Nadi'ya Shelby of Friendswood Volleyball
Ty Shelby paved the way, leading the Mustang defense on the football field. He now plays for the San Diego Chargers.
Then came Braylan Shelby, a 6-foot-5 outside linebacker carved from stone. He has just enrolled at USC.
And then there is not-so-little sister NaDi’ya Shelby, who may be the best athlete of them all.
The 6-foot-2 super-athlete was the Greater Houston Volleyball Coaches Association Newcomer of the Year as a lethal outside hitter; a first-team, all-district selection in basketball and the district champion in the long jump.
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“It’s so surreal to see my brothers have so much success who came before me” she said of her family. “The expectations are there for me but it’s more internal. I want to be great too and take my game to the next level. I want to make my dreams come true, just like they have."
“We have always been competitive in our household,” she laughed. “We laugh about it today. We would call each other out on the driveway playing basketball about who was going to take whose ‘ankles’. We are each other’s biggest critics, but also each other’s biggest fans.”
She started playing volleyball in the sixth grade for AVA volleyball, before moving to Houston Skyline. She was playing AAU basketball before that.
2023-24 Friendswood VolleyballBradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“I saw the college girls in practice when I was little hitting the balls so hard,” she said. “I just watched how high they could jump. They were giants just killing the ball. From then on, I knew I wanted to do that.”
Now, she is that girl with pending options in multiple sports.
“I’m looking at playing multiple sports in college if possible,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to play one of those sports at the professional level.”
Shelby works feverishly on her development as she time-blocked her days during the summer.
“I’d get up like 7 am and get in a workout. Then I would read my book for a while. Then I’d watch some film of either volleyball or basketball before noon,” she said. “In the afternoons I would get in some skills practice in either sport. I will either work on my shot in basketball or the curve running the 200 meters. Then it’s off to volleyball practice across town, and then I go to bed.”
The avid reader loves action and comedy novels and can “finish a book in a day”.
It’s no shock that she is a tremendous student with her ability to put in hard work. The AP student is a beast in the classroom.
What else does she have time for?
“I love creating,” she laughed. “I like making bracelets, working with young kids or baking. I love to bake.”
There is nothing this super-woman can’t do.
