After making waves with a midseason trade from the North Carolina Courage to Gotham FC, we sat down with Jaedyn Shaw to learn more about how she’s settling into the New York/New Jersey area, the growth of women’s sports, and what she hopes for the next generation of soccer players.

TOGETHXR: Congratulations on the record-breaking move to Gotham. What's it like to be a part of such a historic moment like that?

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JAEDYN: Yeah, honestly, it's like...kind of hard to describe. Obviously, someone paying a certain number for you is an interesting thing to even think about, but I'm extremely grateful to the club. For me, that's just a testament to them wanting to invest in me and seeing my potential — even when I'm in a position where I wasn't playing my best or playing a lot of minutes. [Gotham] seeing me at that… sort of, low in my professional career, is something that was very motivating for me to go and give my all to the club. I'm extremely blessed to be in women's sports at this time, for numbers like that to be popping out — and for people to really be seeing the growth of women's sports with Alyssa's deal, Naomi's deal, and all those things are just a testament to the growth of women's soccer. It's amazing to be here at this time.

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TOGETHXR: The international transfer record has been broken four times already this year. As you said, we've seen unprecedented growth — but what do you want the generation behind you, that next wave of players, to be coming into? What do you hope for them?

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JAEDYN: My hope for them is that it doesn't become about the numbers. Obviously, it's really big, and all of those things are amazing for women's sports as a whole. But I also don't want to lose that feeling that we’re here to play because we love it. Regardless of who's paying what amount for me to play for them, I don't even really pay attention to that kind of stuff. It's really just about, is it the right fit for me? Am I going to be successful, and am I going to help the team? I hope those numbers continue to grow, but I also want the mentality to stay the same. I think that's ultimately what's gotten us to this point.

TOGETHXR: You’re probably still getting acclimated to the New York/New Jersey area. What are you most excited about in this new setting, both on the field and off?

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JAEDYN: Yeah, I was really only in Jersey for 24 hours, and then I left because we've been on the road. On the field, I’m excited to be playing in front of an incredible community. The community of the Gotham family seems great, and I'm excited to be a part of it and to be playing with incredible players — Rose [Lavelle], [Emily] Sonnett, Esther [González], everyone is at such a high level. 

Off the field, being close to New York, it'll be fun to go into the city and do different things. I feel like I kind of manifested this a little bit, because some of my friends from San Diego and I went to New York City for New Year's last year. Just being around the city is so fun. So it'll be fun to get in there and go to different sporting events, see the city, and eat some good food. I'm a foodie, so it'll be fun to try some new things. And being in the cold — I'm excited for the layering, Fashion Week, all of it.

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TOGETHXR: Yeah, that's definitely a challenge you probably haven't had to deal with as much, being from Texas and living in San Diego. Coming from Texas, you also have a Vietnamese background, and now you're moving to the New York/New Jersey area. That's a lot of different cultural influences. Is there anything specific about any of those parts of who you are that have really helped shape where you're at now?

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JAEDYN: It’s such a hard question, because I feel like every place that I've been to has helped nurture some part of my background. I don't really say no to much, I'm always down to do something new. The Asian population is very big there [in San Diego], so I was able to eat all the foods from my childhood and be around a lot of people. I met some friends through my younger brother’s baseball team that are also Vietnamese and loved being around people that are of similar background. Obviously, New York to Jersey is going to be very diverse, and I feel like it's going to be a really easy fit for me. I don't necessarily go looking for it, but I think you can find certain pockets of different cities that have whatever caters to you.

TOGETHXR: The New York/New Jersey area is such a melting pot of so many cultures, fashion, food — all the things. Is there one specific New York stereotype that you're excited to do? Go to Times Square, eat the famous pizza, or anything like that on your to-do list?

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JAEDYN: Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is thrifting. I don't know if it's a stereotype, but I feel like the fashion in New York is just going to be better than everywhere else. So I am excited to go shopping. I'm excited to just walk around, see different stores, walk around Soho, and just enjoy it. I'm going to go to Times Square, too.

