(Photo provided by Hastings)
Maddie Hastings ’23 always wanted to play basketball at the collegiate level. Now a player on the women’s basketball team and a first year student on the pre-med track, Hastings is ready to take her collegiate career to the next level — but first, she has a story to tell.
Born and raised in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Hastings started playing basketball in third grade. She spent much of her childhood playing for local teams, including the Lady Longhorns and Farnum Hill Freedom.
However, as she got older and her aspirations of playing in college became clear, she could no longer get the same kind of exposure playing for those teams. “We no longer had any teams in my local area that were competitive enough [and] had enough people that wanted to be playing at the collegiate level,” she explains.
When Hastings was a freshman in high school, she started playing for the Mass Rivals: “I traveled two hours to practice twice a week.” Getting home at midnight from basketball practice wasn’t fun. However, her drive to play competitive basketball was instilled by her family, which made it worthwhile.
“My dad used to play basketball, but he didn’t have the same opportunities that I had to go to private school and to go to showcase tournaments,” she says. By achieving the success that her father didn’t have the means to accomplish, Hastings found joy in sharing her journey with him. “It makes me feel fulfilled that I can do something to give back to him.”
Hastings’ desire to become a doctor comes from her family’s history of medical difficulties. The rigorous curriculum that the pre-med track entails is certainly a challenge that Hastings understands and is prepared for.
Hastings tentatively plans to be a Neuroscience major and a Spanish minor, she also has an interest in human physiological sciences. Hastings credits Skidmore’s resources for student athletes to ensure that they maintain focus on their studies. “As first year students, we have six hour study hall requirements. I can only [spend these hours] at student academic services or with peer academic coaches. It is something that really keeps me [on task].”
Hastings also credits the close relationships she has with her teammates already, as she often asks them for advice: “There’s another [player on the team] on the pre med track, and she can speak to her experiences and guide me on what to do and what not to do.”
Hastings commitment to the sport is evident not only in her willingness to spend 8 hours per week in a car, but also with her willingness to stay on task and focused on the task at hand, especially on game days. “I’m pretty serious. I like small talk in the locker room, but once we get on the court, it’s game time and it’s not time to mess around.”
Hastings explains her competitive nature. “I get pretty disappointed when people are not affected by how the game is going — when it is time to be serious it is time to be serious.”
Even with her strict and no nonsense attitude, Hastings values the balance between being serious and having fun.
When she was the captain of the women’s varsity basketball team her senior year, she embraced that balance. Hastings credits the captains of her sophomore year basketball team for guiding her, as that year her team won the state championship for their division.
“I got to experience the upperclassmen as my role models,” she says. “They all taught me how to be a good teammate and define work and play, to know when it’s time to joke around with friends and to know when it’s time to be serious.”
As for this year, Hastings hopes to get substantial minutes and make a difference to the team. “I want to be an impact player, specifically defensively. I want a unified team that is selfless with the ball and makes the extra pass.”
As she gets ready for the upcoming season, Hastings recalls what she would tell her high school freshman self: “Be confident. Maintain your personal values: family, school, sports.”