Aidan Shearin’s leadership style all about positivity for Danville soccer
By Mike Beas
As players-only meetings go, the one members of the Danville boys soccer team gathered for in early September was relatively tame.
Senior midfielder Aidan Shearin, one of the Warriors’ three captains, wasn’t rattling windows with his words, which was exactly the point.
“A lot of soccer is team chemistry,” said Shearin, recalling the get-together the day after Danville dropped to 1-4 on the season with a disappointing one-goal loss at Greencastle. “If you have a lot of people mad at each other, you’re not going to play as well.”
Whatever was said had an effect. The Warriors rebounded convincingly, defeating their next three opponents by a combined score of 18-0.
Shearin accumulated five goals and five assists in his team’s 5-5-1 start to the season. This includes his three goals and one assist in a 12-0 blanking of North Montgomery. As a junior, Shearin, starting for a team with nine seniors on its roster, finished the season with 16 goals and two assists.
An excellent student (4.02 grade-point average), Shearin benefits the Danville program through the example he sets on and off the soccer field. The Warriors’ other captains are seniors Caleb Welch and Zachary Vickers.
“Aidan stands out in all areas. He performs in the classroom and was voted overwhelmingly by his teammates to be one of our three captains,” said fifth-year Warriors coach Donovan Duffy. “He is very vocal on the field and expects himself to be the example of practicing hard in playing hard in matches.”
Shearin did a Q&A with ICON:
Q: How much are you enjoying and appreciating your senior season after all of the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: We have to recognize it’s not going to be a normal year, but we’re making the most of it. I’m just happy to be playing soccer. I’m definitely thankful for that.
Q: Some athletes are captains in title only. Why do you enjoy the role so much and take it seriously?
A: I’ve noticed that we need someone to bring the team up. A lot of times you need someone to say, ‘I do this, too, and we all make mistakes sometimes.’ We need to focus on what we’re doing wrong as a team and work together to be better. It definitely helps more than just yelling at someone for doing something wrong.
Q: What are your plans after graduating from Danville High School?
A: The plan is to go to Purdue University and major in architectural engineering. I’ve always really liked houses, and the more I looked at it the more I could see myself doing this and not being bored with it.
