Last week, Shelley Sheiner, head coach of the Kean (N.J.) University men’s lacrosse team, toured the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame & Museum with his players. It was his first visit to the museum since its re-location to USA Lacrosse’s new headquarters in 2016, and Sheiner was quite impressed.
Nevertheless, for good reason, his sentimental devotion will always be to the original museum, adjacent to the Johns Hopkins campus, which he first visited in 1998.
That year, Sheiner and his girlfriend, Kelly, were on a weekend trip from New Jersey to Baltimore and stopped for a quick museum tour. Kelly didn’t mind indulging her boyfriend, a former collegiate lacrosse player, but she was much more eager for another item on their weekend agenda, a visit to Camden Yards to see Cal Ripken in action.
Little did she know that the museum stopover would yield an unforgettable memory far surpassing anything that the Iron Man could provide.
Having planned ahead, Sheiner arranged to have an engagement ring placed in one of the museum’s showcases. When they reached that part of the museum, he pointed out the ring to Kelly, got down on one knee, and popped the question of a lifetime.
Fortunately, Kelly’s affirmative response allowed Sheiner to forever associate warm and fuzzy feelings with the home of lacrosse history.
“I fell in love with my wife, with Baltimore, and with the museum all in one weekend,” Sheiner said. The couple got married in 2000.
Now, 24 years after that first museum visit, lacrosse remains firmly entrenched in their lives. After starting his career as a high school coach, Sheiner returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2002 and became the head coach two years later. He has piloted the Cougars to 190 victories and 15 winning seasons in his 18 years.
Kean, which earned an NCAA Division III Tournament bid in last year, is off to a 3-0 start in 2022 after being selected as the preseason favorite in the Colonial States Athletic Conference coaches’ poll.
“I knew what I was getting into as a coach’s wife,” Kelly said. “Lacrosse has been a constant in our relationship. I married a true romantic.”
Located at USA Lacrosse’s national headquarters, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum honors the history and legends in the sport. The Hall of Fame was established in 1957 and moved to its current location in 2016 with a new array of interactive exhibits. The museum is open daily to the public.
