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ATTLEBORO - Sheila Tunstall McKenna will be inducted Friday into the Bridgewater State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

McKenna, 67, Class of '62, was a multi-sport athlete competing in field hockey, basketball, lacrosse and synchronized swimming. An athlete her entire life, she was the first girls physical education teacher at the "new" Attleboro High School when it opened in 1962.

While at AHS, McKenna also coached girls' basketball, field hockey, volleyball and spring track. Her father, Cuthbert W. Tunstall, taught at the high school for many years before her.

Born in Attleboro, McKenna grew up in Fairhaven, but returned to live here with her husband, John, a retired electrical engineer at Raytheon, and her son, Jack, who is now a special education teacher in Newton.

She has never stopped playing sports. Never. For the past 12 years, she has competed in the regional and national level of the Senior Games in basketball and track. Her only regret? The induction ceremony into the Bridgewater State Hall of Fame conflicts with her basketball team's game on the same night.

SUN CHRONICLE: Who were your major influences?

SHEILA MCKENNA: My mother and father. My mother played five sports and my father played three. My mother was recognized for track and field, but her favorite sports were field hockey and tennis.

SUN CHRONICLE: So, you were always a jock?

MCKENNA: I started playing basketball with the neighborhood boys. There weren't any girls interested and we used to play baseball in the streets. I even played football with them with a helmet and shoulder pads.

The basketball weighed a ton. It was real leather, all leather, not a composite ball like today. We played with a larger ball, and it was really heavy when you were 8 years old.

SUN CHRONICLE: Did the neighborhood boys pick you in basketball before Ralph the geek?

MCKENNA: (Laughs) They picked me before they picked a lot of kids.

SUN CHRONICLE: So, how tall are you?

MCKENNA: I was five-five. Now, I'm five-four-and-three-quarters and shrinking. SUN CHRONICLE: This is 1948 we're talking about, when you started playing. Were there many female jocks you knew about then?

MCKENNA: Babe Didrikson Zaharias. A few tennis players. We didn't have all these women (like today). Our role models were people nearby, like Bart Leach, my hero then, my hero now.

Bart Leach led Fairhaven to two Tech Tourney Championships in basketball in 1950 and 1951. His team was 25-0 in 1950, and 24-1 in 1951. He just died four weeks ago in Carlyle, Pa. He was my idol.

He was a teen and I was an elementary school student, and I always looked up to him. He was just the nicest, best man you could ever meet.

SUN CHRONICLE: Do you think women athletes are perceived properly these days or are they seen in a strange light?

MCKENNA: It depends on the situation. Look at the Rutgers basketball team and the comments that were made. It depends. For the most part, women athletes of today have a great deal of respect and they deserve to have it.

A prime example is Missy Traversi of Attleboro who will be playing her second year of basketball in Sweden. She ran a camp for the YMCA and is going to run two camps at Bishop Feehan. She's the nicest person and a tremendous athlete and is devoted to young people. I can't speak highly enough of her.

SUN CHRONICLE: Did you EVER stop competing?

MCKENNA: No. It's just in my blood. I LOVE sports. All sports, but basketball will always be number one.

Actually, I'm competitive in everything - not just sports. My father used to say, 'Life is competitive' and it is. People say, 'Why don't you take up golf?' My knees are still good. As long as they hold out, I'll be playing basketball, and track and field, too.

SUN CHRONICLE: So, you've kept up from childhood, college, right up through having a son, to the Senior Games. How does that compare to competition in your younger years?

MCKENNA: It's much tougher. For example, my team just moved into the 65-69 age bracket. We played in the Nationals in Louisville, Ky. The women are bigger. They are wide bodies!

One woman I had to cover was close to 6 feet tall and probably had me by 40, 45 pounds. This is half-court basketball, three on three. Age has a lot to do with it, so that's why I say it's tougher.

SUN CHRONICLE: What do you try to impart to younger athletes now?

MCKENNA: I don't. But I'll tell you what they imparted to me. I went to Missy Traversi's camp. My new best friend is 9 years old and she is an unbelievable little basketball player.

This is a kid, during practice, who shot 75 to 80 percent from the free throw line. We have high school kids who can't shoot that.

Kids in Missy's camp have such a strong work ethic, and I believe they get that from Missy. They have all these camps and they have advantages that I didn't have. Thank you Title IX! Celebrating its 35th year!

I read an article a long time ago, that the A.D. at Notre Dame said Title IX would kill football there. I laughed when I read that. Here, it's 20 years later, and Notre Dame is on every channel and they can't count the money they make on television from their football program.

SUN CHRONICLE: What are your goals at this stage of your life?

MCKENNA: As a person? As an athlete? To see that young people, as things open up at all levels, continue to have those same opportunities they have now.

As an athlete myself, I just want to continue to play!

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