STARKVILLE — Tony Shin was just a sophomore at a new high school in a totally new country when he scored the winning goal for the Yellow Jackets against Madison Central. He cut in from the right, beating a defender before unleashing his shot on goal. The goalkeeper got his hands to the ball but the shot was too powerful for him to stop, and Shin ran screaming toward the fence where his teammates and a sizable crowd of fellow students mobbed him in celebration.
Shin transferred to Starkville from his native South Korea to pursue educational and sporting opportunities. From the start, he made an impact, and heading into his senior year he’s now a leader on the Jackets squad, a two-time all-star, and a key member of a Mississippi Rush team that will head to Orlando at the end of the month to play in U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.
“I came to SHS and I wanted to try out for the high school team and I ended up making a lot of friends on the way,” Shin said of his arrival. “I didn’t really have any friends before I joined the team because it was still a new country to me.”
Shin’s love of the game came from time spent in England as a young child before his family moved to South Korea. His experience showed early on and made an immediate impression on boys’ soccer head coach Evinn Watson upon his arrival.
“Ever since he stepped on the field, even at tryouts players were turning their heads,” Watson said. “Tony sets a positive example. He does things the right way and even players older than him were able to see and understand what he was doing. He made the whole team better.”
During his junior season, Shin was named the East MVP in the North Mississippi All-Star match in February. He was recently selected to represent the Jackets in Tuesday’s 2024 Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star game. He also joined the MS Rush club team to help raise his recruiting profile.
“I want to play college soccer and you have to play club soccer to get recruited,” Shin told The Dispatch. “I joined Mississippi Rush because a friend of mine plays for them and it’s a super competitive environment, and it’s a good place to play.”
Most of the team is made up of players from in and around the Jackson area, and Shin has to travel quite a ways to participate in practice, but the competitive environment is one that really appealed to him.
“It’s a very competitive team, but not in a toxic way,” he said. “All my teammates are supportive and positive and we enjoy playing together. For about a month I was adjusting, but everyone sort of knew me from playing against me in high school and making friends helped me adjust to the team.”
Shin’s goal against Madison Central stuck out to a few Jaguars players who recognized him when he joined the Rush team, and that strong impression helped him settle as well as give him a reputation as a strong player before the others even got to know him. He lived up to the reputation scoring four goals and notching three assists in Tampa as the Rush won their regional tournament to qualify for nationals.
The soccer doesn’t seem to stop for Shin, who also takes time out to attend clinics and camps with prospective colleges across the country.
“I went to a lot of ID camps this year and most schools have good STEM-based programs,” Shin said. “Soccer is a big motivator for me, but academics are important, too, and I’m hoping to major in computer science.”
Shin’s work ethic and planning for the future aren’t unnoticed, and his recognition as a top player in the state is a reflection of the work he puts in.
“He does go above and beyond, and he’s fortunate that his parents allow him these opportunities,” Watson said of the senior Jacket forward. “He goes to ID camps, he travels on weekends, and puts in the work outside of practice. He makes it to his Rush practices two hours away and it just shows everyone else the effort that it takes, and they see it pay off because he scores and creates goals and does so many good things. It shows the younger kids and they want to do it as well, and that’s what we need more in soccer in America.”
Shin keeps himself busy, but he also realizes how fast the time has flown. In just two years, he’s made new friends and a new life for himself, and he’s been able to place his passions at the center of it. The future is bright for him, but he is also taking time to savor the moment and treasure the time before his next big steps.
“It’s been two years and it really doesn’t feel like two years,” Shin said. “It went by so fast. We’ll have a lot of new faces this year so it’ll be a new team, but I’m excited to make the most of my last season.
“I always think about that and that I’ll have to step up as a lead, but I’ve got my senior friends as well. It’ll be a fun year.”
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