By BUTCH HARMON
When it comes to combining athletic achievement with excellence in the classroom, few high school athletes do it as well as Alma senior guard Maddy Seeley.
A four-year varsity player for the Panthers, Maddy has been enjoying a memorable senior season.
She kicked off the season in a big way when she scored her 1,000th career point in a 69-44 win over Swan Valley on Dec. 12. After she recorded her 1,000th point, the officials stopped the game and presented her with the game ball.
“It was real exciting,” Maddy said. “I didn’t know that they would stop the game and announce it. It was real cool to have my family and friends there with me, and it was real cool for the officials to do that for me.”
Scoring her 1,000th point was an accomplishment that meant a lot, not only to Maddy, but also to her coach and to the program.
“Maddy scored her thousandth point more than a month ago in front of a home crowd,” said coach Jenny Intveld. “Based on what I have been told from long-time residents and our administration in Alma, this milestone has not been reached by many of our girls’ basketball players in the past. We honored her by pausing the game and giving her the game ball. You could tell that she was overwhelmed by the support that our fans and community members gave that evening. It means a lot to the program to see someone work incredibly hard, and it also means that she is really supported by selfless teammates who set great screens, make great passes, and haul in rebounds that give us those opportunities on offense.”
Seeley finished the game with 28 points, and on Jan. 8, she set another milestone when she scored a career-high 38 points in a 52-48 win against Shepherd.
While she is averaging just shy of 30 points per game, scoring is only one of the facets of her game. “Maddy is a solid guard that has developed into an explosive scorer,” Intveld said. “She is the type of player that can shoot the lights out from the perimeter but can also penetrate and create shots in paint. As a defender, she is athletic enough to hang with the best players on the opposing teams, and her knowledge of the game allows her to see things defensively that others may not. Maddy leads very easily by example and is always the first one in the gym and the last one out. She never tires when it comes to working on her game and improving her skill set. This year, she has focused on becoming more of a vocal leader both on and off the court.”
A point guard in the past, Maddy has settled in at shooting guard this year thanks to a familiar face joining her in the backcourt. “I’ve been more of a shooting guard this year,” she said. “My sister [Mackenzie] is a freshman, and she has taken over at point guard. Having my sister play point guard allows me to do more things off the ball.”
Being able to share her senior season with her sister is special. “It’s real fun and I am really enjoying it,” Maddy said. “It’s really cool having her as a teammate. We push each other and help each other out. It’s been really great.”
As good a player as Maddy is, her personality and character are just as outstanding. “As an individual, Maddy is an absolute gem,” Intveld said. “She has a big heart for others, and I know that kind of caring demeanor comes from her solid family structure and influence.”
Maddy is the daughter of former Alma athlete and graduate Paul Seeley, and her mom Tracey was a standout athlete at Parkway High School in Rockford, Ohio. Maddy’s decision to commit to play college basketball at Northwood University was made easier knowing that she would still be close to her family.
“I am real close to my family, and Northwood is close to home,” Maddy said. “It also has a very good business school, and that is what I wanted to go into. I’m real excited about playing at Northwood. I committed over the summer, and it was nice being able to concentrate on my senior year knowing I had my college figured out. I’ve always been interested in Northwood, and I really like the coaches there.”
Seeley plans to major in business, and excelling in the classroom has gone hand-in-hand with being a standout athlete.
“Outside the gym, Maddy’s focus has been on family and academics,” Intveld said. “She has maintained a 4.0 GPA through almost four years of high school and sets a high bar for herself when it comes to success in the classroom, which comes as no surprise when you look at the work ethic she displays on the court.”
Seeley has steadily improved as a basketball player during her four years at Alma, and her high school coach sees plenty of room for growth as she becomes a college player.
“I’ve seen very few athletes, at all levels of play, make such growth each year after being moved up to varsity as a freshman,” Intveld said. “Naturally, you would think this would happen, but for some it doesn’t. Maddy hasn’t plateaued yet, and I’m just not sure where the ceiling is for her. Each year she gets better and better. That is a testament to her and her work habits/competitive nature. I don’t think she will allow herself to ever be satisfied with where she is at as a player, and because of this, I’m confident that she will continue to develop new aspects of her game and be a great contributor to the Northwood team next season. Her impact on the high school game in our area and to our school is only the start for this kid.”
Before she begins her college career, Maddy still has some unfinished business with the Alma girls’ team.
“Right now, I think we are just getting better and better as a team,” Seeley said. “League play is starting over, and I think we are going to show some teams that we’ve improved. I’m real excited to see how we do against everyone the second time around the league.”
With Seeley leading the way, the Panthers will be a dangerous team down the stretch.
“To our team, Maddy means the world, but not solely based on her incredible production on offense,” Intveld said. “She means the world to this team because of the examples she sets on and off the floor. You won’t find a kid who works harder than she does every time she steps on the floor, and you will have a hard time finding someone who wants to pass their knowledge along to those on the team and those coming up through the ranks within our program. It is her heart, her ability to lead by example and through the choices she makes, as well as her hard-working nature that will make her difficult to replace.”