The RamRoll

NEW PERSPECTIVE HELPS SHACKLETTE STEER RAMS
9-8-09
By Chris Kowalczyk

When Kelly McQuade says Lindsay Shacklette ‘is like having another coach on the field,’ she isn’t recycling a tired cliche, she really means it. That’s because Shacklette, a senior on VCU’s Field Hockey squad, spends her offseason on the sidelines as a field hockey camp counselor and assistant coach with the High Voltage U19 squad in Northern Virginia.

Shacklette, a Fredericksburg, Va. native, didn’t necessarily get into coaching for strategic advantage, but it’s certainly paying off for the Rams.

“[Shacklette] has probably the single most improved skills of anybody on the team,” McQuade said. “I attribute that to coaching. Once you have to start telling other people where to go, it helps you a lot too. It’s really helped her field awareness.”

Shacklette, who shares captain duties with fellow senior Rachel Krumm, also believes her time on the bench is translating when she steps onto the Cary Street turf.

“Coaching and working with players, seeing when they do something wrong, it really helps me understand the game better,” Shacklette said.

It’s a good thing too, because in her four years, Shacklette has played virtually everywhere on VCU’s midfield line. This season, she’s found a home at the left inner slot. Most days, she’ll be asked to help shut down one of the opposition’s top offensive threats. Additionally, McQuade is looking for Shacklette to produce scoring opportunities from the left side, where the Rams have struggled to generate offense in recent years.  

Shacklette’s play often doesn’t show up on a box score – she’s hasn’t scored a goal in 56 collegiate matches – but the proof of her outstanding play on the field, and leadership in the huddle, is in VCU’s 3-0 record this season. It’s the first time the Rams have opened a season with three straight wins since the 1989 season.

“She’s taken this leadership role very seriously,” McQuade said. “This is the best fitness level she’s come back in. She’s just a beast. She’s quicker than she’s ever been. I think that’s really helped with the team as well, because she’s leading by example.”

To those close to the VCU Field Hockey program, it’s no surprise that Shacklette would flourish as a leader. The diminutive midfielder is known as a tireless worker and goal-oriented achiever. A Dean’s List student, Shacklette graduated third in her high school class. Shacklette is enrolled in VCU’s accounting program, which allows students to complete both their bachelor’s and master’s simultaneously. She has done so while carrying a near-perfect grade point average.

“I’ve always been really big with goals,” Shacklette admits. “I’m a big goal setter and planner. I played a lot of sports in high school, and it forces you to stay on top of school work and stay motivated.”

McQuade and Shacklette both hope that motivation helps carry the Rams into the win column. It’s year three of McQuade’s rebuilding project at VCU, one Shacklette thinks is beginning to bear fruit.

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