not playing in season for the Bobcats, Vaughn balances playing club soccer for North FC with playing basketball with her sister Savannah for the ‘Cats.

Although on the cusp of the state basketball tournament, Vaughn also is eyeing a chance to represent Ohio at the 2022 Memphis ODP Interregional Showcase, held in Memphis, Tennessee. She and her teammates will challenge themselves by facing the best of the best from across the region on Feb. 19-20.

Vaughn and her team will open against Kansas, then play Missouri, Indiana and finish with Illinois in a Showcase sponsored by the Olympic Development Program.

Vaughn was just one of four members of her club to be selected and the only one in her age bracket. Other states that will represented at the showcase are Alabama, Iowa and Tennessee.

“It feels really good to be selected,” said Vaughn when asked about getting the chance to represent Ohio. “Just knowing that all my hard work is paying off and getting me somewhere.”

To get here, Vaughn traveled for another Showcase to Indiana, where she was chosen to be on a team. After that, players were selected by performance for the ODP Showcase and to represent their respective state.

“It’s definitely more competitive because you’re getting a bunch of great players from all over the country on one team,” said Vaughn. “Whereas in high school, you’re playing the select few from that school, so the competition is higher here.”

Having played for North FC since fifth grade and being coached at the club by Attila Csiszar, Vaughn said it has benefitted her on the high school soccer pitch, that playing at such a high level has helped her to elevate her game and made her a more complete soccer player.

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Her high school coach, Jason Zimmerly, has supported it all completely.

“She is a very special player who just works so hard, and her ability to attack and break down a defense is second to none,” said Zimmerly of Vaughn, one of the area’s best college soccer prospects. “It’s just her sheer will to compete. Some people say they are competitors and get mad when they don’t win. She figures out a way to win when she doesn’t. That’s her mentality.

“Her drive and desire has pushed her beyond what most people can handle. She doesn’t just talk the talk. She walks the walk.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Shelby Vaughn to play in soccer showcase Feb. 19-20 in Memphis