The Return of Maddy Gates for one more season—with her ‘little’ sister!!
⏺ After being out of Collegiate Volleyball for a year, what prompted the comeback for your “Covid-Bonus” year?
“I knew that I still had more in me when I couldn’t even watch my younger sisters collegiate matches. The desire to step on the court and play in that moment was so intense and I just missed that feeling that competing at a high level brings. My family would go to her games, and I’d have to stay at home. I’ve tried to find things that give me a similar feeling, and nothing even came close to it. Also, having the opportunity to play with my sister in college is something we used to dream about, so I knew that this was something that I had to do.”
⏺ Have you played any volleyball, had touches on the ball or had done volleyball related activities since your ‘last’ college match?
“I never let go of the game. I coached this past year and I gave some private lessons. I never really stepped away from the sport because I was never actually done with it.”
⏺ What do you see as the biggest challenge to making this comeback——the physical conditioning or regaining that volleyball skill set?
“This is tough for me because I see them as going hand in hand. I have stayed active and been pretty consistent with cardio training since graduating. However physical conditioning for a fast paced sport requires a lot of fast twitch movements and quick reaction times. That is something that I know I’m going to have to put a lot of work into in order to get back to where I was a year ago. As far as volleyball skill set goes, I may be a little rusty, but the fundamentals are still there for me. I was blessed with an amazing coach at a young age (shoutout mom!!) who really stressed fundamentals and that has stuck with me even after taking a year off. As I continue to train, I am confident that I will come back to be even better than I was before.”
⏺ Volleyball has been a HUGE part of your life. How many times per day did you think about volleyball in the past year?
“Volleyball has been my entire life for as long as I can even remember. I had many people warn me about the transition from being an athlete to not playing sports at all anymore, but nothing really prepared me for that. I have thought about volleyball every single day since my last collegiate match. I missed the day to day grind, I missed game days, I missed the structure and routine, and I missed being apart of something bigger than myself.”
⏺ You haven’t played with your sister since high school. How excited are you to reunite and make this journey together?
“Obviously a lot of thought went into this decision. I spoke to my family throughout the entire process, and was sure to talk to Jordyn and make sure that this was something she wanted and would be excited about. We had so much fun competing together in high school and we really grew closer in those years because of it. I’ve always told people that even though I’m older than her, I look up to her. I admire her passion, her work ethic, and her commitment to the game and to her team. Being able to play with her was so amazing because it taught me a lot about the type of player I wanted to be in college. Now that we’ve both grown, I know without a doubt that this experience is going to benefit both of us, and I’m sure we will have a lot of stories to tell for years and years. I am truly so grateful for this opportunity to play with her one last time. I know my parents are equally as excited too so this is something I’m so glad they’ll get to experience as well.”
⏺ Since you made the decision this close to January, your preparation window is small. What’s your training plan of attack? (Ex. How many times per week training, how much skillwork, etc)
“So I will be starting up with the team mid-January. That gives me a little over a month to get to where I want to be going into the spring season. Because I did take a year off, I am going to be really focused on recovery after workouts. As far as my actual training plan, I will be working out in the morning at Alpha six days a week, and then doing skills training at night about four times a week. This is a lot, but as I mentioned, I will really be focused on recovery so that I get the most out of my training sessions and feel good on report day.”
⏺ Fast forward to next Fall, match one. You step on the court…..what will be going through your head?
“I get chills even thinking about this moment. I’m sure I will feel every single emotion possible. But if I know myself at all, I will definitely only be thinking about winning that match!”
WELCOME BACK MADDY 😊🏐
