Thanks, Allyson! You have seen me through all stages of my coaching journey and been my biggest supporter ❤️ I have so many formative memories of growing up a tomboy / non-stop energetic sports kid. My first love and passion was baseball - and I was convinced I would be the first girl in the MLB (A League of their Own still my all-time favorite movie). Basketball took over around middle school for me and quickly turned into an all-out addiction. I remember shoveling snow off my driveway to shoot in the dark winter nights, waking up early on school days to play 5 AM pickup games at my high school with grown men (who welcomed me and never took it easy on me), and the endless backyard one on one games with my dad - who I would get incredibly angry at when I thought he was taking it easy on me and/or letting me win lol. The part of the game that spoke to me in these early years was how different I could be on the court from other life settings, where I didn't always feel I fit in with other girls my age (especially from around age 5-10). As an athletic child / young adult, basketball gave me a safe space to embrace a side of me that is aggressive, competitive, fierce, passionate, confident, athletic, and strong - and this passion only gained me acceptance and fueled a desire to improve. Channeling what I was battling internally growing up, as all children do, thankfully, I found a sport that was both intoxicating to me and a healthy outlet for my busy mind. This sense of identity as Maddy, the basketball player, stayed with me for long after I completed my playing career at age 23, and it was not easy to transition from. I will save those early coaching years for another post - I am just grateful now to be in a place of leadership and back to loving the sport, teaching the next generation, and using some of the same traits that made me a great player, to help others on their basketball journey.