Meredith Sholder heading to the Paris Olympics for hockey

Like many young athletes, Meredith Sholder had an autograph from her hero, Rachel Dawson, many years ago. Like many, Sholder dreamed of becoming an Olympian like Dawson in 2008.

But for Sholder, the dream faded for a while before she was inspired again a few years ago.

“It's crazy that these are the things I dreamed of as a kid,” Sholder said. “In high school and college, I kind of lost sight of that little girl dream. I had other things in life that were starting to worry me more. To think about it today, how I got back on that track, to sit there today and talk to that girl that dreams can come true. It's just a crazy feeling to put into words.”

Last week, Sholder officially became an Olympian. Sholder has been a midfielder for the U.S. women's national team in recent years and was named to the U.S. roster that will compete from July 27 through August. 9 at the Olympic Games in Paris.

She is the second Emmaus Olympian, following Cindy Werley, a member of the 1996 team that went 0-5 at the Atlanta Games. Werley and Sholder followed similar paths, from Emmaus to the University of North Carolina to the national team.

Sholder had a record-setting career at Emmaus with 217 goals scored, No. 7 all-time in the nation's history, according to topofthecircle.com. She had 14 goals and 17 assists in her six years at North Carolina.

She played on several age-level national teams, but lost interest in playing at that level because she felt like something was missing: a real team feel, to be precise.

“I was on the U.S. junior team when I was younger, but I never really enjoyed it,” she said. “I love the whole team aspect of hockey and I feel connected to my teammates. I never got that from the junior program. It was very difficult for me to participate and play my best. Once I got to college, I stopped doing the junior teams for Team USA. I just focused on the college team.

She started thinking about playing at the highest level again when North Carolina was making its 2021 national team appearance. Greg Drake, national coach at the time, went out of his way to encourage Sholder to work with the national team because it needed something. players for the Pro League, a regular non-Olympic competition between national teams around the world.

That, combined with UNC coach Karen Shelton's request that Sholder train at High Performance, a center that trains national teams, got her thinking again about reviving that Olympic dream.

Of course, her mother Jane also had something to say.

“That meant a lot [Drake] was verbalizing that they actually saw something in me and all that [being on the national team] was a possibility,” Sholder said. “My mother helped me in my decision-making process. Why not? You only have one chance in your life to take advantage of this opportunity. You can go back to school whenever you want.

“It was such a different culture than the junior team,” she said. “It felt like a real team with real teammates. Everyone supported you. Everyone was hospitable. I had a great experience.”

So Sholder, who turned 25 at the end of February, is now a full-time national team athlete. She wants to become a doctor's assistant, but that will have to wait. She's only young once.

The big moment for Team USA came in January when it took second place in an Olympic qualifier in Ramchi, India, qualifying for the Olympic Games. Team USA was set to become an automatic qualifier for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, so arriving there four years ahead of schedule was a welcome surprise.

Team USA failed to qualify for the 2020 Games in Tokyo and made several organizational changes, including centralizing the team in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sholder sees the difference because the US is more competitive on a global level.

“At some point before I joined the team, American field hockey was undergoing a tremendous change,” Sholder said. “They have appointed a new technical staff [led by David Passmore of Ireland]. They wanted to make decisions because the American team did not qualify for the last Olympics. We didn't want to go downhill, so we brought in a new staff and had all the athletes centralized in Charlotte. They made all the decisions to give us the tools we need to excel.”

The US has not fared well in the Pro League recently, with a 1-14-1 mark in the current season. Sholder was named Player of the Match following Team USA's 3–1 victory over Great Britain on June 6.

Still, she had to wait for the official announcement that she would become an Olympian. Passmore had to cut the U.S. roster from 26 to 16 by June 10. Sholder said she was confident about making the team but didn't want to hurt her chances by talking about it.

She received the message via a Microsoft Teams message on June 10. The roster, which included several Pennsylvanians and former Lafayette College star Amanda Golin, was released to the public the next day.

“It was really exciting to be able to tell my family and have it be official and talk openly about going to the Olympics,” she said. “Before the list came out, I didn't want to curse myself. I never wanted to talk hypothetically about going to the Olympics. It was a huge weight off my shoulders, especially as I have been training more and more in recent months. I notice that I put in a lot of effort since I put all my energy into training. It was a very nice feeling and a good achievement to be proud of.”

Sholder has no team commitments other than training and waiting until July 14, when the team heads to Ireland for a week of training before moving to Paris on July 21.

“I remember being 12 years old and fangirling over the Olympians,” Sholder said. “When I was 13, I remember getting all their autographs. I hung them on my bedroom wall. I always told my family that I wanted to be an Olympian. My role model was Rachel Dawson.

“I would like to express my extreme gratitude to all the people who have helped me get to this point,” she said. “People I especially want to shout out are [Emmaus coach] Sue Butz-Stavin, Karen Shelton and my family. I am so grateful that they were part of my life and part of my journey. Without them I wouldn't be here. These women have left a mark on my life.”

Tim Shoemaker is a freelance writer.