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10 Questions With UNC Field Hockey Head Coach Karen Shelton on College Recruiting

By Caleb Myers|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on July 18, 2022)

Come back every Monday for Coaching Staff's Advice on the college recruiting process, what they look for in athletes, and what to expect as a college athlete.

Karen Shelton, head coach of the UNC field hockey program, has led the team to nine national championships during her time in Chapel Hill. Coach Shelton shared with 2aDays some advice for aspiring collegiate field hockey players on the recruiting process.

What is the right age for athletes to begin contacting college coaches?

We are not able to speak to recruits until they finish their sophomore year in high school. However, they can start sending us videos during their freshman year. We get watch signals, though, so if I am given their name and know they have interest in our program, I can go to tournaments to watch them and if they stand out, I can go back and see if they have written an email, and pair it up. Basically, I look for standouts and then see if they have indicated interest in the program. It takes initiative to write, so if they have written, it is typically a good thing. Overall, no earlier than going into the ninth grade and going into the tenth grade are the best times to start the process of reaching out.

What is the best way for athletes to contact you?

Because we can't speak with athletes until after the completion of their sophomore year, email is the only way they can reach out to us. However, prior to the ninth grade, athletes who come to campus have the ability to talk to us. I do think that is very early to be thinking about colleges, though.

What is one thing that really jumps out at you when looking at a recruit's highlight video?

Well-produced video is helpful. For example, if the video is taken at field level and you really can't see anything, that doesn't help. If kids want to send videos, they have to spend some time and/or money, depending on if the family has the ability to do the proper video. But I think sending poor video isn't helpful. If you're going to send a video, it has to be well done.

What is the best way for recruits to get on your radar?

By playing well from an early age, and being involved in a club team, you are more likely to be noticed. I do love, though, three-sport-athletes, I love the kids that want to play all-year-round. I like the versatility that comes with this. The club team is not everything, even though I think it is significant and important.

How big of a factor is social media for you when recruiting?

Social media is not a big factor. I'm not that active with my own social media, and I don't add or follow a lot of young kids on my own social media, so I do not think that it is a big factor for me.

Related: Rate Coach Shelton

What is the most important quality you look for in a recruit?

Speed and athleticism. I can teach a lot of skills but I can't really teach a kid to run faster. We can manipulate their speed a little bit, but for the most part, speed is really important. That's why I like the multiple-sport athletes, they tend to stand out in multiple sports because of their athleticism. We look for kids that stand out as really good athletes. I think size to a certain extent matters, if you're big and fast, that's a good thing, even though I am not prodigious against smaller athletes if they have good speed. In our game, it's a game of inches, so if you are big and tall, you have more range and reach, so being of good size is important.

What are your expectations for incoming players in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the field?

What we love is kids that are disciplined, diligent, and accountable for their responsibilities. I think it is really important that kids who have certain things to do take care of their responsibilities, not be irresponsible and have their parents do everything for them. So, discipline, paying attention to detail, and being mature to speak for themselves and handle their own responsibilities, is, I think, very important.

What is one piece of advice you have for recruits?

This may be common, but look for schools that interest you whether you are playing a sport or not. The academics, the size–there are a lot of reasons why kids select schools, so the important thing is to pick a great school and see if the field hockey program matches. Do you like the coaching staff? Try to get to camp if you can; that gives you a better insight. You can't talk about recruiting but you can get a sense for the players on the team, of the head coach, of the assistant coaches. I know everybody can't do that. If you have 10 schools on your list, it's hard to get to 10 camps, but if you have a top 5, then you might be able to get to camps and get a sense before the recruiting process starts.

Do you have any advice for a recruit that may consider UNC their dream school but get turned down?

I think it is important to have the dream school, but you also have your safe backup. So, a school that you know you would be happy at. I think that's really important for kids to have one school that they know would be okay, it might not be that dream school, but they've got to have that backup. Especially at Carolina, we get a lot of interest, and we can't take everyone, so it really is important to have that safety school.

Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way you recruit or what you look for in recruits? If so, how?

No, but I feel like it has kind of hurt the class of 2024 and 2025 because we haven't been able to see as much as we did in years previously. We kind of had a two-year pause. I think those kids haven't been seen. That's why the tournament I'm going to next week is really important to look at the U14 and U16 athletes. The classes of 2024 and 2025 missed a little bit of recruiting time. I think other than that, we've done okay, and now it's time to get back to business as usual.

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