SE: Welsh Roots Run Deep for Shannon Dukes
Jul 02, 2021 | Soccer, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
The only European player on K-State Soccer spent her summer in a town by the sea in Wales.
The town has a name that makes Shannon Dukes smile every time the public address announcer at Buser Family Park tries to pronounce "Penrhyndeudraeth" before introducing her.
Her summer job is only a little easier to explain.
"You know like really old trains, the ones with coal and stuff? That's a tourist attraction here. These trains that still run on steam engines," she explains. "I work on the train platform."
Thousands of tourists arrive in Penrhyndeudraeth every summer, taking in the Welsh countryside and some stunning views of the Irish Sea across the region's historic railway.
Most of them are unaware that the woman on the train platform is days away from flying to Kansas to begin her third season with K-State Soccer. She would be surprised if any of them have heard of the Wildcats - Big 12 country doesn't quite reach the mountains of North Wales.
But her former club, Everton, carries a little more weight in this part of the world.
And her national team, one Dukes has captained at the youth level, just spent the summer competing at the Euros, one of the biggest soccer tournaments on earth, with a national anthem that makes you wonder if you'll ever be as proud of anything as Welsh fans are of Wales.
"The lyrics mean a lot," Dukes said. "It's in Welsh, which not many people still speak around here, but everyone knows the anthem. It just resonates with people. And it feels good to sing it when you're wearing that red shirt and standing next to everyone. I don't know how else to explain it."
The list of soccer players who will ever play for their country is a short one. Dukes has been on it since she was a teenager, doing homework in her car on the two-hour drive to Liverpool.
That's where she spent five seasons with Everton Ladies FC, playing in the academy at one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a city where the game is woven into the fabric of Merseyside.
Not bad for a former ballerina from North Wales.
"My earliest memory is probably begging my mom to sign me up for soccer. I was really into ballet when I was younger, but when I went to school, all my friends were signing up for the U6 league," Dukes said. "My mom was like, 'No, you won't like it,' but I begged her to sign me up and I literally haven't stopped playing since."
Soccer has a massive following in Wales, but Dukes quickly found herself struggling to find competition in Penrhyndeudraeth. At one point, she was playing on three different teams.
"I was playing for one of the local girls sides, a boys academy at the highest level of soccer in Wales and then I was playing for the boys and girls team in my local town," Dukes said.
By the time she was 12, Dukes was on the radar for the national team. She was invited to her first youth national team camp, before making her international debut with Wales at 14.
It was a rise that not only outpaced the level of competition in the Welsh countryside, but the resources available for women's soccer players looking to make the game part of their life.
Right around the time Dukes signed with Everton, the tide was beginning to turn.
"They're definitely investing more into it these days, but for me to play the high standard I needed to get to K-State, I had to travel to Liverpool, which is two hours away. That was the nearest place with quality sides," she said. "Once I got to the stage where I wanted to make the national team or maybe become a professional soccer player, I had to go elsewhere."
When she arrived at Everton, Dukes found herself competing against some of the top players in Europe, training twice a week at the club's youth academy. She would get home from school, her dad would get home from work and they would hit the road by 4 p.m.
That commute down the coast put her in Liverpool by 6 p.m. and after a quick nap in the car, Dukes had time to practice with the club before heading back home to Wales after dark.
"The facilities were always a really good standard, but when I first started, we were playing at a high school ground," she said. "As they got more serious and I was with the U23 team, we were at the official training ground, Finch Farm, three times a week."
Looking back now on her days of doing homework in the car before practice at a Premier League training ground, Dukes said the experience taught her discipline.
Get your schoolwork done. Balance class and soccer. Focus on fitness. Her time with the Toffees wasn't all that different from the responsibilities Dukes would encounter as a student-athlete.
"I had to get it done, there was no question about it," she said. "Another part, and this was about coming to K-State as well, is adapting. I'm from Wales, and while there's no major difference from the people in Liverpool, they were all city kids and I'm like a country kid. When I came to K-State, it was all about adapting to those different personalities and upbringings."
It was a similar story with the Welsh national team.
Working under the coach of the senior national team, who oversaw the country's youth program, Dukes got her "first taste of real fitness."
"I was 16 at the time and you just question everything when you're running," Dukes said. "I'm going to regret saying this on Monday, but now I'm looking forward to running with Cav [Strength & Conditioning Coach Danny Cavender]. Running on your own, you have to push yourself, but running with everyone else is nice because at least you're dying together."
Since she arrived in Manhattan in 2019, Dukes has played herself into the future of a K-State defense looking to replace several key contributors in the fall. The Wildcats saw Avery Green graduate and Silke Bonnen become the first Wildcat in program history to turn pro in Denmark.
After starting five matches as a sophomore, Dukes looks to be a factor for the 'Cats in 2021.
Nobody wearing a K-State Soccer crest this season has traveled farther to get to Buser Family Park, but Dukes is already focused on helping the Wildcats take the next step.
"I'm just excited for year three," she said. "Let's see where it takes us."
The only European player on K-State Soccer spent her summer in a town by the sea in Wales.
The town has a name that makes Shannon Dukes smile every time the public address announcer at Buser Family Park tries to pronounce "Penrhyndeudraeth" before introducing her.
