By Dan Powell

Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe found the love of her life at a young age. While growing up in Baltimore, Md., she rose to success in lacrosse and excelled as a player at James Madison University. After graduation, Bawcombe was able to combine her love of the game with her passion for working with others to become a strong coach. Today she is at the helm of the Pride women’s lacrosse team.

Klaes-Bawcombe was interested in many kinds of sports when she was young. From swimming and ice skating, to softball and basketball, she was quite a multi-faceted athlete. While playing basketball and soccer Klaes-Bawcombe says she developed a strong foundation for lacrosse, because the fundamentals and team-0style of play were very similar among the different sports.

She developed into an All-American attacker at JMU and as the team’s senior captain, Klaes-Bawcombe led the Dukes to their first Colonial Athletic Association title in 1997. Upon graduation, she made the transition to coaching, becoming an assistant for the Dukes.

“My ability to motivate my teammates and stay positive in any situation always made me a leader,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “It just seemed natural to go into coaching.”

After learning the ropes of recruiting and working with players at JMU, Klaes-Bawcombe joined the Pride in 1999 and eventually took over as head coach in 2002. Since then she has worked hard, recruiting players from across the country and continues to urge her players to accept nothing less than their best on and off the field.

The type of work ethic Klaes-Bawcombe inspires in her players is evident in their academic performance. The Pride was named an Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Academic Team in both 2004 and 2005.

Klaes-Bawcombe has always had quite the work ethic herself. She founded and is president of Laxology, Inc., an organization that works with players and coaches on Long Island to help spread the game.

“We are really trying to get people excited about the sport,” Klaes- Bawcombe said. “The main premise of the organization is to show people they can take it to the next level and still have fun.”

This year, Klaes-Bawcombe looks to build off a successful 2005 in which the Pride won the regular season CAA title and earned a spot in the conference finals for the first time, helping earn her the honor of CAA Coach of the Year. She is confident the team will flourish, as they have a strong core returning as well as a good crop of freshmen joining the squad.

“I have seen this team get better and better every day of practice,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “Often times a team will plateau at certain points, but these girls have just continued to push each other to get better. There is a great synergy among the players.”

Klaes-Bawcombe is working to build a program that is a consistent conference champion and a perennial participant in the NCAA Tournament. The Pride is already starting to gain national respect as it has drawn some high-caliber opponents such as top-ranked Northwestern University. Still, Klaes-Bawcombe continues to push the Pride into becoming a better team.