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Time for Minnetonka's Shelquist to shift her focus to basketball

By Star Tribune, 11/18/14, 11:29PM CST

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The end of the high school volleyball season marked the first of several goodbyes for Caroline Shelquist of Minnetonka.


Caroline Shelquist, Minnetonka girls' basketball

The end of the high school volleyball season marked the first of several goodbyes for Caroline Shelquist of Minnetonka.

“We didn’t think the season was going to end after that game,” the senior said of the volleyball team’s section semifinal loss to Eden Prairie.

But Shelquist is looking forward to a lot. This fall she committed to Cornell University where she will play Division I basketball program next year. The senior guard also is looking forward to her final season in a Minnetonka jersey.

Touted for long shots and intelligent play, she averaged 11 points per game for the Skippers last season.

Shelquist has played multiple sports her whole life. The common thread of team play, leadership and scoring points has united her love for both volleyball and basketball.

Shelquist talked recently about shifting her full attention to basketball.

 

Q: How did you get started in your two sports?

A: I’ve always been drawn to team sports. When I was little I played soccer, too. I played basketball since I was really little, too. I picked up volleyball when my dad kind of forced me to go to tryouts. He told me I could quit if I didn’t like it but I ended up loving it. So I quit soccer for volleyball. Then I just couldn’t pick, I love them both.

 

Q: You ultimately did choose, though. How did the decision play out?

A: Just going on my visit when I went to Cornell, I really connected with the coaching staff. Walking around the campus in Ithaca, was really a lot like where I live right now so I felt very at home. and looking at the academic things, they have a really good business school, which is what I want to go into.

 

Q: You were recruited for volleyball also?

A: Nothing really clicked when I went on visits. And that’s kind of what determined the decision.

 

Q: What was the most difficult part of the recruiting process?

A: Stressful at first. But once I figured out what I liked and didn’t like, it started to get easier. It was mostly stressful because I was still playing two sports and I really didn’t know which sport I wanted to play in college.

 

Q: What goes together?

A: Definitely jumping. That is volleyball- and basketball-specific. They are really complementary. With basketball you are constantly jumping and getting rebounds. And volleyball is a lot of jumping because I was a hitter. But they each use different muscles, so you don’t end up favoring one movement.

 

Q: Is your personality similar on both courts?

A: Definitely. Most of all because I have a scoring role in each sport. And as I got older, my coaches looked to me to be more a leader.

 

Q: What was it like to say goodbye to one of your sports this season?

A: It was really sad. It made me appreciate it more knowing that it was the last time I would be with those girls and everything. It felt this way especially during sections. It was just really fun playing hard and everyone really came together and supported each other because we had a lot of seniors on the team.

 

Q: Any moments that stand out?

A: The fifth game in the section semifinals against Eden Prairie when we were just about to start and everyone was going around and saying that this was not going to be our last game playing together. We would have done anything to not lose that game.

 

Q: And now you’re getting ready for basketball season.

A:It was my last season for volleyball and now it’s my last season for Minnetonka for basketball. So I’m excited just to see what the season has in store for us.

GEORGIA CLOEPFIL

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