Running point with Concordia Lutheran's Mueller Presented by Athlete Training + Health
Freshmen can be freshmen, am I right?
Two years ago, Concordia Lutheran coach Matt Neidigk pulled up a freshman to start on varsity… at point guard of all positions.
Maddie Mueller is now a two-time, first-team, all-district player who can now look back and laugh at this sequence.
"It was difficult playing with all the older girls," she laughed. "I didn't feel like I could really tell them what do to.
"Coach is yelling at me from the bench, 'open your mouth, open your mouth,'" she said. "I literally looked at him and opened my mouth. I didn't realize he was meaning for me to be more vocal on the court. He just looked at me in disbelief."
So, now an accomplished hooper, what would she tell her freshman self?
"I'd tell her a lot," she laughed. "But I'd tell her to toughen up and not take everything so personally. If your teammates or coach is yelling at you, it's just part of the game… it's just the adrenaline of being competitive. Also, you just have to have fun playing."
Last year, she added an all-state nod to her resume. Now, it's her team.
"We are pretty young and inexperienced," she said. "Last year, we had two seniors who were great leaders. One was a good cop and one was a bad cop. They were Yin and Yang and it totally worked.
"I want to be the good cop. I know we will have some freshmen coming in this year who are going to have to contribute. I'm not that type to be, 'freshmen are stupid', because I was that stupid freshman before."
Mueller is also a baller in the classroom. She's very involved in Student Council and is an officer for the National Honor Society. She also volunteers at her church.
While she sees basketball in her future, she's also thinking long-term.
"Right now, I want to play basketball in college," she said. "I think it would be great experience to be a college athlete. My family and I are trying to figure out my future. My dad always said I loved to build things like train tracks when I was a kid. We would buy furniture at IKEA and tell me to try and build it, so engineering might be in my future."
For now, building a winner at Concordia Lutheran is her immediate goal.
"It's going to be a challenge because we have three players with real varsity experience," she said. "But we will be okay."
Especially with her running point.
About Athlete Training + Health
Athlete Training + Health's mission is to use best practices of health and performance to provide a world-class training environment for active adults and athletes of all ages and abilities. Our multi-field, state-of-the-art facilities are equipped with advanced pro-style weight rooms and dedicated areas for adult and youth athletes. ATH's highly-skilled coaches deploy training strategies that elevate – regardless of age or ability – athletes' performance to the highest level through consistent evaluation and education. A key component of ATH is its forward-thinking approach to collaboration with hospital systems, professional sports teams, universities and independent school districts to raise the bar for health and performance training. For more: www.athletetrainingandhealth.com.
