HOLLY POND, Ala. — The 2022-2023 season was another successful one for the Holly Pond Lady Broncos. They ended up winning in the Sub-Regional round and made a trip to the Sweet 16 at the Northwest Regional. Eighth grader Madison Butts talked about that season and what all she learned.
“I think it went really good for my first time playing with the girls and with us getting a new coach. It was different, but we just had to play ball like we knew how to do,” Butts said. “Some things I learned was to be confident and always help each other stay up. We had to constantly keep the energy up and we always needed to be positive. I also learned to constantly keep working on my skills outside of practices/games and I would see improvement.”
Madison learned so much from an amazing group of girls and from her coaches as well.
“It was a really great experience. It’s a great group of girls. Everyone is very talented, and they each taught me a lot and helped me understand more than what I already know. I learned to constantly go hard, and good things will come, to push myself to be the best that I can be, and to always keep my head up and make up for it on the next play,” Butts said. “It was amazing. They are some of the best coaches I have had. They all wanted me to be the best that I can be and wanted what’s best for me. I learned that hard work pays off in the long run.”
She added,
“Coach Mary Lauren Hartline is an amazing coach and I can’t wait to be coached by her and the other coaches for the rest of my high school career. She helped me improve my game in ways I didn’t know I needed to improve them. Coach Rachel Finley and coach Molly McKelvy also helped me in more ways than just one. When I didn’t understand something, they would explain it and helped me know what I needed to do.”
Madison played with three great seniors and soaked up as much as she could from them. She also talked about what she learned from playing with this team, plus what she will work on in the off-season to get ready for next season and her goals for the upcoming season.
“They were great. Maddi Ham was a huge role model during the season, and she helped me improve a lot. She always told me to keep my head up and she lifted me up when I was down. She also helped me improve my game sometimes before practice or on the weekend. We would go to the gym and just do some drills and work on shooting. Bai Widner and Samantha Giles also just taught me to not give up and keep working,” Butts said. “I learned to keep working and pushing. It’s going to pay off. Also, I learned to be a team player, to step up and be a leader, and if we’re down, play hard.”
She added,
“I’m going to keep working on my shots, boxing out and rebounding, and finishing tough layups around the rim. My individual goal is to knock down more shots, especially when they are needed, and push the ball. Some team goals would be boxing out and getting offensive/defensive rebounds and to just push.”
Madison talked about what will make this team special to watch next season, her role models growing up, and shared some of the best advice that she’s been given.
“Something about our team that will be special to watch is how hard we work,” she said. “Maddi Ham was a great role model and she told me to not take time for granted. Payton Golden was also a huge role model. She told me it’s not all about missing shots and making turnovers that define you as a player, effort does. Effort is important in every game you play, big or small. Be consistent in every aspect of your game and you’ll be great.”
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