then and now - Blue & White Online

LEFT: Forward Elizabeth Stephens (left) makes a move toward the goal, pursued by Syracuse’s LizMcInerney. RIGHT: Forward/midfielder Abby Frey takes a shot at the goal. FAR RIGHT: Midfielder KelseyKolojejchick goes up against an opponent to take a shot at the goal.university careers in a dynamic that Loughran calls “monotonous,”she says that attending school in the United States ismore symbolic of one’s independence.“It’s very liberal and I like that. It gives you a chance tofind your own feet,” the sophomore says.A “late bloomer” compared to other girls playing fieldhockey, Loughran didn’t start playing competitively until shewas 14 years old. After hearing about Carolina through anemployee of her father’s and attending a field hockey camp atUNC-CH during her junior year of high school, she couldn’timagine enrolling anywhere else.Loughran’s experience on the field hockey team sincethen has been a positive push toward excellence.“It’s an honor to feel not only part of a team and a legacy,but part of a family,” says Loughran. “Every day we trainhard and encourage each other to get better. It’s like anunspoken bond we all have.”For teammate Katie Ardrey, who grew up in London, thecultural gap wasn’t nearly as large. The biggest adjustmentfor her was simply playing even more field hockey, which shebegan at a young age.“My mum played (field hockey) growing up and stillplays now,” Ardrey says. “She dragged me to training sessionsand I developed a talent for it.”Similar to her fellow international teammates, Ardreynotes the difficulty of maintaining family contact from sucha removed distance. “I miss my family. It’s hard when we goto the Final Four and ACC’s because everyone’s parents arethere,” Ardrey says. “But Carolina field hockey is such a bigfamily and everyone is so comforting that I’m not sad for toolong.”Head Coach Karen Shelton notes that diversity is nothingnew for the field hockey team.“Most times it requires a full scholarship for the studentand it’s a difficult process getting them admitted, but we’vebeen mostly successful,” Shelton says. “Having them on theteam provides a great learning experience for everyone.”Shelton, who is in her 31st season of coaching at Carolina,began her own field hockey career at West Chester Universityin Pennsylvania where she studied health and physical education.The women’s team won three national championshipswhile Shelton played for the school, after which she went onto play for both the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic teams. TheCarolina coach even won a bronze medal at the ’84 Olympicsin Los Angeles.Shelton brings this impressive background to the tablewhen preparing the team for practices and games. Before everypractice the team gathers in a state of the art media roomto discuss the day’s strategies and goals. The coaching staffalso videotapes every game, isolating footage of each player tobe discussed individually later; something Shelton says is “agreat teaching tool.”Although the team has a winning tradition, Sheltonstresses that they can’t lose focus. “‘Talent is never enough,’”she says, quoting a mantra from a book of the same title byJohn Maxwell that the entire team read before the start ofthe season.“You can’t look ahead, you can’t look back and you justhave to live in the moment,” Shelton says.Shelton outlined several goals for the upcoming season, inwhich she expects Old Dominion University and the Universityof Maryland to present the greatest challenges.“Defense needs to be more of a priority; we’re too casualabout it sometimes,” Shelton says. “I have always believedthat defense wins championships.”Looking to capture its seventh NCAA championshipand 17th ACC title this year, the women’s field hockey teamplans to utilize its family-like bond and mental toughness formotivation. And, with a roster as diverse as the strategies inits playbook, the team seems well on its way to this goal.However, Shelton expresses a joy that has nothing to dowith winning championships.“I love working with these girls all four years of school. Ican watch them grow from wide-eyed freshmen to matureyoung women. I have a remarkable career.”&24 September 2011