"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. "

"An inspiration to all who love the game. What an honor to play for her and learn all she has to offer me as an athlete. She challenged me in ways I never thought I could grow. She was always motivating and positive towards our team goal of winning and being great people in the community and on the field. Coach Melody’s lax IQ is top-tier and taught the team things we never heard of before, giving us that competitive edge to be successful. She is passionate about nutrition and fitness so that our bodies stayed healthy to perform and I really benefitted from this knowledge because my lacrosse performance greatly increased. There were many times in my career she would be available for me to talk after hours and guide me through hard times . I felt like I could go to her for anything. We had many team sessions with nutritionists that she organized for us as well as sports psychologists and fun team bonding trips and activities which allowed us to grow our team chemistry and work together, while keeping our minds and bodies strong as athletes. She was very organized, proactive and always communicated as soon as she had updates for the team which was helpful with our busy schedules as athletes. Winning came easy with this foundation and she was a very successful coach as a result of the culture she implemented winning many championships! I am so grateful for the opportunity to play for her and still to this day, have a great relationship with her and she has helped me get a great job after graduating!! "

"Coach Shotwell turned this program into a winning, positive environment where we were all held accountable and had to earn our playing time. She cultivated a culture of a true team, from bonding, to team events, community service, academics first, and buddies within our team. I’ve never felt so connected to a group of women, yet so far from home. Don’t be fooled by this being a NAIA level, Coach Shotwell runs this team like a D1 program in every way. It was too much for a few girls to handle, and they caused a lot of problems. Also it wouldn’t hurt if the school would actually hire a real athletic director instead of a washed up golf coach- the athletics program overall could use more leadership. "