"Coach Mel was my favorite coach in my entire lacrosse career because she made it fun and brought a fresh vibe each practice. Most coaches are repetitive/monotonous, talk too much rather than letting us play and lack organization and communication. Coach Mel was on top of everything all the time, which set us up for success to compete at the highest level! Highly recommend! "

"As a player, I had a great experience being coached by Coach Melody. She brought a positive vibe and energy to each practice as well as higher level concepts that other teams didn't have. Since she is a college ref, she taught us the game inside out and how to play to the rules which gave us that edge. She was always planning fun things for our team to do outside of practice to bond, my favorite was the ropes course! Her first year I was skeptical because she didn't have an assistant coach, but we won the conference and flew to Detroit to compete in the National Championship. That says so much about her organization, communication, planning and professionalism. Most teams have 3-4 assistant coaches, but I respected the work she put in, to ensure our college lacrosse experience was positive and valuable. Miss her! "

"I learned so much from Coach Mel. My HS coach was new to the game but did her best to teach us, but the amount if knowledge Coach Mel brought to our team was above and beyond. My game improved tremendously and i’m so thankful she saw who I was as a person and athlete and trusted that I would put the work in to improve. I was a sub my first year and then worked hard to get playing time my second year. She was always motivating, reached out to check in on me and was always positive towards my growth and journey in the game. When playing in games, I saw the game from a different lenses because of what she taught me to look for, hoe and when to move where and how to benefit my team all over the field. I miss her everyday as she was a great role model and leader for our team. "

"As parents, we sent our daughter to SCAD because of Coach Shotwell. The program was very unstable prior to her attendance with 4 coaches in 4 years. What she was able to do in her 3 years of rebuilding, was phenomenal to watch. The roster was depleted and with what she had, she made lemonade by changing the culture to what a college lacrosse program is supposed to be. On many occasions she held my daughter accountable for her effort level and actions, which is what I expected for her personal growth away from home. Players were continually praised for their efforts and dedication with things like Queen Bee on Fridays or post-game, which my daughter was so excited to call home about. Our family also enjoyed watching how the program would give back to the community in many different ways because being an athlete, is much more than X’s and O’s. Coach Shotwell really developed them to be great women off the field as well. As an alumni now, she still talks about the positive impact she made on our daughter and still reaches out to catch up. Thats the sign of a great leader and mentor. Best of luck to Coach Shotwells next team, SCAD Lacrosse will never be the same without her. "

"Everyone misses Coach Mel! Im currently on the team and know that none of these things mentioned are true. She always had our best interest in mind and challenged us to compete and improve on and off the field! Its upsetting some cant move on. Best of luck to Coach Mel and her new team! "

"No one is missing Mel on the team! In fact we are all talking about what a pleasure it is to have a new coach who is not playing head games with us and abusing our bodies by running us into the ground. Mel never took anyone to the doctor's in fact she would require us to go to the urgent care if we missed on day of practice for the common cold. She was delusional thinking it was a family feeling on the team. I would hate to be in her "family" if she treated them the way she treated us. Of course she had he favorites which she would go party with and even allow those players to come to practice with hangovers. But god forbid someone had an injury/surgery she would question their loyalty to the team. There was even a time when she would make players wear choke collar if they messed up just to belittle them. Mel should never be allowed to oversee young ladies growth and development again. The truth shines through her that she is abusive and has no respect for the players! "

"Our current team really misses Coach Mel in every aspect. Her knowledge for the game inside and out, her passion to make every practice different, fun and competitive and her thoughtfulness to plan team bonding and fun activities at practice to build our team chemistry, continue to make lacrosse fun and get us all thinking about the game from a different lens.. Our team chemistry this year isn't the same, we are lacking that family feeling she created on our team and we connections on the field which has us playing timid. She truly cared about making our college experience enjoyable and now it just seems like we are just going through the motions every day to get through practice and some of us dread going now. Our team is not as fit as we were under Coach Mel, which has us worried for our competitiveness this season. She held us to a high standard and really understood what each of us needed to be successful on the field and our hard work paid off!! Her spirit and positivity is missed daily but know she is thriving and making others lacrosse experience enjoyable too! Best coach iv ever had! "

