At 19 years old, Jaedyn Shaw is an Olympic gold medalist. Yet, the Olympic campaign wasn’t the one Shaw wanted, as a devastating leg injury kept her on the sidelines in Paris. She had to understandably battle her tears many times in the USWNT camp, as they embarked on the Olympics. Anyhow, the San Diego Wave star aced in being a “good teammate” for her peers, as she kept on believing and cheering for her pals from the locker room. As Shaw puts it, coach Emma Hayes’ kind words uplifted her during the tumultuous time at the US camp. 

Jaedyn Shaw was convinced she was personally going to have a forgetful Olympics after she was hit with a leg injury. But thanks to Emma Hayes’ guidance and approval, Shaw turned out to be a vocal leader in the Team USA camp. “I would talk to Emma and she would just be like, ‘You are of value on this team I just want you to know that and I want you to hear it from me,’” said Shaw during her appearance on the RE-INC podcast.

Speaking to USWNT legends Tobin Heath and Christen Press, the 19-year-old mentioned that it meant the world for her to hear those words from coach Hayes. “Hearing that from your coach is just like, “Yeah okay yeah okay ‘I can like breathe for a second like I don’t have to like I can unpack a little bit more,’” Jaedyn Shaw added. Anyhow, she also remarked that she would break down when in solitude. But she would also put herself together for the betterment of the team. “I would go back in my room I would cry and then I’d come back out and I’d be like let’s effing go like let’s go and I feel like that was a learning curve for me,” Shaw continued. 

Now, let’s explore the new role Shaw adopted in the US camp to complete the injury-hit Olympics in ecstasy.

Shaw’s silent strength: Turning injury into leadership at the Olympics

Speaking on the same podcast, Jaedyn Shaw revealed that she has never been a vocal leader. She said she’s always keen on leading by example and letting her game speak and inspire her pals. However, the Olympics gave her no chance to lead by action. But perhaps, after getting Hayes’ approval on her value, the Wave striker upped her leadership game in the team’s camp. 

“Step into a new role and like really be like okay like it’s going to take everyone. And like you’re going to have to step up and like be a good teammate like it sounds so small to like be a good teammate but like it goes so far. And also just the environment like really helped me,” said Jaedyn Shaw. What are your thoughts on Shaw’s resilient journey in an Olympics plagued by an injury? Tell us in the comments.