Sheilla ends successful playing career

One of the greatest volleyball players of the last two decades, Brazilian Sheilla Castro ended her tremendously successful playing career on Saturday, in the American Athletes Unlimited league, in Dallas.

In her last match, the 38-year-old opposite took the team she captained to a straight-set (75-54) victory over the squad led by Puerto Rican national team captain Natalia Valentin-Anderson, ending her 22-year playing career with a win.

“There’s a weird mix of happiness and sadness right now,” she commented. “I’m happy to be closing a beautiful chapter of my life. I wanted to be an Olympic champion when I was 14 and I’m proud to say that I’ve accomplished that dream. And, more importantly, I got to inspire and change the lives of so many people that followed my career for more than 20 years. At the same time, I had the court as my safe place during the last 25 years of my life. And to make such a big change makes me sad and insecure. But I’m ready to write a new chapter of my life.”

A staple in the Brazilian national team between 2002 and 2016, Sheilla helped Brazil win their two Olympic gold medals, in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and also represented her country at the Rio 2016 Games. During her time competing internationally, the opposite also won silver medals at both the 2006 and 2010 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championships, gold in seven editions of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix and two in the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup.

After retiring from the national team in 2016, she made a comeback in 2019, helping Brazil win the South American Championship that year. Sheilla’s main goal was to have her fourth Olympic appearance in Tokyo last year, but she didn’t make it into the final list of head coach Jose ‘Ze Roberto’ Guimaraes and ultimately ended her international career with a silver medal at the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.

Sheilla also had a successful club career. The highlight of her club career was probably the victory at the 2012 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship with Brazil’s Osasco, when she was awarded as the MVP, but Sheilla also won national titles in Italy with Pesaro, Turkey with VakifBank and Brazil with Minas and Unilever.

“I was so fortunate to have so many loving fans everywhere in the world,” she said after her last match. “Everywhere I played with the national team or my club teams, I always felt at home. I can only thank them and everyone that helped me in my career since I was 13. Each of them has a part in what I’ve accomplished during my career.”

Sheilla has already started the transition to the next stage of her life as she started working as an assistant coach with Brazilian club Itambe Minas this season.