As it turns out, ballet was not Lindsay Shotbolt’s calling. The rookie for the Ravens women’s basketball team was torn between the pointe shoes and basketball shoes at the tender age of 13. Lucky for the Ravens, Shotbolt chose basketball.
Shotbolt hails from Unionville, Ontario, a small town near Markham that is known for producing other star athletes such as Steven Stamkos. She currently studies journalism. Competition has been always been a part of Shotbolt’s life, from the moment she put on her ballet shoes. The influence of a dancer mother and hockey playing father provided the backbone for Shotbolt’s aptitude for sports. Yet the demanding schedule of both ballet and basketball proved to be too much as Shotbolt would often head straight to basketball practice right after ballet. “I would be running through the dance studio in my basketball clothes,” she recalled.
Although Shotbolt started ballet first and would go on to be a ballerina for 8 years, it was basketball that eventually won. When faced with the difficult decision her father advised her to follow her dreams.
It was while walking down the halls of her elementary school in grade 4 with her best friend that Shotbolt was approached by the school’s junior basketball coach, who let them know they were on the team. What drew the school’s basketball coach to Shotbolt was her tall stature despite being in grade 4. That inaugural year provided Shotbolt with an understanding and ultimately a love for the game. Shotbolt started playing competitively in grade six and was always placed in the age group above her, a trend that started with her playing on the junior team in grade four on a team with girls in either grade 5 or 6.
“I learnt a lot from older girls playing basketball,” Shotbolt said.
Throughout the years, the relationships Shotbolt has formed with her teammates have proven to be the most influential and important ones.
“Every team I’ve ever played on, I have no bad things to say about the girls I’ve played with, only positives,” she said.
When the time to choose a university came Shotbolt was faced with many options. The first that was ruled out was going to the States, as Shotbolt wanted to remain in Canada and was keen on playing CIS basketball. That left Western and Carleton. Shotbolt toured both universities and got to spend time with each of the women’s basketball teams, but it was Carleton that ultimately had the upper hand. Shotbolt felt a greater connection with the women on Carleton’s team and fell in love with the university campus itself. Shotbolt came back to Carleton a second time just to make sure and had a pivotal talk with head coach Taffe Charles who discussed his coaching methods and work ethic.
“I will always remember that conversation with Taffe,” she said.
Choosing Carleton has worked out well for Shotbolt who is seeing increasing court time as one of the starters for the Ravens and has already been named Barrhaven’s Female Athlete of the Week for the week of December 3. Just this past weekend Shotbolt boasted an average of 22 minutes on the court, with 13 and 9 points, to boost the Ravens for a win over both York and Laurentian respectively. If this production continues Shotbolt is well on her way to becoming one of Carleton’s leading ladies on the court.