Claire Shultz is sharply focused and always driven. She knows what she wants to do for a career and is chasing it with gusto. Shultz, a senior at Kent Island High, wants to be an architect.
“I always like designing and building things,” she explains. “When I was little, I would always play with Legos. I think it stems from that. I have looked into being an architect and it involves a lot of hard work. That’s something I am willing to do.”
If Shultz’s success at soccer and tennis and the tremendous work ethic she put toward both sports is any guide, she will be a standout architect. She’s accomplished a lot in soccer and tennis. Last fall, the Bayside Conference named her to its First Team in girls soccer and the 5-foot-8 Shultz was part of a doubles team that made it to the 2A state championship match last spring.
Shultz also stays extremely busy with her studies. She carries a weighted 4.12 grade-point average, belongs to the National Honor Society and Science Honor Society, takes several advanced placement classes, and plays on two elite club soccer teams that have her competing in the sport year-round.
“She is very committed and determined,” says Shore FC Soccer Coach Mike Leach, who also worked with Shultz at Kent Island. “It takes a lot to play two or three varsity sports and she has that tough course workload. Plus, traveling for club soccer. That really is a lot. She has got to juggle a lot. She has to make time for everything and accomplish her goals. She is able to do it.”
One of Shultz’s biggest goals is to play college soccer. She’s made it her mission to find the perfect school and has visited about 15. North Carolina State, Georgia, and Clemson top her list. She’s clearly stressing academics and architecture as much as soccer.
“I think she can play Division I soccer,” Leach says. “When talked to the area high school coaches (about the 2021) season, they told she was one vote from being (Bayside) Conference Player of the Year. For the 2022 class, I would say she is one of the top three players from Eastern Shore region of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia.”
After playing her freshman year on the Kent Island jayvee, Shultz spent the next two seasons on the varsity as a defensive midfielder. Besides frequently marking the opponent’s best player, she contributed offensively with some clutch goals and timely assists. She totaled nine goals and 10 assists as a sophomore and had 10 goals and 10 assists the following season.
“She is extremely fast, and an excellent passer,” Kent Island Girls Soccer Coach Pedro Nascimento says. “Her decision making is unbelievable. She sees things before they happen. She places the ball in a certain area that she thinks her teammates are going to be at. Nine out of 10 times it ends up being the perfect pass.”
Nascimento also coaches Shultz with the Brazilian United Soccer Academy Club team in Stevensville. She played for that organization for eight years and another two with the Easton-based Shore Football Club. Those experiences competing against teams from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region have been invaluable to Shultz’s development.
“Those teams are great resources for her to develop her game,” Nascimento says. “She is getting the perspective of many different coaches and faces a lot of different levels of players. It definitely helps her pick up her game.”
Shultz took up tennis for the first time as a freshman, and she became a very good player quickly. Her run this year included a regional championship with doubles partner Brooke Barba. A win in the state semifinals followed and the result was a coveted state championship berth. “It was something that was really unexpected,” says Shultz, who also ran indoor track for a season. “It was really an accomplishment.”
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