The path from high school hoops to college courts is lined with personal evolution, and Madison Guerrero's story is a testament to that journey. On 'Can Be Broken', we're joined by this relentless defender and freshman basketball player from Los Angeles Valley Junior College, who takes us through the trials and triumphs of her athletic and personal growth. From the sting of a championship loss to the thrill of collegiate-level competition, Madison's experiences shed light on the realities of being a student-athlete—balancing ambition with academics, the game with personal development, and setbacks with success.
Madison's candid conversation with us reaches beyond the basketball playbook, exploring the intense preparation that goes into every game and the mental agility required to keep pace at the college level. She dives into the nuances of team dynamics, the pivotal role of coaches, and how the decision to stay local for college shaped her experience. Listeners will hear how Madison's commitment to nursing parallels her dedication on the court, illustrating the drive it takes to succeed in sports and in life. Her story is a playbook on resilience, echoing the mentorship and advice that have fueled her ambitions.
As you tune in, be prepared to be inspired by Madison's heartfelt gratitude for her support system. You'll gain perspective on the impact of social media in the recruitment process, and how platforms like Synergy can spotlight an athlete's performance. This episode is more than just a conversation about basketball—it's a celebration of the indomitable spirit found within every dedicated athlete and a reminder of the joy that comes from chasing your passion, no matter the challenges. Join us on 'Can Be Broken' to be part of a community that uplifts and empowers through each shared story.
The path from high school hoops to college courts is lined with personal evolution, and Madison Guerrero's story is a testament to that journey. On 'Can Be Broken', we're joined by this relentless defender and freshman basketball player from Los Angeles Valley Junior College, who takes us through the trials and triumphs of her athletic and personal growth. From the sting of a championship loss to the thrill of collegiate-level competition, Madison's experiences shed light on the realities of being a student-athlete—balancing ambition with academics, the game with personal development, and setbacks with success.
Madison's candid conversation with us reaches beyond the basketball playbook, exploring the intense preparation that goes into every game and the mental agility required to keep pace at the college level. She dives into the nuances of team dynamics, the pivotal role of coaches, and how the decision to stay local for college shaped her experience. Listeners will hear how Madison's commitment to nursing parallels her dedication on the court, illustrating the drive it takes to succeed in sports and in life. Her story is a playbook on resilience, echoing the mentorship and advice that have fueled her ambitions.
As you tune in, be prepared to be inspired by Madison's heartfelt gratitude for her support system. You'll gain perspective on the impact of social media in the recruitment process, and how platforms like Synergy can spotlight an athlete's performance. This episode is more than just a conversation about basketball—it's a celebration of the indomitable spirit found within every dedicated athlete and a reminder of the joy that comes from chasing your passion, no matter the challenges. Join us on 'Can Be Broken' to be part of a community that uplifts and empowers through each shared story.
What up, what up, what up, and welcome to another episode of Can Be Broken Podcast. I'm your host, seamonster, and once again I'm humbled about the person I have here in front of me, who's a good friend, a client, a good family friend. She comes from a great family of I mean, just great parents and I'll let her just come with talk because you'll see who she is. But I'm in front of me a student athlete formerly from Shamanad, graduated from Chatsworth High School and is currently finished up for freshman season at Los Angeles Valley Junior College. Welcome to the show, madison Guerrero.
Speaker 2:Thank you, seizer, so much for having me. I'm honestly really excited.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I think just time in is everything and I probably wanted I did want to have you on the show before, but I really wanted you to finish your first season and I know you were busy. You just finished up your first season at Valley College. You guys went pretty far we'll talk about that to get the experience and to let everybody know the transition between high school and college and different things, right, and so I just wanted you to experience that. And then I'm like this is the right time to get around.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, it was definitely a great freshman year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell us a little bit about, first of all, where you grew up, and obviously you're, where you went to school, whether it be middle school, and then obviously you went to Shamanad and Chatsworth. Tell us a little bit about that. And then how you got started in basketball.
Speaker 2:So I grown up in Somar all my life, I went to Nobel Middle School and then I went to Shamanad after for my first two years and then I finished up at Chatsworth and now I'm at LA Valley.
Speaker 1:Yes, ma'am LA Valley. What age did you start playing basketball? You play other sports as well.
