Karen Shelton

Karen Christina Shelton (born November 14, 1957 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a former field hockey player from the United States, who was a member of the national team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

Shelton spent the first ten years of her life on army bases from Aberdeen, Maryland to El Paso, Texas, because her late father, James, was a lieutenant colonel. She was in fifth grade when her father retired and the family moved to Pennsylvania. Shelton also played basketball and lacrosse and competed in track and field, but growing up in the cradle of field hockey, that was the game she grew to love.

At West Chester State College, Shelton played on three national championship field hockey teams and one national championship lacrosse team. Three times she was named field hockey's national player of the year, a streak that has never been equaled and has been approached only by two-time winner Cindy Werley, a UNC player from 1993-1997 who won the honor in 1996 and 1997. Shelton earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1979, then spent one year as assistant coach at Franklin & Marshall College while also teaching and coaching at Middle Township High School in New Jersey.

She was a member of the US National Team from 1977-1984. Apart from the LA Olympics her international experience also includes the 1979 and 1983 Hockey World Cup competitions and American Cup tournaments in 1982 and 1983. She was US Field Hockey's Athlete of the Year in 1983 and was inducted into the USFHA Hall of Fame in 1989 for her achievements as a player, and in 2007 for her coaching achievements. In 1999, she was named the Delaware County Field Hockey Athlete of the Millennium by the "Delaware County Daily Times".

Highlights

* U.S. National Team member (1978-84)
* Member of the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Woman's Olympic Field Hockey team
* U.S. Olympic bronze medalist in field hockey (1984)
* Head coach at UNC Chapel Hill (1981- )
* Record of 424-125-9 in 26 seasons*
* Four-time National Coach of the Year (1994,’95,’96,’07)
* Eight-time ACC Coach of the Year (1986, 1987 ,1988, 1989, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2007). Shelton has won the honor more times than any coach in league history.
* Coach of NCAA Championship teams in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2007
* UNC Field Hockey ACC Championships with Shelton coaching: 16*
* NCAA appearances with Shelton coaching: 24
* Inducted into the U.S. Field Hockey Association Hall of Fame (1989)

as of the end of the 2007 regular season*

External Links

* [http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-fieldh/spec-rel/010708aaa.html Shelton Honored For Outstanding Season, Career]
* [http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-fieldh/unc-w-fieldh-body.html Official UNC Field Hockey Page]