The Return

After a year off, senior Maddie Motzel is back to play ball

Senior Maddie Motzel has been playing basketball for as long as she can remember.

Her brother influenced her to play, and her passion for basketball led her onto the varsity team as a sophomore. She is now a captain, and the only senior left on the team.

To prepare for this year’s season, she worked on her individual skills over the summer, as well as participating in the summer league that Carmel’s girls’ basketball teams plays in. Because she was out most of her junior season with a concussion, she says that adjusting to the new coaching styles is a “bit of a change, but [she] loves the new coaching style Coach Berg brings to the team.”

As the only senior, she has realizes that the girls she is playing have not played with her for as long as some of her other 2018 classmates. She misses her old teammates, but she said they still come and support to cheer her on, and she has really bonded with her new teammates and made great friendships out of playing with them.

Motzel said she is both nervous and excited about her last season with a Carmel jersey. “This team has a lot of potential and [I] can’t wait to see what they accomplish.”

As one of the captains, Motzel said her main goal is to “guide the team and help the other players in any way [she] can” by giving advice from her own experiences and leading by example.

The whole team is a great bonding experience for Motzel, as they are “always joking around and having a great time when [they are] together.”