Speaker 2:I started basketball when I think I was four, and I was playing soccer since I was two.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, they threw you into the wolves right there. Young age you can walk and run and there you go. No, yeah, definitely. And then the part is saying to play basketball is probably when you're young, dribbling a basketball that was so bad. Even now I need to work on it like genuinely.
Speaker 2:It was a little bit bad.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, it's hard, you can shoot it, you can throw the ball, and it's hard, it's heavier than you and you're just trying to throw it up. When did you actually fall in love with that sport and say I want to continue to do this and continue to have it go to you, go to college with and play.
Speaker 2:I would want to say I've always loved it, but I really grew really a lot of love for it when I was on my first travel team, valley Venom, and I was not a not really good player on that team. I was barely getting used to playing basketball, but one thing I always could do was like answer my coach's questions or do what they asked, and defense was my favorite part. So they're like we can always fix your offense. Defense is like something effort wise and they just love that. And so I love that and ever since then I really really enjoyed it. It was my senior year. I always knew I wanted to play college. I wanted to play a college sport. I knew I wanted to do something in college like that. So my senior year, after we lost the D2 championship game, after the game I realized I was like, yeah, I'm really not done with basketball. I still have so much more to give so much more I want to play.
Speaker 2:So that's when I really decided like, okay, it's going to for sure be going to college for basketball.
Speaker 1:How old were you when you were with that Venom team?
Speaker 2:I think I was eight.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, okay, that was young, yeah, okay. And then it's funny, you know you bring on basketball players or whatever, and everybody loves offense scoring, and how did you fall in love with playing defense so well? And then obviously your coach has said, hey, we'll fix the offense. But how did you say, hey, I took defensive personally and made it my best asset?
Speaker 2:I think it started with soccer.
Speaker 1:honestly, I thought it was so much fun.
Speaker 2:You know like stealing the ball from other people or slide tackles I love doing slide tackles and soccer, and then basketball. Wise, it wasn't until I had this one coach, Coach Lee, and we went undefeated that season and he gave out like personal awards, you know, like MVP or best offensive, and I got best defensive player. And I was like whoa, like best defensive player. I was like I must be doing something right to be best defensive player and ever since then I just loved it.
Speaker 2:I love like watching people's eyes and then like seeing like, oh, they're going to throw it here, I'm going to steal the ball from you and I'm going to lay up and that's that's where I get my easy points, where I like I could tell where they're going to pass it and I just steal the ball and I get it, and then everyone's like, well, I'm just like this is my favorite part, cause.
Speaker 1:I'm like.
Speaker 2:I read your mind. I was thinking two steps ahead of you this whole time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I got you yeah.
Speaker 2:Literally is my favorite part. Cause you're like what, what, and I'm like, yep, like you didn't even see me coming, yeah.
Speaker 1:You know I used to pride myself as well playing defense. I mean, I loved offense. But you know, if I could go out there and say, hey, I'm going to limit my year to one hand, or at least two hands. You know, under 10 for full season in baseball, um, or win, uh, you know, first team defensive player or second team is very prideful, is very humbling. It's very cool to get honored for being out there and helping your team on a defensive spot. You know, um, that's so awesome. Um, so you made the transition. First of all, let's talk a little bit about you're the oldest, I am Okay, and then you have uh couple siblings to them.
Speaker 1:Yep, how do they? And Michael shout out to them, shout out to Michael.
Speaker 2:Michael is 16. He's a lefty pitcher at Chatser, yes. And then Matthew is 11, who is more of an infield player. He's already infield player, but we're trying to teach him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, they both come here. Obviously, you come here off and on. Uh, you made the transition to college, which I, you know we had talked about how it's different, uh, in regards to a lot of different things. Um, you know, no, no bells ringing. You know, you got to get up on your own. You got a job now. I mean, you always been working here and there while in high school, but it's different. Now you're more full time. You know, you're a student athlete and you're working and and you're grinding in the gym and it's a different mentality. Um, but, yeah, Michael comes here as well. Uh, amazing junior, correct, Junior Junior at Chatsworth lefty. Uh, and then Matthew comes here as well. Just started coming, see a lot of improvements in him. Um, and then mentioned your parents, who are great people and and I love them both.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, my mom Maritza, and my dad me go, they're like my biggest fans.
Speaker 1:Are you sure they didn't want to not be mentioned? They're probably. We don't mention our names, no.
