Some student-athletes shine in one sport. Daniella Paulic is making a name for herself in two—while keeping her grades just as strong.
The East Selkirk teen is a rising star in both soccer and track and field, recently earning a place on Team Manitoba’s U17 squad for the 2025 Canada Summer Games, and finishing her Grade 10 year with honours of distinction at Lord Selkirk Regional.
Finding time to juggle it all is no easy task, but Paulic has made it look that way.
“It definitely takes a lot of work,” she said. “Once you’re done practice and you have homework, you just have to come right back and get that done. But I found that making a list and trying your best to get as much sleep as you can—because if you’re running on no sleep at all, it’s really hard to balance that—helps. Making sure that you’re staying up to date on everything, but also still trying your hardest in all your sports to make sure you get the most out of everything.”
Her high-level goalkeeping skills have earned her selections to Team Manitoba, often crowding her schedule with training camps and travel tournaments.
Recently, Paulic was informed she had been selected for the Team Manitoba U17 girls squad for the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L.
Her selection followed a year-long tryout process, which included travel tournaments and camps as Team Manitoba staff gradually trimmed the roster.
She stood out in a recent tournament in Saskatchewan, where she earned Game MVP honours in one of the matchups. The team finished 1–2 at the event.
Now, she’s preparing to represent Manitoba at the Canada Games for the first time—a major opportunity to showcase her talent in front of university scouts.
“I’m looking forward to really getting the opportunity to get exposure out there,” said Paulic. “There are a lot of people coming to scout, and looking for a university to continue soccer and school with is definitely one of my goals when I’m older. I’m also really excited to meet new people. They give you pins for the Games that you can trade around, and I’m really excited to meet some new people from different provinces.”
Paulic’s soccer background has also translated into success in track and field, where she ranks among the top U18 throwers in Manitoba.
At the Kirk Cadman Memorial Classic in early July, she medalled in javelin, shot put and discus.
She also competed in both soccer and track and field at the 2024 Manitoba Summer Games.
“Soccer training has definitely helped me a lot in that category there in track and field,” said Paulic. “You don’t just use your arms—you use your legs to get that power and your hips. A lot of the lower body training that I do for soccer definitely helped in track and field. But also that mental toughness from soccer translated to track.
“There’s definitely way bigger competition in track and field. Some events, you could go there and you’ll have as few as 10 girls, and next time you’ll go to another meet and there’ll be as many as 80. That’s definitely something that could get in your head if you’re not paying attention or not focusing on yourself, and soccer has definitely helped me with that.”
Paulic now shifts her focus to the 2025 Canada Games, which run from Aug. 8 to 25.
