By Murray Gleffe,
Correspondent
Name: Maddie Koch
Parents: Donna and Brian Koch
Activity: Girls Volleyball
Twitter: @Madeline_koch
What is it like to be a leader on the volleyball team at Ashwaubenon High School? “I’m very lucky to have been on varsity since I was a freshman. I’ve been able to work my way up the leadership board. There are nine seniors on the team this season and each of them leads us in a different way and we work really well together.”
What is your most embarrassing moment ever in volleyball? “During club season there was a short serve that I started to run for, but when I dove for it the ball hit the top of the net and rolled over onto our side. The ball ended up landing right on my back as I slid under the net while doing the scorpion. We did not win the point.”
How many years have you been involved in volleyball? “I started playing volleyball in eighth grade through Ashwaubenon’s middle school team. I wasn’t planning on joining a club team, but my 3 on 3 basketball tournament was cancelled on the day of club tryouts and I was bored so I decided to give it another try! Now volleyball has become my favorite sport.”
What is your most memorable moment? “My favorite moment in volleyball was beating De Pere for the first time in 11 years this last season. This match went to five sets in our home gym which was filled with loud parents and our even louder student section. Everyone was into the game and our team was working so well together, I still get chills thinking about it.”
What’s the hardest part about performing in a volleyball match? “For me one of the hardest parts of playing volleyball is having to focus on each individual point. Every contact on the ball matters and it’s important to move on quickly if there is a bad touch. I think this is true for every sport. The mental part of it is really important.”
If you could be somebody for a day, who would it be? “I think it would be cool to be Sandy Olsson from the movie Grease. I think it’d be fun to be a teen in that time period.”
What is your sports routine before a big game starts? “My favorite pregame ritual is doing our team cheer in the hallway before we run out onto the court. It gives everyone energy to go have a good warm up and it’s fun to see the faces of everyone who hears it as they walk by.”
Do you have a nickname or something a teammate calls you during a game? “I’ve had a lot of interesting nicknames during high school but the one that has stuck the most is Cookie because of my last name. The seniors on last year’s basketball team gave it to me.”
What is one thing that other teammates or coaches don’t know about you? “I was on swim club for six years when I was younger, and I still hold one youth record. I stopped swimming because you can’t talk to anyone during practices.”
Winning individual honors or a big team win? “I definitely prefer to share an honor with my team rather than just myself. It’s more special in my opinion to enjoy that experience with a group of people you’re close with.”
What are your college aspirations? “Next year I will attend Purdue University. I made my verbal commitment to play there during the summer of my sophomore year and I am so excited to be part of their program! As of now, I am not sure what I would like to major in but I’m considering areas in biomedical engineering or sports psychology.”
What would your dream job be once you graduate? “After graduating college, I would love to work at a university and work with their athletes as a sports psychologist.”
What are your hobbies? “When I’m not playing sports I really enjoy being around my friends and family. My parents own a cottage that my family visits often and it’s a lot of fun to hang out on the water. Otherwise, I like reading and watching all kinds of movies.”
What is your favorite event ever attended? “When I was 10 my parents brought me and my older brother Bennett to watch my oldest two brothers, Adam and Jacob, play in March Madness. We went to Oklahoma City and watched their team beat the number one seeded Kansas Jayhawks and move onto the sweet sixteen.”
What is your favorite type of music? “My favorite genre is contemporary R&B with my favorite artist being Khalid. I still like to listen to a lot of music from the 70’s as well.”
What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? “My favorite thing to do on my phone is to FaceTime people. I usually use it to talk to my friends because it’s easier to talk on the phone rather than text.”
What three words describe you? “Caring, trustworthy, and relatable”
What is your favorite trip ever taken? “My favorite trip was to Amsterdam when I was in middle school. I went to Europe to visit my brother who was playing basketball overseas, and we visited different places while we were there. One of my favorite movies was filmed in Amsterdam so it was really cool to see the canals that were in the movie.”
Favorites
Food: Avocados
Subject: Biology
Color: Purple
TV Show: “The Office”
Athlete: Sarah Wilhite
Board Game: Monopoly
Candy: Twizzlers
Ice Cream: Orange Creamsicle
Holiday: National Independence Day (Fourth of July)
Season: Spring