Her summer job is only a little easier to explain.
"You know like really old trains, the ones with coal and stuff? That's a tourist attraction here. These trains that still run on steam engines," she explains. "I work on the train platform."
Thousands of tourists arrive in Penrhyndeudraeth every summer, taking in the Welsh countryside and some stunning views of the Irish Sea across the region's historic railway.
Most of them are unaware that the woman on the train platform is days away from flying to Kansas to begin her third season with K-State Soccer. She would be surprised if any of them have heard of the Wildcats - Big 12 country doesn't quite reach the mountains of North Wales.
But her former club, Everton, carries a little more weight in this part of the world.
And her national team, one Dukes has captained at the youth level, just spent the summer competing at the Euros, one of the biggest soccer tournaments on earth, with a national anthem that makes you wonder if you'll ever be as proud of anything as Welsh fans are of Wales.
"The lyrics mean a lot," Dukes said. "It's in Welsh, which not many people still speak around here, but everyone knows the anthem. It just resonates with people. And it feels good to sing it when you're wearing that red shirt and standing next to everyone. I don't know how else to explain it."
The list of soccer players who will ever play for their country is a short one. Dukes has been on it since she was a teenager, doing homework in her car on the two-hour drive to Liverpool.
That's where she spent five seasons with Everton Ladies FC, playing in the academy at one of the biggest clubs in the world, in a city where the game is woven into the fabric of Merseyside.
Not bad for a former ballerina from North Wales.
"My earliest memory is probably begging my mom to sign me up for soccer. I was really into ballet when I was younger, but when I went to school, all my friends were signing up for the U6 league," Dukes said. "My mom was like, 'No, you won't like it,' but I begged her to sign me up and I literally haven't stopped playing since."
Soccer has a massive following in Wales, but Dukes quickly found herself struggling to find competition in Penrhyndeudraeth. At one point, she was playing on three different teams.
"I was playing for one of the local girls sides, a boys academy at the highest level of soccer in Wales and then I was playing for the boys and girls team in my local town," Dukes said.
By the time she was 12, Dukes was on the radar for the national team. She was invited to her first youth national team camp, before making her international debut with Wales at 14.
It was a rise that not only outpaced the level of competition in the Welsh countryside, but the resources available for women's soccer players looking to make the game part of their life.
Right around the time Dukes signed with Everton, the tide was beginning to turn.
"They're definitely investing more into it these days, but for me to play the high standard I needed to get to K-State, I had to travel to Liverpool, which is two hours away. That was the nearest place with quality sides," she said. "Once I got to the stage where I wanted to make the national team or maybe become a professional soccer player, I had to go elsewhere."
When she arrived at Everton, Dukes found herself competing against some of the top players in Europe, training twice a week at the club's youth academy. She would get home from school, her dad would get home from work and they would hit the road by 4 p.m.
After 5 and a half years at Everton, this next challenge is something I look forward to. Thank you to every individual who has helped me get to where I am today, I appreciate it so very much.
— Shannon Dukes (@shannondukes_) April 8, 2019
Cannot wait to get started at Kansas State University and get on the pitch in July 💜 https://t.co/fXnCfDaFzB
That commute down the coast put her in Liverpool by 6 p.m. and after a quick nap in the car, Dukes had time to practice with the club before heading back home to Wales after dark.
"The facilities were always a really good standard, but when I first started, we were playing at a high school ground," she said. "As they got more serious and I was with the U23 team, we were at the official training ground, Finch Farm, three times a week."
Looking back now on her days of doing homework in the car before practice at a Premier League training ground, Dukes said the experience taught her discipline.
Get your schoolwork done. Balance class and soccer. Focus on fitness. Her time with the Toffees wasn't all that different from the responsibilities Dukes would encounter as a student-athlete.
"I had to get it done, there was no question about it," she said. "Another part, and this was about coming to K-State as well, is adapting. I'm from Wales, and while there's no major difference from the people in Liverpool, they were all city kids and I'm like a country kid. When I came to K-State, it was all about adapting to those different personalities and upbringings."
It was a similar story with the Welsh national team.
Working under the coach of the senior national team, who oversaw the country's youth program, Dukes got her "first taste of real fitness."
"I was 16 at the time and you just question everything when you're running," Dukes said. "I'm going to regret saying this on Monday, but now I'm looking forward to running with Cav [Strength & Conditioning Coach Danny Cavender]. Running on your own, you have to push yourself, but running with everyone else is nice because at least you're dying together."
Since she arrived in Manhattan in 2019, Dukes has played herself into the future of a K-State defense looking to replace several key contributors in the fall. The Wildcats saw Avery Green graduate and Silke Bonnen become the first Wildcat in program history to turn pro in Denmark.
After starting five matches as a sophomore, Dukes looks to be a factor for the 'Cats in 2021.
Nobody wearing a K-State Soccer crest this season has traveled farther to get to Buser Family Park, but Dukes is already focused on helping the Wildcats take the next step.
"I'm just excited for year three," she said. "Let's see where it takes us."
Players Mentioned
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Track and Field | Sights & Sounds Steve Miller Invitational
Monday, February 23
