NP's Smith gets scholar award

Recent grad honored by state coaches

Madisyn Smith learned a lot from playing basketball at North Putnam over the past five years.

A competitive cheerleader since age six, she began playing hoops in eighth grade and looks back upon both experiences as having positively shaped her.

"At cheer practice, you practice the same routine all the way through," she said. "Nothing changes, and you memorize exactly what you have to do. Once you memorize those things, it's hard to mess up."

Basketball is obviously completely different.

"What I had to get used to in eighth grade and the past few years is that we learn all those plays but they are subject to change," Smith said. "Even though coaches give you all the scenarios that might change, that was a lot different from cheerleading. It wasn't memorizing what you had to do."

Smith found the change to be good, not only for the enjoyment of the activity but also to mold her work ethic.

"It kept me on my toes," Smith said. "Cheer could get boring after a while, and in life nothing is going to come out exactly the way you plan for it."

It's higher-order reasoning like that which recently prompted the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association to award Smith a $1,000 scholarship to use as she enters the pre-pharmacy program at Butler University in Indianapolis.

"I didn't know right away I was being nominated for it," she said. "I applied for academic all-state, but I didn't apply for the scholarship."

Smith said the scholarship was for success in categories in addition to the respective sport, including good sportsmanship, academics and extracurricular activities.

"It worked out better than we thought," she admits.

Smith started at guard her junior and senior years at North Putnam, averaging 3.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 rebounds per game last winter.

The numbers which undoubtedly impressed the scholarship committee the most were academic in nature, as her grade-point average was actually higher than her scoring average on the way to being the school's valedictorian.

The Cougars had a 3-20 record last winter, but Smith still enjoyed the experience.

"We didn't have the best season, but I'm really going to miss it," Smith said. "Especially our coaches. I really got close to coach [Katy] Copsey this year, and I'm going to miss her.

"I'm going to miss doing all the activities involved in basketball as well."

Copsey was not surprised that Smith's accomplishments were honored by the ICGSA.

"When I received the news that Madisyn was selected as the ICGSA scholarship winner, I knew they selected the right person," Copsey said. "She is a person who truly deserved the honor and represents the all the reasons this scholarship was first created. Maddie is a gifted athlete and scholar who has worked hard, both on the court and in the classroom, her entire high school career."

Copsey added that Smith's positive qualities even go beyond basketball and academics.

"She models the character we want in a leader by her positive sportsmanship, integrity and teamwork," she said. "Madisyn will do amazing things one day. Butler University is lucky to have her."

Smith was a cheerleader at North Putnam in addition to playing basketball, but that short list hardly scratches the surface of all she did at the school.

"I think I was involved in 20 extracurricular activities this year," she said, which must be some kind of untraceable record. "It was a big deal, but it didn't seem like that many. It was pretty hard, but not many overlapped."

Smith had an interesting experience earlier this year when she tried out for the Indianapolis Colts' cheer team.

Team rules indicate that those trying out had to be 18 years of age by May 1, and she missed that deadline by six days.

"They let me try out any way, but I didn't make it," she said. "Two hundred people tried out, and only 18 made it.

"It was very intense. I went to three workshops before the actual audition date, and at those workshops we had to run a ton."

The sessions included workouts that were several hours in length.

"They were way beyond what we did at high school practice," she said. "You would come back sore every single day. Two girls passed out, and some left puking."

"I was thinking about trying out for the Pacemates [the Indiana Pacers' cheer team]," she added. "That ended up being on our move-in day for Butler, so I can't. I'll try out for the Colts' team again next spring when I'm old enough."

This summer, Smith has been busy working at the Heritage Lake pool before getting ready to head to Butler in a few weeks.

Her brother, Treyton, is a junior basketball standout at NP and she has been busy watching him play in games this summer while also continuing to dance.

"I'm going to try to make it to all of Treyton's games this winter," she said. "I'm excited to see how his season will go.

"My dance team is performing at the Putnam County Fair and will open the cheer competition [on Saturday]," Smith added. "I've been practicing for that too."