Megan Silva, Hermitage, Class of 2002
Age: 24
Family: Engaged to Wilson Schultz. They are set to be married September 2010.
Then: Silva was a four-year starter in basketball for the Hermitage Panthers, earning first-team All-Metro honors her senior year. She was also a first-team all-Colonial District selection in softball (shortstop) and volleyball (setter). That's when things got crazy.
Silva went on to have the most decorated career in the history of Randolph-Macon athletics. The 5-6 point guard was a three-time All-American, three-time ODAC player of the year (four-time all-ODAC) and ODAC freshman of the year. She also took home the Jostens Trophy for academic and athletic achievement and community service.
Silva was also chosen the
Honda Division III athlete of the year in 2006 after leading the nation in scoring at 23 points per game.
With all of the success that she had in the athletic arena, what else would Megan Silva be doing other than working with sports.
Silva is now event manager for Richmond Sports Backers, the award-winning sports commission insistent on bringing the best to the Richmond community through athletics.
Who better to get to help out than Silva, who just passed her two-year anniversary with the non-profit company.
After graduation from Randolph-Macon in 2006, Silva didn't know what to do with her bachelor's degree in business economics. So on to VCU's SportsCenter program she went.
She loved it and landed an internship in the spring of 2007 before being hired full-time that May. Now she's off to try to duplicate the impact she helped make at R-MC.
"I certainly put a lot of time and effort into improving my play,"
Silva said. "Basketball is such a team sport. I do really well when I
can feed off of my teammates. I had a really good team.
"It definitely translates [to Sports Backers]. We've experienced working together as a team. It can be tough work just like college basketball."
A Sports Backers event coincides with Silva's arrival - the U.S. Army 3 on 3 Summer Hoops, set for July 25-26 at the Innsbrook Office Park in Glen Allen (
REGISTER HERE!).
Part of the reason she was hired was to get a big basketball event to go with all of the other events Sports Backers already had in motion.
The event drew 120 teams in last year's inaugural showing, and includes not only 3-on-3 play, but dunk (see last year's highlights here), 3-point and dribbling contests and many other prizes and giveaways from sponsors like Fox Richmond, Best Buy and Carmax.
Silva and Sports Backers are looking for 200 teams this year for the event that caters to men and women, boys and girls, young and old.
"We really think the success of last year will help us reach our goal this year," said Silva, who maybe sees herself coaching in the future. "I love my job. It's so cool being surrounded by sports. The atmosphere is awesome.
"I really believe in our mission and how we are impacting our community."