Speaker 2:I think they wanted to know Knowing my mom should be like. Why didn't you mention me Exactly?
Speaker 1:exactly Knowing your mom Exactly. Uh, you better mention my name in every sentence.
Speaker 2:She's like don't, don't forget what I've done.
Speaker 1:Exactly, yeah, no, I mean, you know, uh, as well as myself and yourself and I'm a lot of student athletes and a lot of athletes that play different sports, the parents are the, the beacon and the anchor of support.
Speaker 1:Oh, definitely, you know and so a lot of love for all the parents that drive that uh financially, support, uh emotionally, when you're there, you know, after a game that you know you didn't do well, also when you did do well, the highs and lows of everything. So a shout out to all the parents, maritza and everybody, and your father who's falling in love with golf as well.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, he loves it. He's like going at least once a week, but it's like good for him.
Speaker 1:We're all happy.
Speaker 2:We're like he has a hobby, you know, because he like sacrificed so much of his time my parents for us, and so now that we get to see like they're getting to start slowly start enjoying their time, I I genuinely feel very happy because I'm like, okay, like they sacrificed for me, I'm going to help them, Like I'll take Matthew to practice so you can do this or you could sleep in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think one of the the best joys that I have as a coach here is strength and conditioning. It is seeing everybody that comes through my doors grow into great human beings and have a relationship like you could have with your parents. That is really good and your brothers, and your brothers as well. So that's most important. And if the bonus is obviously continuing to play at the college level and get an education but you guys are all good human beings, which is most important. Tell me a little bit about high school first. Let's go a little bit about the hardest thing kind of in high school to deal with when you're playing sports, specifically at Chatsworth, and then the transition you know from going and graduating into a college.
Speaker 2:So when I was at Chatsworth, the hardest part was probably getting all my studying and homework done. Our practice times were from four to six and then I have to drive home, obviously, eat and everything, and with taking APs and honors it was like I had to space out enough time to study for each of these classes a certain amount of time and get everything done. And I think that was the hardest part because even on game days like it's just like too hectic. You know you can't really do too much, you can not do nothing. So it became a lot sometimes.
Speaker 2:But college wise, I think the hardest transition for me was telling myself I can't be in my head at all during the game because the game is so fast paced. The moment you're in your head it could take you a whole half to get out of your head and by then it's probably too late. It's like way too late and you just have to be there. My coach always says you have to be there mostly mentally, physically and spiritually, and I agree. Like I have to check myself, like I'm here mostly in my here physically, in my here spiritually. What am I doing to like get ready for this game, because there's no time where I can be in my head. If I'm in my head, I've pretty much lost.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it seems like time management at one point in high school was managed for you a little bit like you had to go to school from eight to three, whatever that be, and then after that you had practice and then you had to manage your own time of studying what was important when you had classes. But now you schedule your own classes at certain times with a counselor there that's obviously going to help you. You have practices, but then you still have studying to do and it's all different. You don't have to wake up, you don't even have to go to class. Nobody's going to call your mom or notify her through a phone or an email and saying, hey, she didn't show up to class. My mom's going to find out, she's going to find out. But it's a lot more responsibility, accountability, no, definitely, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I think, like you said also was, the plane is a lot faster. And it's a lot faster because in high school some people there will never play after high school. They just do it to have a hobby or do something their family wants them to do. When you get to college, everybody has earned the spot to play there, and some of them probably nowadays in Jukko and all these. Sometimes they played a D1, d2, d3, and maybe they didn't have the grades or they got injured, and then they're like hey, let me come back to this. So you're facing some really high level talent and it's faster. The girls are bigger, stronger, they've had a little bit more time to mature, I'm assuming, and so the game speeds up on you a little bit.
Speaker 2:No, definitely. I remember some games where I was like wow, she's really good. And then we find out her age and I'm like damn. I'm like wait, I forget. I'm like with like 20 year olds. I'm fresh, I'm fresh out of high school 18, and then I'm seeing them and I'm like damn they're pretty good, like how much time have they worked, and then they're like 21, 22. And I'm like damn. Yeah, I was like where are you been?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're like I'm 18. Like I don't care how old you are.
