Belleville native Shandie Tanner is a tad uncomfortable talking about her soccer career. That’s because she’s a volleyball player first and foremost, having attained all-star status on the court. In fact, soccer was picked up only as a bi-product of an athletically-filled high-school career.

“I started playing soccer about four years ago. – I did it because I had transferred high-schools” explains Tanner. Because of the secondary school transfer requirements, Tanner was not allowed to play any varsity sports in her new surroundings that she had played at her old school in Belleville.

Desperately wanting to keep active, Tanner took up soccer for the first time and has progressed to the point where Cambrian Golden Shield coach Craymer Forth notes that she is clearly among the team’s top performers. “I’ve developed a bit of a passion for the sport – I watch it on TV all the time” says Tanner.

The twenty-two year old, who is studying in the Dental Assistant program at Cambrian, comes over with some OCAA experience already under her belt, having played both soccer and volleyball at Loyalist College in Belleville for the past two years. Despite her limited soccer background, Tanner’s pitch experience has seen her cover almost the entire field.

“I was a goalie in my first year” notes Tanner, who suggests that the ball-handling skills she developed in volleyball may have been what piqued the coach’s interest. But she knew it wasn’t for her and now performs at both midfield (at Cambrian) and at sweeper for her club team in Belleville during the summer.

Her determination has served her well in any sport she has undertaken, suggests Tanner. “I just never give up – if one person gets by me on the soccer field, I’ll do anything I possibly can to catch her” she says. Despite her multi-sport background, Tanner was planning on maintaining volleyball exclusivity while at the Sudbury-based community college.

“I wasn’t going to play soccer…but with five girls playing who are also on the volleyball team, I thought it would be fun” admits Tanner. And having Shandie Tanner on the roster of the Cambrian women’s soccer team has surely made life a little more fun for coach Craymer Forth and the rest of the Golden Shield team.
 

Shandie Tanner, Women's Soccer
 

“I just never give up – if one person gets by me on the soccer field, I’ll do anything I possibly can to catch her”