Texas Hold ‘Em can reveal personality better than any other competition. Everything comes to light: cautiousness, carelessness, risk-taking.

Field hockey forward Shelby Schraden has been on the attack since second grade. The prize? Pennies. The opponent? Her grandmother. The personality revealed? Competitiveness.

‘I never wanted to lose any of those pennies,’ Schraden said. ‘I have a mean game face. I’m super competitive. I don’t like to lose at anything no matter what it is. When I was younger, my grandma used to let me win, but once I learned the game it became everyone for themselves.’

That was the old Shelby Schraden. The college edition is advanced beyond her years.

Schraden is mostly unfazed by the transition to Division I field hockey. From elementary poker, to youth softball, to high school field hockey, and now at Syracuse, Schraden has always battled older opponents. With her experience, her competitiveness has flourished. A major part of Syracuse’s revamped field hockey program, the speedy Allentown, Pa., native has the attitude to chew up the learning curve and spit it out.

‘It is hard work, but I expect myself to work hard, so I don’t mind it,’ Schraden said.

Schraden and Syracuse open the Big East portion of their schedule against Rutgers tonight at 6 p.m. at Coyne Field. SU also plays Hofstra on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Adjusting to college classes has been one monster, but learning new SU field hockey head coach Ange Bradley’s classroom-intensive strategy hasn’t been easy.

‘It has been a big learning process this year in the new system,’ Schraden said. ‘We do a lot of classroom. But our coaches are patient with us. They show us a lot of stuff and give us time to learn. We’re expected to know it once we are taught it. It’s not overwhelming.’

Bradley, who led Richmond to a 42-0 mark in Atlantic 10 conference games for the past five seasons, understands that it’s natural for Schraden and the team’s other 10 rookies to be awestruck by an overload of X’s and O’s.

‘This has been a classroom for them,’ Bradley said. ‘They learn a lot about themselves and what their perceived limitations are and how to push through that. You just have to take it day by day, and freshmen become sophomores.’

But it’s not that easy.

‘It’s like asking a basketball player to play on a whole different surface, on ice or something like that,’ Bradley continued. ‘The biggest adjustment for all freshmen, not just Shelby, is ball speed, the constant repositioning and the mental fitness you need to play 70 minutes of hockey.’

Schraden was built for such a challenge. She has always competed against her elders – and not just her grandmother in poker. Schraden learned to relish the underdog role at every competitive level. As an 11-year old, she played on the Lehigh Valley Flames 14-and-under youth softball team. Schraden played with and against high school freshmen, conveniently in the prime of growth spurts.

A major adolescent gap only fueled Schraden’s feistiness.

‘It taught me to be competitive and that it doesn’t matter how old you are,’ she said. ‘When you’re on the field, it’s about working hard. Softball gave me a competitive edge.’

And field hockey took it to a new level. Schraden’s spirited approach to sports made hockey a natural fit. Schraden admits she wasn’t ‘knowledgeable of the game’ as a high school freshman on the varsity team. But her skills developed. Her speed improved. And her fiery attitude remained the same.

In 2004 and 2005, Schraden was a gold medalist at the Keystone State Summer Games. At William Allen (Pa.) High School, she started for three seasons, leading her team to state championships as a junior. During her senior year, Schraden was selected to the All-Area Lehigh Valley conference team in field hockey and softball. The most important statistic? During Schraden’s final two seasons, William Allen was 33-10-3.

Accolades like those frequently spawn egos beyond repair. Schraden sidestepped this trap at an early age – competing against older opponents instilled humility.

‘I have to work hard and earn my spot,’ Schraden said. ‘I want to earn it. I want to earn my playing time. And once I do have playing time, I want to make the best of it.’

With this attitude, Schraden doesn’t plan on just playing host when the Big East conference tournament comes to Coyne Field in November.

‘Our No. 1 goal is winning the Big East,’ she said. ‘We don’t want to be the ball girls.’

Still, an inner fire burns.

‘I’m out to prove myself and help change the program,’ she said.

Published on September 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm