Alumni Spotlight - Ian McShane

Ian McShane

St Francis Xavier Class of 2015 (Business Admin, Accounting Major)

Ian McShane, a Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia native was drawn to Mount Allison to pursue his dream of playing University Basketball. After parting ways with the team at the end of the 2011/2012 season, he followed in his family's footsteps and transferred to X. After a quiet start to his career at Mount Allison, McShane racked up 157 goals over 4 seasons with X, including a whopping 56 in 10 games during the 2014 season.

McShane is one of Nova Scotia's most decorated and successful lacrosse players, having played two seasons of Junior A lacrosse in the RMLL with the Mountaineers and was recently named co-rookie of the year for the Victoria Shamrocks in the WLA. He's given back countless hours to the Dartmouth Bandits organization as a coach at various levels and took a prominent role with the Nova Scotia provincial teams before departing for British Columbia this summer.

I had a chance to catch up with Ian in Calgary, where he is now pursuing his CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Tyler James: What lacrosse experience did you have prior to playing in the MUFLL?

McShane: I started playing box lacrosse for the Dartmouth Bandits around the age of 10. From the bandits I started to play for Team Nova Scotia which was a great way to develop against the top players in the country and those tournaments are still some of my favourite childhood memories. On the field side of the game, I was part of the inaugural season of the Nova Scotia Field Lacrosse League and played a total of 5 season in the league. It was amazing to see the NSFLL grow so much in a short period of time. The NSFLL led to many opportunities such as playing at 2 U19 field lacrosse nationals and playing numerous tournaments in the US. After being part of the Dartmouth Jr. Program for 3 years and participating on the founders cup teams, I was fortunate enough to be recruited by the Calgary Jr.A Mountaineers, one of the top Jr.A teams in the country, after my first year at X and that is where I played during the off season. 

Tyler James: How many seasons did you play in the MUFLL?

McShane: I had a bit of a different start to my MUFLL career. I originally went to Mount Allison in 2011 as I was recruited to play basketball there. I tried to play lacrosse there also however I was only able to play in 3 games due to commitments to basketball. In 2012 I transferred to StFX, which ended up being the best 4 years of my life graduating this past May. 

Tyler James:  How did playing a University sport affect your undergrad/postgrad experience?

McShane: Playing a university sport had a great impact on my undergrad experience. From your first day on campus, you instantly have 20-25 teammates that you have a bond with and spend almost everyday with. Speaking from my experience at StFX and MtA, both these team were very close knit and had a great team atmosphere. One of the best benefits is that it puts structure into your life. I remember as a first year with my first true sense of freedom it helped with managing my schoolwork, socializing, and sports. It forces you to prioritize your schedule and be effective with your time. 

Tyler James: What was your favourite memory/experience playing in the MUFLL?

McShane: This is a tough one as I have so many great memories including playing 4 straight finals but came up short losing to Dal all 4 years......, comeback and overtime wins, being recognized with numerous league awards, and countless road trips. My favourite was in 2013 when we were playing SMU in the semi finals for the right to play Dal in the finals. I remember going into this game extremely rattled as we had not beaten SMU in our two meetings during the regular season and other distrations that were taking place. We were losing 12-5 halfway through the 3rd quarter and our season was on the brink of being over. We ended up coming back and winning 17-15 In double OT, myself scoring 7 goals from that point in the 3rd quarter through OT and Drew MacDonald and Tanner Clarkson sealing it for us. I still remember yelling at my coach, Karl Mitchell, after we won in front of everyone "Did I prove my point?!" Over and over again. Karl challenged me before the game that I had to be my absolute best in order for StFX to win that game.

Tyler James: Can you tell us a bit about your involvement with Lacrosse after completing your MUFLL career?

McShane: Very much so. After my MUFLL career ended I started coaching the Peewee provincial team in Nova Scotia and the Dartmouth Jr. Bandits. This past summer I took an opportunity to play for the defending Mann Cup champions, the Victoria Sr.A Shamrocks, of the WLA. My season came to abrupt end in the first round of playoffs as I took a wrong turn and ended up tearing my ACL, MCL, and meniscus.


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