Jacob Shaffelburg is a notable Berkshire alum who graduated in 2019. Shaffelburg signed a professional contract out of high school with Toronto FC and now plays for Los Angeles FC, earning 31 caps for the Canadian National Team. Today, Shaffelburg competes at the highest level of professional soccer, representing Canada on the international stage and most recently making his mark at the Copa America, where he scored a key goal against Venezuela in the quarterfinals.     

   From his early days as a multi-sport athlete at Berkshire to sharing the field with World Cup winners, Shaffelburg’s story is truly inspiring.

    Thomas Berg ’27 and I had the pleasure of welcoming Shaffelburg to our podcast, the Hot Spot, this February, where he shared his journey from Berkshire to professional soccer and beyond. (Check out our full podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or Spotify. Just search The Hot Spot, Rohan Rost, and Thomas Berg.)

Below are the highlights from our interview:

Rohan Rost ’27: “Once you graduated, did you have any idea that you’d end up playing professionally for and representing Canada’s national team, or playing in the MLS, starting, and being a key player?”

Jacob Shaffelburg ’19: “Not to that extent. So, I was committed to the University of Virginia, UVA. But then…probably, like, a month later, I had to call them and decommit, because I was gonna sign pro out of high school. Then I signed with Toronto FC’s second team, and I left halfway through my senior year of high school. They wanted me to come at the start of the year. Like, in September,  and not go back for my senior year. 

But I loved Berkshire too much, so I was like, ‘I’ll sign and come in January so I can finish my last season of soccer and be a captain.’ 

But then I went and played, and halfway through that first year with the second team, I was able to sign with the first team of Toronto, but even then, I never thought I would be, you know, a real player in the league, or, you know, a good player.

So, it took me up until probably when I got traded to Nashville in 2022, when I was like, oh, I think I can really do this. That’s when I got my first few caps with Canada, and it kinda went up from there. 

Yeah, it took a while, but I kept with it, which was good, but it’s hard to kind of, well, I don’t like to get ahead of myself, thinking I want to be, you know, this top player, so I kind of keep it day by day, but some days are harder than others to keep that inin your thoughts.”

Thomas Berg ’27: “Yeah, I mean, in that vein, was there ever a moment when you sort of doubted yourself, or you felt like it wasn’t really possible to go pro?”

Jacob Shaffelburg ’19: “Yeah, I mean, looking back, it wasn’t that I never thought I could go pro, it just kind of happened really fast. The contract came up; I didn’t really think anything of going pro. I was just going to go the classic route, because I looked up to Jack Harrison a lot. He went to Berkshire, then to Wake Forest, and got drafted, like, first or second overall. 

And I was like, okay, that’s my goal. And then this came up, way quicker, so I wasn’t able to doubt myself. Because I never really thought about going pro that early. It kind of came up so quickly that I didn’t have that time to doubt; I was still having fun and not really thinking about it. 

But I would say when I was a pro in 2022, right before I got traded to Nashville, I was at my lowest point, thinking I don’t know if I’m meant to play soccer, this is tough. Maybe I gotta look into something else. 

I wasn’t playing; I wasn’t happy at all. It was just really tough, again, living on my own. My girlfriend, my wife now, was in and out of school back home, so she wasn’t with me a lot.

So I was in a really dark place, and that’s when I kind of doubted myself, like, is this meant for me? This lifestyle? And the National came in, so they kind of saved the day, but that was probably the biggest doubt I had.”

    Another big thank you to Jacob Shaffelburg for taking the time to sit down with us. It was a great opportunity to hear his story and connect with a fellow Berkshire community member, and we wish him the best of luck with LAFC and Canada’s run at the upcoming World Cup.