January has flown by, and with it, the beginning of the winter 2022 semester. One of the highlights of the new year is the women’s basketball team and their battle for first place against TWU in the western division. Maddy Gobeil, the Cascades’ starting guard and a leader both on and off the court, has had a statement-setting start to 2022. With twin double-doubles in the team’s opening games against UBCO on Jan. 8 and 9, she has stolen a top spot in the steals defensive category. Maddy had just enough time to tell The Cascade how the team’s close relationship and her time playing pro in France has helped her become the star she is today.
The team’s defense is speaking for itself. Your opponents are shooting less than 30 per cent against you. What’s your “Maddy’s take” on why the team’s defense is so great this season?
We take a lot of pride in our defense. Early in the season, we made certain to have defensive standards and the habits and trends we need to take to accomplish that goal. Every time we talk about games at practice or over the phone, we talk about how to keep working on those habits. It’s those habits that make our defensive tactics so effective.
What are some habits that you find you and your team focus and work on the most?
Being in-stance and communicating lots.
What does being in-stance mean, how does it make or break the habits you build on the court?
Everything from the team’s rotations and movement on defense, to reading and reacting, and knowing when to react to certain situations. And when we communicate with each other, we’re way more effective at getting where we need to be on defense.
It seems that the guards all have deft hands. You’re sitting in the top five of the league for steals, what’s your technique on knowing the perfect time to strike?
Honestly, I feel like I try to set up my defender to steal. So, I like to make it look like they’re open so they think the pass is there. I pretend I’m not there and then dash out when the defender least anticipates or expects someone to lunge for a steal.
From what a lot of people can see, and just hearing the team banter, your teammates and you have such a familial bond. How do you find that helps with communication on the court?
Yeah, definitely. I’d say this is one of the closest teams I’ve ever played on. Everyone has really good relationships and chemistry with each other. I think we were able to figure out how talking to one player might be different than how you talk to another player. And since we have such close relationships with each other, we’ve been able to figure that out and that translates onto the court.
In my research, I saw that you played basketball in France. Can you tell me what that experience was like, what you learned over there, how you’ve grown from that?
Yeah, last fall when our season here got canceled, I signed a contract with a team to play professionally. So, I flew over and was there for three weeks until our season got shut down in France. I stayed there until April until we found out our season was done. Sadly, I never actually ended up playing a game, but I learned a lot from practicing with more experienced players and experienced different types of coaching styles too.
What was it like being there in such a whole new environment? What did you take away both on and off the court?
I definitely had to step outside of my comfort zone. Being overseas, alone, with no friends or family there, was a big thing. I had to come out of my shell and be able to experience things on my own and work through problems on my own. I think that was probably the biggest thing. I think I was able to learn some things about myself that helped me become the player and person I am today.
Interview was edited for length and clarity.
Photo: Gibi Saini / UFV Athletics
Teryn Midzain is an English Major with ambitious goals to write movies and a full-time nerd, whose personality and eccentrics run on high-octane like the cars he loves. More importantly, Teryn loves sports [Formula One], and doesn’t care who knows. When not creating and running deadly schemes in his D&D sessions, Teryn tries to reach the core of what makes the romantic and dramatic World of Sports, the characters and people that make the events so spectacular.
