By: John Dayberry | jdayberry@hickoryrecord.com Published: September 24, 2012 Updated: September 24, 2012 - 12:00 AM

HICKORY As a goalkeeper in high school and college soccer, Jeff Schellenberger looked forward most to the tough matchups, those in which his abilities would be greatly tested.

As coaching director of the Catawba Valley Youth Soccer Association, Schellenberger still relishes a challenge.

I just love to compete, Schellenberger says.

Engage Schellenberger in a conversation about soccer and youll quickly find that he loves most everything about the game.

Soccer requires you to prepare mentally and physically, he says. It takes years of perseverance to develop fully, but if you stick with it youll grow as a player and as a person. And youll make wonderful friends along the way. Thats been true in my life, and I want those things for everybody in the club.

Schellenberger, 50, grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and began playing soccer at age 12. A high school coach encouraged him to play goalkeeper, a position he found he enjoyed and stuck with through college. He earned a B.A. in Psychology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., and went on to earn a Masters in Sports and Recreation Administration at Temple University in Philadelphia.

His years of coaching experience included stints at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pa., Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., and Albright College in Reading, Pa.

He found all three experiences rewarding.

When I joined those programs they werent very good, and when I left they were in pretty good shape, Schellenberger says. I really enjoyed helping those programs grow.

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Coaching director helps Catawba Valley Youth Soccer Association grow