"My husband and I are so grateful our daughter got to play for Coach Mel! She was always so positive and my daughter loved earning Queen Bee in the Fall for her fitness achievements and also in the spring for playing well in games!! That positive reinforcement and recognition was so great for the team! She always kept the parents in the loop and our tailgates at home and away games were so special to build relationships with the other parents. She is more than a coach to her players and even took my daughter to the doctors when she was sick. That is reassuring as a Mom to know she is taken care of mentally and physically away from home. There will always be negative people in every group, but we loved Coach Mel and were so thankful for all that she did for our daughter and know she will be successful in her next venture! "

"As an official for Coach Shotwell’s team on many games in her career, arriving to the field, our crew knew that we would be reffing a clean and safe game because she was a student of the game and always knew the rules inside and out. Her players always had that competitive edge because of her deep knowledge and dedication in the game. Many games, her team would be drastically the better team, but they never blew them out by running up the score like every other team would do; they intentionally avoided scoring which taught all players at the game a better lesson. I witnessed her team even give their opponent, hand written letters after a game or engage in a post-game prayer with the opponents. She coached her players to play with class and to honor the game. Her captains always spoke to the officials with respect and thanked us for being there and she was always respectful to the officiating crew while coaching. It was always a pleasure to work her games and she will be missed, but know the grass is greener where she will end up! "

"Thank you coach Mel for an amazing college lacrosse experience!! You always motivated us to be better players and people on and off the field. We miss you, but know you will benefit any team in so many ways!! <3 "

"This is a really easy review. Those that are invested in the team prospered. Those that were there to just go through the motions did not. The ones that “went through the motions” are the ones that were constantly upset about their position on the team. If you don’t put the work in, you don’t get paid. Coach Shotwell certainly had favorites. Her favorites were the ones that showed up early, the ones that did more than she asked, the ones that didn’t skip reps behind her back, and the ones that what team success above their own success. I witnessed a few selfish players on this team. People worried about their own statistics and their own playing time, not seeing the big picture of something greater on the horizon. That small handful of players was enough to ruin something that was on the verge of a championship. Good luck to Coach Shotwell, wherever you land. As for the rest of you, hopefully you learn to work as a team instead of against your team. "

"Coach Mel put me through absolute hell and made me question my love for lacrosse, something I used to be passionate about. When she first arrived, things were fine. Our first year together was strong; the team felt connected, and the atmosphere was positive. But starting in my second year, everything changed for the worse. She became manipulative, controlling, and retaliatory toward players who asked questions or tried to advocate for themselves. There’s no positive reinforcement, only constant criticism. Players are afraid to speak up because she punishes anyone who challenges her. It’s a culture of fear, not growth. The lack of support and constant negativity has taken a serious toll on my mental health. Sleepless nights, anxiety, stress, and declining academic performance. I used to love lacrosse, but eventually it reached the point where I considered giving up my scholarship because it had become so miserable. Examples of her behavior include: During the Muhlenberg game, she asked the team, “What value do you bring to the team?”, an incredibly demeaning thing to say to a player. Travel information was purposely blocked out and hidden from parents (flight, hotel, restaurants). Players were told they violated a “handbook” that we were never given access to until repeated requests, and even then, it was a Word document that could be edited at any time. Anyone who’s sick is forced to go to urgent care the same day (even for a cold) to prove they’re not lying, which is especially hard on out-of-state players who pay out of pocket. This goes far beyond playing time; it’s about fairness, respect, and mental well-being. There is no growth under this kind of leadership, only fear and burnout. I truly hope future players never have to go through what we did. "

"I had the privilege to work as her assistant for 3 seasons. She is the best coach I have worked with in my 25+ years in Women’s lacrosse. She believes in her players and pushes them to be the best they can be. She pushes them to be good students as well as supportive team members. Always making sure that the school is always shown in the best light. She doesn’t go for mediocre performance and sets the team goals high. She stresses a high level of fitness which proved a key factor towards late game performance. Her off season workouts made sure that incoming players showed up ready build towards a successful campaign. I highly recommend Coach Shotwell for any highly competitive head coaching position."

