Wake Forest Athletics
Melanie Schneider Trains With The Best
4/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
April 30, 2004
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The 2003 season proved to be a breakout year for Wake Forest sophomore Melanie Schneider. The Peachtree City, Ga. native was named All-ACC second team after starting 18 games at central defender. Her talent did not go unnoticed on the national scale either. Schneider just returned from a US U-21 National Team camp.
"We could not have been more thrilled for Melaine," said Demon Deacon head coach Tony Da Luz. "She had such a tremendous season for us and it is wonderful to see that her hard work and great play was seen at the next level. This is a tremendous statement about Mel as a person and player."
Schneider spent April 16-25 at the Home Depot Training Center in Carson, CA -- training alongside the best female soccer players in the world. Schneider went toe-to-toe with the likes of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Abby Wambach.
A Powerade/McDonald's High School All-American at McIntosh H.S., Schneider came to Wake Forest with a tremendous soccer resume'. Schneider was not only a member of the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Georgia State Team, but was a three-time ODP Region III team selection.
While Schneider has participated at a high level of the ODP Program, this was clearly different. This was an opportunity to earn a full-time spot on the U-21 team and possibly a future selection onto the full national side.
To many this offer might have seemed like a no-brainer, but it did come with tremendous sacrifice. Schneider missed an entire week of school with final exams were just around the corner.
"Initially, I was pretty scared because Tony told me that I was going to miss eight days of school," said Schneider. "It was sort of overwhelming to think how much school I was going to miss. But, after that set in, I was excited to go there and see how I measure with the other girls at that level."
As it turned out, Schneider was able to juggle both demands -- on the pitch playing against the best players in the word and off the field in preparation for final exams.
"We had a lot of down time," said Schneider. "We only had one two-a-day the entire week. We had enough time to do work or relax. The players from California were able to spend time with their families. The fears that I originally had with school were not nearly as bad as I thought it would be."
It did not take long for Schneider to fit in on the field as well.
"It was a little intimidating at first to think who I would be playing against," said Schneider. "But, once you got into the game that went away. The one thing you notice is just how much stronger they are. Abby Wambach is just a beast. That was the most difficult thing to adapt to."
"I think that I am right there with those girls," said Schneider. "I might not have played my best with them while I was there, but I do know that when at my best I can compete at that level."
The main reason for this camp was to not only prepare the full national side for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, but to also narrow down the under-21 selection pool for International Tour in Brazil from May 20-31. Following that trip, the under-21 squad will compete at the 2004 Nordic Cup in Iceland from July 19-30.
"We scrimmaged and spent a lot of time with the full National Team that is going to the Olympics this summer," said Schneider. "That experience definitely inspired me to work harder so that I might get to go to the Olympics or play with that team some day. It is something that I would love to do and it definitely gave me a fire to do whatever it takes to get another opportunity."
There is another training camp at the Home Depot Training Center that runs from June 18-27. Whether or not another invitation comes, Schneider can carry so many experiences back to Winston-Salem and the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest has inked 14 newcomers in the most recent recruiting class and Schneider feels she can pass down much of her learning experiences to those new faces in August.
"This put me in a situation that many of our freshmen will experience this fall," said Schneider. "Like our freshmen will be, I was in a new place and kind of unsure about myself. I think that it will be very important to make the freshmen comfortable right away, but at the same time not so comfortable that they would not work as hard as they should. It is important for me as a leader to help them adjust."
Wake Forest just wrapped up its spring season in grand fashion -- winning the ACC Spring Tournament with victories over Duke, Maryland and Clemson. All three defeated the Deacs in 2003 and each reached the NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons also knocked off two other NCAA Tournament participants this spring -- West Virginia and UNC Greensboro.
Wake Forest opens the 2004 exhibition season with a road test at Penn State on August 19. After a home exhibition match with Elon on August 21, the Demon Deacons open the regular season on August 27 at SEC foe Vanderbilt. The Deacs will make their first regular season appearance at the friendly confines of Spry Stadium with UNCG on August 30.
