Madison Badger commits to University of Puget Sound for volleyball

Junior Madison Badger began playing volleyball in the sixth grade. Badger recently committed to the University of Puget Sound to continue her volleyball career. Although still only a junior, Badger is ready to commit to Puget Sound, and is excited to play college-level volleyball. 

Badger’s volleyball career first began when she made the team at Miller Middle School, and now she plays for MVVC club. Previously, she had tried out individual sports such as swimming and running, but volleyball gave her the edge and fun from being a part of a team sport. 

“I didn’t love physical aggression when it comes to sports,” Badger said. “But when I played volleyball, I really liked that sense of passive aggression. It was a really good way to let out anger and allowed me to release energy.”  

Because volleyball takes up such a large portion of Badger’s schedule, the sport has also taught her to balance both her volleyball commitments and school work. Typically, Badger’s week consists of three two-hour practices and two one-hour training sessions. Tournaments occur one to three times a month, in which they take up whole weekends at a time. This large time commitment has encouraged Badger to adapt to a more flexible schedule. Practice schedules are really dependent on court availability, allowing Badger to recognize the importance of being able to quickly switch on and off between school work and volleyball.

“It’s all about having really good time management,” Badger said. “You need to make sure you’re being efficient and prioritizing things that need to get done, other than just leisure activities.”

Throughout her volleyball career, Badger has had various ups and downs as well. Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively stopped club volleyball tournaments, forbidding Badger access to coaching for several months. This was during her eighth grade season, usually a prime season of growth for most players. Due to this, Badger has had to work harder to catch up to the levels other players are at- especially those who hadn’t been impacted by the pandemic to a similar extent. Additionally, just last year, Badger faced several injuries such as a broken foot and a concussion. 

“After being in a slump for a few tournaments, I switched to a new club,” Badger said. “There, my coach changed my view on how to perceive the sport, and how to handle the pressure.” 

Currently, Badger works extensively with both her coach and her teammates to foster a competitive, healthy environment. Her coach constantly pushes her to be her best — both physically and mentally. 

“He pushes me to do whatever will benefit me the most,” Badger said. “At the same time, he’ll pressure me to do whatever needs to be done for the team.”

As for teammates, Badger recognizes the importance of communication within a volleyball team Plays are based on what teammates are shouting at each other, so being able to quickly communicate is crucial to the sport.

“Communication is key when you’re part of a team,” Badger said. “It’s one of the reasons why I love this sport so much.”

During Badger’s recruitment process, she began relatively early in comparison to others. While still a sophomore, Badger took the time to create highlight clips for every tournament, and spent hours emailing coaches — just to get a few responses. Despite all of this, she chose Puget Sound, the school she would have chosen even if she had not been recruited for volleyball.

“I just love the Puget Sound area and how close it is to Seattle,” Badger said. “I also love the coach, which is one of the biggest reasons why I chose the school.” 

For Badger’s future with volleyball, she sees herself playing within a well connected college team. After college, she does not plan on playing volleyball professionally. Badger believes that college volleyball will be very similar to high school volleyball in that everyone is connected to the school and winning for the school’s name. 

“Volleyball has been so important to my mental health,” Badger said. “It’s something I will always love to participate in.”