"This page is for reviewing the COACH, not admin, not players, not parents. The Coach. Anybody can recognize that. Please review the Coach only & leave the outside stuff OUT. These are the same reactions she had when we were playing by the way. Bashing players, bashing parents, bashing administration, none of it was ever her fault according to her. She's keeping that same connotation through her release. Yes, some girls did enjoy her coaching style, yes, some parents & players were being unreasonable, but keep in mind those girls aren’t the entire team, everyone is welcome to their opinion whether you agree with it or not. Playing favorites as a Coach is never okay, no matter what Coaches try to tell you. You're allowed to have your favorites, but treating other girls who aren’t your favorites like they don't matter is cruel and uncalled for. Also keep in mind they are allowed to have their opinion! Nobody's opinion is wrong in this situation, It's an opinion for a reason, different individuals had different experiences than others and it's important to recognize that. A majority of players were terrorized by this woman. She claims we complain, get handouts, don't work hard.... etc.... but that again only applies to a few players, a majority of us wanted to be there and love the game of lacrosse, she just so happened to ruin it for us. It is burned in the back of my brain that this woman told me I'd never be good enough after every run test, but I worked so hard & I know I worked hard, I was the one doing it... not her. Thank god I'm finally in a good place and know I am in fact good enough and this woman's words simply don't hold weight anymore, but when you're playing that's a whole different story... they do hold weight. The mental game is a huge part of sport. Having a Coach who always sees you in a negative light is not motivating. Sometimes all you wanted was to hear one positive thing and she wouldn't even give that to you, even if you were succeeding. If you're looking at this from the aspect of a child & an adult, which college kids basically are, we start college at 17-18, it's like an emotionally abusive mother & a mentally neglected child. Coaches like this are the ones who get in your head & make you hate yourself, as harsh as it sounds, it's true. You shouldn't be having panic attacks when you get home from a bad practice or game as a player. You shouldn't be waking up everyday and dreading going to practice. I've had plenty of Coaches, and Mel was by far the worst one I've had. All of my coaches have been harsh, but very positive at the same time. They don't say a negative thing and leave it as is like Mel does. When you're Coaching, it's important to follow constructive criticism with positive reinforcement, she never ever did that. I don't know if you can call it constructive criticism at that point, it's just criticism. H**l my HS soccer coach was Crazy with a capital C but I respected him so much because he let us know he appreciated us and all our hard work, and used positive reinforcement when correcting us. You can be a tough coach, and still be human Mel. It's not that hard. I do not respect someone who treats young adults like they are less than, like Mel. You are there to GUIDE. I wish we focused more on lifting & strength, I wish we focused more on conditioning that truly benefits lacrosse players & is specifically made for the sport, I wish we had better teaching and didn't have to coach ourselves on attack & defense. Our team chemistry was amazing because we knew we were all in it together with the treatment we received. She made girls go on diets (!!!!!!), specifically whole 30, which if approached correctly could be beneficial but the girls she made do the diets were always specifically targeted. She didn't make the whole team go on a diet, just a select few. She didn't care to make deeper connections with us, or understand us, like most of my other Coaches have. For example, when you wanted to be open with her, she'd hit you with 'just go to BeeWell' instead of caring for her players, yes the suggestion of seeking therapy is a good one, but in a role as a Coach you are there for guidance and support as well. All of my other coaches got to know me & the other players & what we were all personally dealing with, she did not. My old coach used to pull me into her office just to have conversations to see how I was doing, because I was struggling. She was constantly in my corner despite how I was doing, even if I was a little s**t myself sometimes. She knew I was struggling and gave me grace, because I was young & growing. Mel never ever made an effort like that, she didn't want to understand, she didn't want to give us grace. Mel was most definitely not in any of our corners. Coaches NEED to be in your corner for you to succeed. She's missing the aspect of empathy, if that makes sense. Talk to her for 5 minutes and you can see the lack of emotion on her face. She used to target individual players in front of the entire team, or pull girls in to captains meetings that should be 1 on 1 with Coach, threatening stripping their scholarships & kicking them off the team in front of their own