Soccer star Vescio Sherry joins NF sports wall
Andrea Vescio Sherry could have pursued any number of options when it came to pursuing a post secondary sports career.
The five-sport athlete at A.N Myer and four-time athlete of the year captained the girls basketball, volleyball and soccer teams to multiple zone and Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships and won Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations silver and bronze medals in tennis.
“Soccer is where it all started and where it became apparent there was the most opportunity for me to play at the next level when I was in high school,” Vescio Sherry said last Sunday after being inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame “I really loved basketball and volleyball and the tennis and badminton were a lot of fun too but soccer was kind of the start of it all.”
At the club level, the former Team Ontario soccer player won Ontario Cups and League Cup championships in Ontario Women’s Soccer League.
“I was lucky to have some natural talent, size and ability and all of my best friends came from my soccer team and I was able to play with my sister a lot. Our parents pushed us to be our best and not give up on it. It was that sense of teamwork and all of the doors that it was naturally opening for me and the skills that I was learning from it. It made it obvious how valuable it was.”
Those skills would end up landing her a scholarship at the University of Buffalo.
“I played at the travel level throughout Ontario with some great teams and we won some Ontario Cup championships. I also did a lot of travelling to tournaments in the States to get some exposure and ended up getting recruited by a couple of D1 schools. I ended up choosing Buffalo just because I really enjoyed my visit there and I liked the idea of my family being able to come to all of my games with it being just over the border.”
The 36-year-old knew it was the right choice as soon as she arrived in Buffalo.
“I really bought into the experience. I wound up being captain and I had a lot of success individually on the team. That was great and it just opened so many doors for me. I did five years because I did an undergrad and a graduate program there and I had a job offer after my third year to start my career full-time in Buffalo.”
She graduated with a bachelor of science in accounting and a MBA and went on to become a CPA.
The East Amherst, N.Y., resident now works remotely for a West Coast insurance company.
She credits her sports training for her successes in the real world.
“That is what it was all about. I learned teamwork, leadership, dedication and time management. There’s a million little things that I could trace back to all the juggling I had to do to play multiple sports at such a high level. That is what has helped me become successful in the business world and just in general like being able to form relationships.”
She is hard-pressed to point to one career highlight.
“Each time I got to go to OFSAA for various sports at A.N. Myer and being inducted into the A.N. Myer Wall of Distinction and here today are highlights for me. But just the journey of playing Division 1 soccer and sacrifices that it takes to be an athlete at that level and how much I grew in those four years at UB and what I learned there is really the pinnacle of it.”
She coached her sons Jackson, 8, and Lucas, 6, in house league soccer and the former has just started his travel league career.
“It has been a experience from this side watching my kids start that journey. It is fun.”
Vescio Sherry described the induction ceremony as super exciting.
“There were so many people here, so many people I know and so many friends and family here to support me. I know some of the other inductees and I am so humbled because it was such an impressive group. To be recognized on this wall really means a lot.”
BPSN is looking for a Niagara Falls business or individual to sponsor our continued coverage of the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame. Please email bpuchalski@cogeco.ca for more information.