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TOGETHXR: Are you a Broadway girly? Are you going to see any shows?

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JAEDYN: As of right now, I haven't really experienced much of that. But I'm honestly down to go to anything. If there's a show, then I'll go and see if I like it. If I don't, oh, well. But, yeah, I'm, like, kind of sick because Midge [Purce] and I were actually just talking about how sick we are that we missed New York Fashion Week. It should be mandated that [Gotham] has to be home that week of New York Fashion Week. It should not be allowed that we're away for that week.

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TOGETHXR: Sorry, schedulers. Next season, you’ve got to make sure Gotham is home for New York Fashion Week. 

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JAEDYN: I know. Good PR, hello!

TOGETHXR: Are there any parts of your game that you've been really focused on improving that you're excited to get to showcase in a new environment?

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JAEDYN: Good question. I've been working on a lot of my defensive actions, like pressing, recoveries, and reaction to losing the ball. All of those have been consistent things that pop up when I'm talking to coaches about what I need to improve and continue to focus on. When I was at the Courage, training a lower role — a more defensive role— I was able to really focus on that more, because it's similar to when you're higher up on the field, but if you mess it up, you're getting scored on. You really have to focus on it. This year, I've put in a lot more tackles than I normally do, so that part of my game has improved a lot this year — and I'm going to continue to work on it. 

I would also say unselfish movements, not necessarily movements for myself to get the ball, but to open up space for others to get the ball. Especially now, being in Gotham with so many really good players around. How can I make space for either myself or someone else to get the ball? It'll be fun to see that grow over the next few games.

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TOGETHXR: In your first match with your new team, you subbed in and scored an incredible goal. What did it feel like to come in and immediately make an impact? 

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JAEDYN: All the staff and players made it easy for me to come in and adapt. I had so many meetings just about how they do things here, how... you know, structurally, what does it look like? Like, where am I supposed to be? What is my role? All of those things were very clear when I got here.

Also, everyone has tendencies — knowing that everyone likes it when you pass it back to top of the box — that whipped-in ball. Being on the same page with incredibly smart players makes it easy to read the flow of the game, even when I haven't trained with them for very long. Jaelin [Howell] got the ball in a really great spot — I had to adjust my positioning a little bit, but it was a great ball. I knew she was going to do it before she even swung her leg. When you're playing with such smart players, you can just read off of each other and know what each other's tendencies are.

TOGETHXR: Looking toward the rest of the season, do you have any specific goals or things you're working toward in your new journey with Gotham?

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JAEDYN: Yeah, just pushing through this adaptation period to become more fluid with everyone, and getting more comfortable, since I’ve only played one game. Getting used to the environment here is my main focus. I want to play, impact, and help the team win, score more goals if that's what I'm asked to do, or get assists — make things happen. I'm coming here to be myself and play the way that I know how. That's been very clear from the coaching staff — that that's all they want me to do and nothing more, nothing less. That's why I feel so comfortable coming into this environment — they just want me to be me and play like me. If I make a mistake, that's fine. If I don't, great. I'm just going to be myself, and I'm going to play the way that I know how and just have fun with it, honestly.

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TOGETHXR: What's one thing you want people to know about Jaedyn Shaw? 

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JAEDYN: Some people know this about me because I've made some moves this year, but I'm not afraid to take risks and take that leap of faith for myself and my career. That's something that is really important that I've learned from my parents. They've really helped support me in that. I'm never going to be afraid or write anything off when an opportunity presents itself. I'm going to do all of my due diligence. I'm going to pray about it. I'm going to have faith in it, and I'm just going to go for it. If it goes well, great. If it doesn't, that's okay too. 

I am really grateful for all the opportunities that I've gotten and all of the experiences that I've had, especially in the last year. I've grown so much from it. Moving forward, that's what I'm going to continue to take with me. That's the thing that's never going to change about me, regardless of where I am in my career.