Episode 2, Behind the Shield: Shawn Lyght’s Many Talents

“He has a desire to be great.”

The words of Rose-Marie Lyght, the mother of U.S. U20 co-captain and Notre Dame defenseman Shawn Lyght, hit home on episode two of Behind the Shield, a seven-part docuseries highlighting the 2025 U.S. Men’s U20 National Team’s journey to South Korea for the World Lacrosse championship.

Lyght, a USA Lacrosse All-American as a high school player at Seton Hall Prep (N.J.), made an immediate impact as a freshman starter at Notre Dame, helping the Irish win the 2024 national championship. Last spring, he was named as a co-winner of the Schmeisser Award, presented to the top the defender in the nation by the USILA.

Some of his success comes naturally. His dad, Eric, played basketball at St. Anselm and his mom played soccer at Villanova. His sister, Corinne, was a two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year at Lehigh in soccer before moving to defense for her senior year and his cousin, Todd, was a Notre Dame football star who went on to play in the NFL.

But episode two shows his work ethic and commitment to being great goes beyond his natural ability. He puts in the work to be the player he is today – from training to recovery and the episode shows an “icy” look at some of the things he does to stay at the top of the game.

Lyght didn’t start playing lacrosse until the end of elementary school, but his multisport participation helped him get to where he is. His father, Eric, talks about the spring when he played baseball, lacrosse and soccer all at the same time. Eventually he settled on basketball and lacrosse as his two main sports.

Episode two shows that his talents don’t end on the athletic fields – with a look at his artistic ability following two years of a drawing class in high school – including a self-portrait from his Notre Dame visit.

Episode three of Behind the Shield drops on Monday, Feb. 16 at noon (EST) on the USA Lacrosse YouTube channel. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday.