Karen Shelton
Introduction


**Karen Christina Shelton** (born November 14, 1957\) is an American former [field hockey](/wiki/Field_hockey "Field hockey") player and coach. Shelton served as head coach of the [University of North Carolina's](/wiki/North_Carolina_Tar_Heels_field_hockey "North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey") field hockey program from 1981 until her retirement in 2022\. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1977 to 1984 and a starter on the team that won the bronze medal at the [1984 Summer Olympics](/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics "1984 Summer Olympics") in [Los Angeles, California](/wiki/Los_Angeles%2C_California "Los Angeles, California"). She attended West Chester State and was a member of four NCAA championship winning teams (three in field hockey, one in lacrosse). Shelton also qualified for the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the Olympic Committee's [boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics](/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics_boycott "1980 Summer Olympics boycott") in Moscow, Russia. As consolation, she was one of 461 athletes to receive a [Congressional Gold Medal](/wiki/List_of_Congressional_Gold_Medal_recipients "List of Congressional Gold Medal recipients") many years later.


What impact do head coaches have on their respective sports programs?