'It's unbelievable': Football continues to grow in Nova Scotia alongside local star Jacob Shaffelburg's CanMNT rise

The kids, who had been a flurry of Cruyff turns and dabber dribbling moments before, have gone still. There is a moment — like a sailboat trapped in irons — where the BMO Soccer Centre seems bereft of all activity: local hero Jacob Shaffelburg's arrival is imminent. The anticipation is both palpable and wholly deafening.

Suddenly, Shaffelburg is amongst them, dressed casually in a t-shirt and dark pants, and everyone gathers to take a group photo. There are over a hundred kids in attendance. Many sport red and white Shaffelburg jerseys. But there could be hundreds more as Soccer Nova Scotia, who have organized the Kickin' It with Shaffelburg event on Wednesday, capped attendance. Over 500 people emailed after the fact to try and snag a spot to meet the Port Williams-native who has helped put Nova Scotia on the footballing world's map.

The available slots, shared Lindsay MacAskill, were filled within two minutes.

"It's amazing to have these kids have someone to look up to on the national stage and inspire them to get to the next level," said MacAskill, who is the executive director for Soccer Nova Scotia. "We are so happy to have this amazing event."

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Jacob Shaffelburg knows he beat the odds. Or more accurately, given his meteoric rise for Canada, widespread popularity in MLS and moniker as Maritime Messi, blew them out of the water. He’s risen to heights he believes, as he’s told several outlets, to be near impossible for a footballer from

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Shaffelburg plays with Nashville SC in Major League Soccer but has risen to household status with his performances with the Canadian Men's National Team (CanMNT). He was once like many of the kids on Wednesday night: a young footballer with a dream. But a lot has changed since Shaffelburg came up through Soccer Nova Scotia's ranks and had to leave home to pursue a professional career.

The landscape, for one, has shifted with more organized clubs at the grassroots level. Registration is also up. As per Soccer Nova Scotia, roughly 25,000 players were registered last summer, giving the province the fifth biggest player base in Canada. The possibility of League1 Atlantic — a semi-professional competition to bridge the gap between amateur football and the Halifax Tides and Wanderers — is being discussed.

And the mere existence of two professional clubs, in the Canadian Premier League and Northern Super League, respectively, is a world ahead pathway-wise compared to when Shaffelburg was looking for opportunities.

Simply put, the last decade has seen football expand in Nova Scotia in a way that would have seemed impossible before.

"It's unbelievable," said Shaffelburg. "Growing up, I wish I had those two teams around. Obviously, I didn't but for all the kids growing up, to have (the Wanderers and Tides) to look up to, it's unbelievable. It's so cool for them to have that."

"Maybe I wouldn't have left (if professional options were in Nova Scotia). Who knows where I'd be if those two teams were around but, for sure, it's a better pathway than it was."

Ben Marsh, a member of the Wanderers' U-21 squad and a coach with Suburban FC, is one player treading the pathway forged in the last couple of years. The 16-year old Fall River-native signed a development contract with the Wanderers ahead of the club's home opener this season and is slated to suit up in the International Summer Series versus AFC Wrexham.

Previously, Marsh played for the Wanderers against English sides like Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough FC, scoring a match-winning goal in front of 4,500 fans in St. John's, N.L.

"I think it's really cool when you get teams like Ipswich, Wrexham, Middlesbrough coming down for pre-season and getting to play with our U-21 team is special. it's proof of the growth in the province," he told reporters.

"For me, it's huge. Growing up in Nova Scotia, for a long time, there really hasn't been that step or that jump to take and now with the Wanderers and the Tides, the game's growing. I think it's huge for all the young kids growing up."

Both the Tides and Wanderers have committed to helping further develop local pathways for players not only to follow their professional dreams but also to achieve their life goals. For example, Yorgos Gavas, a Halifax-born player, was able to parlay his time with the Wanderers U-21s into a scholarship with Drexel University.

Wanderers sporting director Matt Fegan said it's about putting the structure around young players to succeed, whatever their aspirations.

"How many kids in the last 10, 15, 20 years by the age of 15 scored a goal like the one Ben Marsh did in front of 4,500 people? You can’t tell me that wasn’t an amazing experience for them. I think the International Series is a very obvious and visible reflection of our dedication to putting money into creating more development pathways," he told HFX Football Post last year.

But it all starts with little moments and between signing autographs and chatting, there's no doubt Shaffelburg made an impression on the next generation of Nova Scotian footballers this past week. It's something, he shared, he feels passionately about.

"I feel like I have a responsibility to give back as much as possible when I'm home," said Shaffelburg.

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Cover Photo Credit: Soccer Nova Scotia