teammates. She'd berate girls in front of everybody with the same stuff "you'll never be good enough" "you don't deserve a spot on this team" "you don't work hard enough"... we just wanted to be told we were doing a good job every once in a while. I understand she believes that this is 'tough love' or whatever, but it's not. Unfortunately it is categorized as mental abuse, and words like this sting and linger. There are literal scientific studies that show words like this hurt, and I think it would be important for her to understand human behavior a little bit better if she thinks she's gonna coach again. It was rare to hear something positive come out of her mouth unless we were winning. During Mel's first year, one of the hardest working people I know on that team was struggling mentally & with injuries & continued to work hard despite it all, and was kicking butt too despite being in pain. She was dealing with serious health issues and her teammates were 100% behind her and adored her & Coach still never looked her way or made her feel good about the work she was doing, so don't tell me that the reason she's acting this way is because of us 'not working hard'. That girl DESERVED a starting position. Thank god she finally saw her for what an amazing player she was in her 2nd year, but it took too damn long. Love your players. Respect your players. She also made one of the nicest people I know SO angry her first year too. I've never seen that girl like that, and it was upsetting to see my own friends struggling mentally and not really knowing how to help. She did this one thing her first year where when we messed up she made us wear a "choke collar" as some weird humiliation ritual.... keep in mind this was our first impression of her too, she introduced this the first week. We thought it was silly at first, until girls started discussing it more and comparing it to hazing. That's the first red flag we got. It didn't last long because we all protested it, but just the thought she tried to implement that is concerning. The only reason we were good & we were winning was because the team had incredible chemistry & we were all super close. There were specific players she legitimally bullied so bad ,who were great players, who just needed a little guidance, that they quit the team. I don't consider myself a quitter at anything but I even found myself questioning leaving the team due to how bad my mental health got underneath Mel's leadership, and I would almost consider myself one of the girls who wasn't treated that terribly, there were girls who got it a LOT worse than I did. SCAD is an incredible school academically and a majority of us chose SCAD for our education, not for lacrosse, hence playing in the NAIA. Girls on this team could totally play D1, they just chose not to because their education was more important to them. Because there's so many specific programs at SCAD, a lot of classes needed to graduate are only offered at certain quarters at certain time slots. We'd see a lot of pushback from Mel and threats of not playing when it came time to create schedules, despite her knowing we had no control over the situation and we needed these classes to graduate. Sometimes she'd suggest we take it later, & when we'd explain we could only take it during that specific quarter at that specific time, she'd be pissed because we were missing practice time. One time I had a presentation I could not miss for my degree & when I went to talk to her after practice about it she goes "is there any way you can move it, you won't play if you don't practice", no... the professors selected the time and day specifically. But it's strange, she had a double standard. Her favorites never were threatened with less playing time due to missing class, and they continued to play their normal playing time despite missing practice too. If I remember correctly there was one time one girl was sick basically the entire week but was able to make the game before gameday, and she still played. This is obviously not the player's fault but Mel not following her own rules. Some girls even had important job interviews for their future & she'd make them take them in their cars if they were during practice so they could come right back out after they were finished. I'm not claiming to be a perfect teammate or player, I most certainly was not. I honestly was probably one of the players Mel wanted gone. I had my own issues just as everyone did, but it's extremely frustrating that we had a Coach that instead of trying to understand these issues within me & other girls, she instead exacerbated them. We already had had a tumultuous Coaching tenure with Berkland leaving, Kara leaving us high & dry & our assistant needing to step up as head coach. But even with our assistant as head, we made nationals. Our success clearly isn't because of Mel, it's because of us. I love these girls, I want what's best for the girls now, and unfortunately, I do believe what is best for the girls is not having Mel in that position. Now please stop bashing our friends on a stupid coach's review. You're supposed to be the example. Also, 10 five star reviews in 1 day is suspicious lol...."

