Trusty named MaxPreps Player of the Week
Lakeside senior volleyball player Maddie Trusty is making herself known on a national stage.
She was named the MaxPreps/American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Player of the Week for the state of Arkansas for the week of Sept. 21-27. She tallied 46 kills (5.11 per game), 43 digs (4.78 per game), 32 service receptions (3.56 per game) and seven aces.
This is the first player from Lakeside to achieve this honor.
Maddie said that her ability to recognize her goals and know what she wanted to do from an early age — and then carrying out that which was necessary in order to achieve them — has led to her success.
But her success is not just about her.
“It feels really good to be recognized for my school and to get my school out there because we’ve been working really hard this season, and it feels good to make a presence in Arkansas as well as at the national level,” she said.
Maddie has led Lakeside to a 15-0 start this season, and the Rams show no signs of slowing down.
While obviously gifted athletically, Maddie says it’s the mental part of the game that has ultimately led to her success and her ability to achieve her goals. Last November, she signed with Florida State to play beach volleyball next fall.
“I kind of knew as soon as I stepped on the campus this is where I want to spend my four years,” she said of Florida State. “I’m not really sure what I want to major in yet, but I have started the application process, and I’m just going to go and work hard for those four years and try to get as much playing time as I can.”
She says it was realizing what she wanted to do when she was young that got her to where she now is.
“I knew I wanted to play college volleyball, and I knew that at such a young age I was going to have to make sacrifices,” she said. “I think just setting all those teenage experiences that most teenagers experience aside and really focusing on my goals, and just realizing that at a very young age, has really helped me throughout my entire process of knowing this is what I want to do. And I’m willing to work as hard as I can and do whatever I can to do that.”
Maddie started playing volleyball when she was 6 years old, and as soon as she was able to join a team and play organized ball, she jumped at the chance.
“When I was 7, I was like ‘I want to play on a team, and I want to play as much as I can,’” she said. “I just was like every chance I got, I wanted to play and be on a court. I wanted to play with the older girls. I just wanted to play. And I just think that throughout the years, I’ve put in a lot of work off the court, on the court, and there’s a lot that goes into that that people don’t see — like waking up early every day, staying after practice and just really putting in that work.”
Lakeside head coach Rhonda Thigpen recalls the first time she saw Maddie play.
“I remember walking in the gym years ago (as a college coach) and somebody goes, ‘You’ve got to go see this kid.’ That was about a fifth grader, and she’s playing club,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s going to be a great player.’ Fast forward, now I’m coaching, and that’s what I walked into.
“She’s perfected her game, and I think that’s one thing you give is a good player can always be a great player. So she was a good player when I came, and I think she’s become great. And I think she has the desire because she has a goal in front of her. She has that goal to go play beach, and she has that goal to encourage her teammates. If you watch her on the court, it’s not just about her. She’s encouraging the setter, she’s encouraging the passers and the hitters. And I like that. She’s about them.”
Maddie is the daughter of Landon and Erica Trusty, both of whom were athletes at the University of Central Arkansas. Landon was a professional football player, and Erica played volleyball.
Watching her in a game, one will notice her uncanny ability to find just the right gaps on the opposite side of the net and virtually place the ball anywhere she wants. She notes having that court awareness and practicing solid fundamentals is a big part of her success on the court.
“You can be a great player and you can hit a ball hard, but I think court awareness is definitely one of the biggest
skills you can have and having that IQ ,” she said. And I think that also just comes with playing and experience, and doing as much as you can all the time because that will eventually grow your IQ and make you into that player. Just knowing what I want to do — having that ball placement, having that ball control — and that also goes with being really good at fundamentals and spending all that time when you’re young.”
Maddie and the Rams will host White Hall tonight at Lakeside Athletic Complex before traveling to Sheridan on Thursday.