FEATURED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Maddie McHugh, South Putnam

Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Maddie McHugh of South Putnam competes in the IHSAA sectional last year.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

Maddie McHugh is a senior at South Putnam who participates in cross country, basketball and track and field. Her career has been slowed by injuries for the past year and a half.

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Banner Graphic: Describe your recent history of injuries.

Maddie McHugh: “In November of 2016, on the first night of the county basketball tournament, I tore my ACL for the first time. I was supposed to have a six-to-nine-month recovery, but I was released at six months. The week after Memorial Day, I tore the same ACL for the second time. I’m going through a nine-month recovery, but I’m training for track right now.”

BG: How tough was it to miss so much of your sports career, especially not being able to be on the court for two sectional basketball championships?

MH: “It was tough for a while, but I think God put me in a new position for my team to cheer them on and support them. I had a really supportive team and group of coaches, and that made it easier.”

BG: You got to score a basket on Senior Night. How cool was that?

MH: “That was cool. They put me in and I was able to score. I was at one end of the court, and everyone else was at the other end. Lillie Stein threw me the ball and it went right into my hands, and I was able to score.”

BG: Which is your favorite — basketball or running sports?

MH: “If you had asked me last year, I would have said basketball. This year, I have to say running. I’m going to continue to run when I go to college. Running is kind of therapeutic, and I have realized that over the course of my recoveries. For fun, I would say basketball.

BG: What do you like about each sport?

MH: “Basketball is a fun sport to play. You can’t go out there and not have fun. We had a really good team with some really talented players. Running in either cross country or track is more of a personal sport, where it’s on yourself to do well. You are competing as a team, but it’s more individual. I think that’s really cool.”

BG: What have you learned from sports?

MH: “I have learned to be patient and persevere, because it’s not always fun and not always easy. If you stay focused and keep your eye on the goal, it all works out in the end.”

BG: Your family seems to have a lot of injuries. Is there some genetic reason behind this?

MH: “I think it’s just rough luck. People look at us and how often we are injured, and say ‘Oh my gosh, you guys are injured all the time.’ I tell them that ‘Well, we must go hard all the time.’ It’s crazy. There are no bone issues or muscle issues.”

BG: So how does everything feel for you now?

MH: “I feel great right now. I’m running and training, and getting back into the swing of things. Everything is going really well.”

BG: Is it hard to keep your body in good shape when you can’t do anything [due to injury]?

MH: “It is, but there’s always some part of your body that you can exercise even if it’s not your legs. This winter I did a lot of core work and upper body stuff to keep my heart rate up, so it wouldn’t be as hard to get back into things.”

BG: What events will you be doing in track this year?

MH: “That’s a good question. In the past, I’ve always been an 800 runner, but this year I may be doing the mile and a different variety of events. We have a really strong distance team where we are strong in a lot of places, so he’s going to put us where we need to be.”

BG: What other things do you do at school that are not sports-related?

MH: “I am in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which meets every week. I’m in National Honor Society, and PIE Coalition. I really love PIE because you get to meet people from other schools. I am involved in almost everything, and I like being busy and have my time filled up.”

BG: What things do you like to do outside of school?

MH: “We go to Plainfield Christian Church, and I do a lot of things with my friends and family. My family is very close, and we do a lot of things together like play board games. I love those weekends. I love the TV show ‘One Tree Hill’, even though Netflix just took it off. I’m still upset about that. A TV show that our family watched together was ‘Gilmore Girls’. We’ve seen all the original episodes and the new ones they just made. I love that show. In music, I will listen to whatever comes on the radio. I’m not picky. If you turn on the radio, I’ll know what song it is whether it’s from the ‘80s or newer songs. I watch a lot of movies, because I spent a lot of time being cooped up this summer after surgery. I like the ‘Pink Panther’ with Steve Martin, and ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’.”

BG: Do you have pets?

MH: “I have two dogs. One is a stray named Ellie. We found her on my 10th birthday. We don’t know how old she is. My other dog is a Shiapoo named Winnie.”

BG: What is your greatest fear?

MH: “I’m really close to my family [with five children], so anything happening to them would be tough to deal with. We are all like each other’s best friends.”

BG: What are your favorite and least favorite foods?

MH: “Favorite would be macaroni and cheese, least favorite would be cottage cheese.”

BG: What is something you have never done before, but would like to do someday?

MH: “Skydive. I’m not an adrenaline ‘junky’, but I think that would be so cool. I have a friend who went skydiving for his 18th birthday, and he said it was so amazing to see the world from that high and jump back into it.”

BG: What are your plans for after high school?

MH: “I haven’t chosen a college yet. If I stay in Indiana, I’m going to go to Hanover. I am going to study to become a genetic counselor. I’ll major in biology, and then go to graduate school after that.”

BG: What is a genetic counselor?

MH: “I would work with families to do screening and see what percentage a family’s child might have of getting certain diseases.”

BG: How did you get interested in that?

MH: “In biology, I learned about epigenetics and I really enjoyed that. I want to work in a lab, but I’m also kind of a people person so with the counseling I would get to work with people too.”

BG: You are a good student [fourth in class out of 89]. Is it hard to keep up your grades by doing so many sports?

MH: “I think it makes it easier. My time management skills are really good. I get done in the classroom what I should get done first.”

BG: Summarize your overall South Putnam experience.

MH: “I came from Plainfield when I was younger. Going from a class of about 400 people to one of less than 100 was different, but I think South Putnam is really special. Everybody knows everybody, and you have support from all your teachers.

BG: When you are out of college, do you want to live around here or do you have plans to live elsewhere?

MH: “I wouldn’t mind traveling. This is always home. My sister just got married to a farmer, and they’re not going anywhere. For a while I’ll want to get out and explore. I like the mountains.”

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  • Maddie is the picture of Perseverance when you look it up in the dictionary. We are so proud of her accomplishments in sports and in the classroom. Such a lovely person inside and out. Congratulations!

    -- Posted by lduggan69 on Wed, Feb 28, 2018, at 6:42 AM
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