"It is really sad to see parents involved in any capacity at the college level; these are adults. Sounds like administration doesn’t know how to do their job! "

"As someone who has had experience with SCAD coaches (men and women) and the program for quite some time, it was clear in the games that I was able to watch the impact that Coach Shotwell made. The team played at a high level, and it was clear who struggled with accountability by simply watching the games, and hearing the parents behave like their young women are still playing in high school. I’ve been around lacrosse since the early 90’s, and it was clear to me what she was working on building. It was also clear that there were parents there that cared about personal stats more than team achievements. I’m sure the new staff will do great until these parents sink to the levels they did to get Mel excused. Shameful :( "

"Coach Shotwell is the only reason we felt comfortable sending our 18 year old so far from home for college. This entire situation falls on the shoulders of the school administration. They’ve really done a disservice to all the coaches at SCAD by not having a legitimate and qualified athletic administration. The AD was a golf coach at the school until the AD was abruptly fired and she took the position. This is where “art and design” school shows its true colors and lack of knowledge for a successful reputation in leadership and guiding its coaches. Unfortunately, Coach Shotwell took the brunt of this while trying to educate the AD on how “running and contact sports” operate. She doesn’t know which way is up when it comes to management of coaches and parents. Coach Shotwell will be fine, any NCAA level school with a winning culture would be a perfect fit for her. SCAD admin, do better- the players and coaches deserve it. "

"I had offered from several D1 & D2 teams but they didn’t have the design curriculum I was looking for. SCAD wasn’t on my list because I didn’t think NAIA would be a good match for the intensity I was looking for in a program. I don’t like mediocre or average. Coach Mel assured me her program was different and she delivered on that promise. Because of her I continued with my athletic passion while studying design. There are always a few negative Nancy’s in every environment, life must never seen this level of retaliation and entitlement. I feel sad she had to deal with it, but I know there is a better fit for her at a higher level. SCAD didn’t deserve her. "

"If you play for her, she expects full effort, no excuses and a positive attitude. I think every coach since I started playing 15 years ago has instilled that in my. I played at a competitive level and travel. Some of these girls just walked on from a low level HS team thinking NAIA is like club. Instead of resisting the expectations and always making excuses, they should’ve just found something else to do with their time. College sports at any level is intense. Coach Mel was the best coach I’ve had. Other coaches always complimented our conditioning. We didn’t have a lot of subs, so we had to be prepared to play the whole game. It’s a running game!!! Now because a parent complained we can only run 5 miles a week. So most of us just do the extra on our own. I hope our new coach isn’t afraid to put people in line and holds us to the same athletic standards. "

"I’ve been playing since 3rd grade and I’ve never had a coach go above and beyond for my personal well-being, physical improvement and lacrosse development. She was always there for me off the field and I really needed that away from home. I’ve cried to her and she’s helped me battle my mental health struggles and I grew to become a better person and lacrosse player because she believed in me and pushed me beyond my comfort zone and I achieved things I never dreamt of. Our team success was because of Coach Mel and she deserves everything she has achieved. Shes a true leader, a student of the game and is legit in the game since she played D1, coached D1 and also would ref college games on her only day off from coaching us. She made lacrosse fun again after some coaches burnt me out. I feel honored to have played under her experience. Her future teams will love her like I did! "

"Having only been a part of this team for one year, our first last year, we sat back and observed. What my daughter reported to us on the daily is severely different than what is being reported here. It is also obvious that these egregious complaints are coming from the same few people, the same that we heard complaints about all season from our daughter and her friends. Their body language on the sidelines, their parents in the stands- all very unprofessional. Coach Mel had her hands full with no support. This year will be different, the new parents aren’t going to allow a few bad characters to take down the team or the coach. I’m baffled at how many parents think it is ok to communicate with the AD about menial complaints, and why any teacher or administrator for that matter is allowed to communicate with parents of adults. I couldn’t even speak with my daughters professor about a project, but a mom is telling the bleachers how she’s discussing her daughter playing time and how she doesn’t like her room assignment for travel or meal accommodations. None of this should’ve been allowed and the administration allowed it to get out of hand. It was a lose lose situation for Coach Mel and for our girls. I truly hope she lands her feet at a program with a professional and driven group of like-minded athletic winners, because that is what she deserves. Best of luck to her! "

