8th Grade Triple Threat Maddie Kiley Dominates Varsity

Taking on the field, court, and diamond, Maddie Kiley has made Hudson High School history as being the first eighth grader to play three varsity sports.

Kiley has played and worked hard for this all her life. She started tee-ball and basketball in kindergarten as Co-Ed. Before high school, she played many other sports including gymnastics, soccer, track and she excelled in karate, earning her brown belt.

Although Kiley made the varsity team for softball right away, she had to work hard on JV for a few practices and games to make varsity basketball and field hockey. She played just one game on JV field hockey and two games on JV basketball to prove that she was able to play at the varsity level.

Playing on teams outside of school like Hudson Demolition for softball and CMF for basketball has made Kiley more experienced and helped her gain skill.

“Playing on club and travel teams helped me become eligible to be on varsity skill wise,” Kiley explained.

Being one of the youngest players on a highly competitive team has pushed Kiley to better her skill during practices and games, having a eye on the team’s success.

“I feel that I have been challenged every single game and practice especially in practice because of all the older players and even people close to my age, they push me to get better,” she said.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Kiley passes to a teammate| by Mark Kiley

Not only has playing on varsity allowed her to push herself, but she has also gained confidence as a player, with the reassurance of her hard work over time proving to have helped.

“[Making varsity] has affected me positively because I have got a lot of good self esteem that my work is paying off,” Kiley said when reflecting on what her years of hard work has lead to.

Not only has competing on three varsity sports as an eighth grader affected how she plays, but Kiley also feels it affects other parts of her life and has helped her grow as a person.

“I think in all the teams I’ve been on I’ve learned how to like create friendships and its taught me a lot of social skills,” Kiley explained, “Not a lot of people on the team are close to my age group and that was kinda scary at first but I just had to learn to be friends with them.”