Pounding the cold Toronto concrete by himself for weeks on end wasn’t how Jacob Shaffelburg pictured his second year as a professional soccer player.
The 20-year-old from Port Williams didn’t have much choice back in the spring when Major League Soccer abruptly shut down because of COVID-19. So when he found himself at loose ends after a false start to his sophomore season with Toronto FC, all he could do was improvise and make the best of it like the rest of us.
“We did a lot of team Zoom workouts and then we'd just go out for a run in the morning,” Shaffelburg said. “They also sent us one of those big elastic bands to do a lot of workouts with those but that was pretty much it. And going out for runs was tough because I'm downtown now so I'd be running on pavement. I'm glad that's over with and that we're back training together."
Shaffelburg joked that he “would 100 per cent prefer” to run on the dykes near his Annapolis Valley home but travel restrictions didn’t give him that option. And at a certain point the isolation started to get to the young winger, who lives by himself.
"It was getting pretty lonely so I got a quarantine puppy,” he said. “He's been keeping me busy for the past little bit so that's been really nice.”
Shaffelburg’s voice lights up when the subject moves to his cockapoo Frank, a mix between a cocker spaniel and a miniature poodle. He said the biggest lift he got was in his day-to-day social life, especially on their trips to the dog parks.
“He plays with the other dogs and I can talk to people,” he said. “He's been great. I’ve been able to meet a lot of new people with him, which has been good for me.”
But, really, it was the return to the pitch a few weeks ago that was the biggest boost of all. The team could only have restricted practices at first but are back to normal now. It was a huge relief to Shaffelburg, who had never gone that long without playing soccer since he first started in the sport as a child.
"It was really hard because there was quite a long time period when they were really strict with the parks and what you could do there,” he said. “You couldn't really even stand around that long in them so I didn't get a lot of time to work on my touch or anything. But it was nice to get back into it with individual training three or four weeks ago, then we had a nice gradual work up to full training.
"I was pretty rusty at first and it was also one of the worst days to be back. Our first day back we reported at nine in the morning and it was windy with snow and rain so it was such a cold day. So it wasn't the best weather to come back but a few days later it was warm out and it just felt great to be back on the field."
Shaffelburg said he’s now back up to full force, with the exception of a small gap in his game fitness, which only ever comes with live action. Fortunately, MLS has a league tournament planned to start on July 9 in Orlando. All 26 teams will flock to the Florida city starting on Wednesday for the modified MLS is Back Tournament.
“That's something to look forward to,” he said. “It's nice to have games to look forward to instead of practising just to practise."
It also means Shaffelburg can shift his thinking back to his goals - figuratively and literally - for his sophomore season. In 10 games as a teenaged rookie in 2019, the usually high-scoring attacker wasn’t able to find the net. He said ending the goal drought is his top priority heading into the Orlando event.
“That's the one thing I need to do,” said Shaffelburg, who had one assist and 11 shots last season. "I do feel a little weight so that's why I want to get that first goal off. I think if I do that I'll feel much better."
Beyond getting his first goal, Shaffelburg also has his eye on making a more consistent contribution to the team. He did amazingly well to average 67 minutes as a rookie, including eight of 10 games as a starter. Building off that in 2020 is his overarching objective for his sophomore season.
"Certainly last year I was just happy with anything I got, like making the team or getting into games,” he said. “My mentality this year is to get as many minutes as possible. I'll work as hard as I can to get that.
“I feel a lot more confident than I did last year, even just in practices, which is good. I feel like I can go out and play the game and do well and not feel out of place."
And so far the coaches are keeping that confidence up by pushing him to keep doing what got him to the league in the first place, while also gradually adding new dimensions.
"I play on the left wing still. I just have to stay out wide, which I love. I've been doing that my whole life,” said the speedy left-footer.
"They like that I can go on runs but they certainly want me to do more things, like go inside a bit more and just use more of my game than just going down the line every single time. I'm trying to incorporate that now so hopefully I can get that into my game play."
Toronto FC will be in a pool with the Montreal Impact, D.C. United and New England Revolution in Orlando. The finals will be on Aug. 11 and the winner will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League.