"It’s really unfortunate that a few disgruntled players who she did not recruit were sour over playing time and held accountable for their lack of effort and improvement. She was not fired for abuse, those claims were all unfounded. Our team witnessed the few who ruined it for the rest of us, and we’re glad most of them are gone after having graduated. They quit once our regular season was over bc they didn’t play and because they were bitter they weren’t chosen as captains. Their parents were just as toxic, the apple didn’t fall far. Parents yelling profanities in the stands, physically assaulting coaches after the game. She’s had a solid, career for 20 years in coaching and comes highly recommended by every department she worked for. It’s sad this is how the world works when a few bad apples are so toxic and create so much negativity. The athletic department at our school is a joke in comparison. Our AD is a retired golf coach with zero experience and didn’t know how to handle these out of control parents and it snowballed. The fitness, nutrition and expectations are on par and our strength coach 100% agrees with her conditioning, and those of us who followed it were the ones who were starters. If you don’t want to compete at a high level- go play club. The majority of us want to win and wanted to succeed and we loved Coach Mel. She hands down deserved every award. There are multiple parents on our team willing to speak on her behalf and fought for her to stay. Don’t be misguided by these toxic losers. When you try to get out of practice by faking “mental health”, and you get called on it- it’s called being held accountable. We miss you, Coach Mel. It was the best 2 years I’ve ever had on a team. We can already see the drastic differences without you here. "

"She doesn't deserve the Coach of the Year title. Take it away!!! She didn't earn it!!! The only reason she received it was because the girls hadn’t been corrupted yet, and she relied solely on a few of them to score goals and carry the team. She never actually coached them. The girls only made it as far as they did based on their own skills. She does not deserve credit for any of it. Her first year at SCAD, she barely showed her true character but after that, all hell broke loose. Take it away the title!!! "

"I just want to make it clear-- Melody Shotwell, who doesn't even deserve the moniker of 'Coach' is an individual who takes pride in bringing down college age girls who's brains still arn't fully developed. Absolutely baffling hers is fully developed and she continues to treat young adults, who need guidance, care, and love to help them grow into strong individuals both mentally & physically, with absolute garbage behavior. Clearly she gets off on it-- sick freak. Keep in mind, SCAD is an NAIA school-- if the girls who played at SCAD wanted to go top D1 & wanted to experience what it takes to be top D1 *institutions where sports tend to be put ahead of academics* then that's where they would've committed. The girls at SCAD chose SCAD for their education-- not for lacrosse, but, we were really never able to get the full education we all wanted due to Melody wanting to win games & coaches awards for her own bragging rights, not for her love of us. She despised us. She ran us into the groud, making us run the equivelant of almost a marathon every week as punishment. No wonder we were all so hurt & exhausted. The way Melody Shotwell coached wasn't for the girls, it was for her. She never cared about us. She posts crap on instagram all the time that says she did, but we all know she didn't. She is an extremely calous individual who laughs in your face when you are struggling. She doesn't care about mental or physical health. Moral of the story-- SHE DOESN'T CARE. This woman is so butthurt that none of us enjoyed her coaching style she even began to block her old players. Is that the behavior of an adult? No, that's the behavior of a child. If anything this woman needs to be institutionalized. Legitimately put her in the looney bin. She had this issues of pulling captains into meetings where it should've been one on ones, like her constantly threatening to kick girls off the team in front of their best friends as some sort of freaky power move. She did this constantly to multiple girls. None of us enjoyed that. It was psychological abuse. She loved to single out individual players after a loss and claim that the loss was their fault in front of the entire team (when in reality the loss was Melody's fault due to her terrible coaching!) She never EVER worked on defense, older defenders were forced to coach the younger girls. She acted like she worked on attack but that wasn't organized either, she relied on her 1 to 2 favorites to score goals and then just was shitty to the rest of us. She constantly claimed girls who were struggling with injury or mental health were 'faking it' and never took anyone seriously-- we constatly had girls saying they wanted to die after practice. I don't think that's normal. We were only sucsessful her first year of coaching not cause of her, but because we were a family who confided in one another & became closer due to her abuse. She deserves to take no credit. She deserves to have her coach of the year award stripped. This woman is horrible and I hope and pray nobody hires her again for the sake of young adult's mental health."

"What a horrible experience my daughter had with this coach. After multiple practices, she would call me in tears emotionally drained and defeated. Mel was emotionally abusive and consistently unsupportive of several players. At one point, she even said to them, “What value do you bring to the team?” An unbelievably cruel and demoralizing thing to say to young athletes. The environment Mel created was toxic. Several players ended up quitting the team because they simply couldn’t take the emotional strain anymore. No young woman should have to endure that kind of treatment, especially from someone who’s supposed to guide and support them. I truly hope this coach is never given the responsibility of working with young women again."