Speaker 2:Because we're all fighting for one thing, we're fighting for a spot, we're fighting for an opening on another team. That's what everyone's fighting for right now in college, which I appreciate too, because you see, like everyone has so much more effort, so much more passion and it makes playing so much more enjoyable, like you could tell, like everyone wants to play, everyone wants a piece of it, everyone wants a piece of the glory, and I think that's most interesting because in high school you had your teams that did, you had your teams that didn't, you had players that did, coaches that didn't, and here everyone wants it. There's hardly anyone that doesn't want it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you're playing college, like I said earlier, was that everybody, those who played high school, they played some of them right, those who wanted to continue. Now they're there and so everybody wants it. You guys have the same purpose, same goal. I know that you played on some I don't know if they call them club teams.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like travel teams, Travel teams okay, for basketball I get all confused with travel club, and so what were some of those teams? How did that help you get looked at by different schools? And then I know you had some offers going down to East Coast for your universities, and how did you come up to like saying no, I'm going to stay locally. And what influenced you to choose Valley so far?
Speaker 2:My travel team, valley of Venom, was more of my starter. I was there from eight to maybe 12, 13. After that we just kind of broke apart. It was just like everyone getting older and everything. But that's where I started learning how to like properly dribble the ball, how to shoot with my left hand as a lefty, how to properly play defense. And then I was on blaze for a little bit, just a little bit, with my old coach, coach Lee. And then I went to SoCal Hanna, and that's where I met Coach Ryan. Shout out, coach Ryan, I owe a lot. I owe a lot to Coach Ryan. Actually, he was very big on defense, which I loved, and so that made it more enjoyable for me to play defense. He was the type of coach that was like if you're on the right side, you're shooting the layup with your right hand. No, no exceptions.
Speaker 2:Like I don't care if you don't know how to shoot it, learn how to shoot it. If you're on the left side, you know, shoot the layup with your left hand. I don't care if you don't know how to do it, learn how to do it. And so that's where I developed a lot more of my skill, and he took us to a lot of showcases. He had a lot of good connections and so that helped. Choosing to stay local wasn't very much a hard decision. Yeah, I'm not a big East Coast person.
Speaker 1:I don't like the cold yeah.
Speaker 2:And I don't know. It was just something about going somewhere and having to pay so much money, knowing that I could get two years free, and there's a couple of JCs that wanted me on their team. So I was like, I don't know, I'd rather not pay so much money to play the same sport, just somewhere else, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And Valley was one of the schools I was looking at me and after meeting all the coaches, especially Coach Heng, I just I knew I had to go there. Like there was just this. There's something about Heng, like you could just see the passion that she has, you could see that she not only has a successful team, she has a team full of people that are going to get better and go to the next level. Yeah, and Coach Ryan's daughter actually played for Heng and so seeing that firsthand, I was like OK, like I really trust her process, I really trust her program, her structure and playing there I was like, yeah, I made the right choice.
Speaker 2:Like my mom's always asking me like do you regret it? And I'm like nope, like I don't regret nothing, I love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that's good. I mean, you know, in today's society with social media and everything, it seems like sometimes we're influenced to have that signing day. You know kids especially, you know you guys are trying to be in the cool kids and as you get older you realize nobody's really that cool. But with social media it magnifies everything and people want to have their signing day and they make these decisions sometimes that you know somebody's offering something, whatever school it may be, and there's a lot to think about rather than just trying to sign the four year.
Speaker 1:And I went to a two year before I went to CSUN and it was a great decision to stay home to learn, to mature, to grow, to learn the college routine, to get better, and it was a good transition. And actually a lot of four year schools love transfers. I mean they love them because they've got two years under the belt. College level, they matured, got bigger, they're older. The game has slowed down for them as well, and that's good. And then you have some college credits. You know that. You know how to take college, they see accountability. So I think that was a good decision as well. I remember you were going through it and obviously you had a lot of communication and talk with your family and decisions to make on your own and I commend you for sticking to your choice and your family and what was best for you guys, because sometimes we get influenced by other people and other factors and we shouldn't, you know.
Speaker 2:Thank you yeah.
Speaker 1:And then tell us a little bit about this year. So you just finished up your guys' first season. How did that go? How did it start off? You know from training. How was that different? And your coach and what did you learn? How did you play and how did the team do? It's a lot of stuff when did it even begin?
Speaker 2:This season was amazing. I will tell everyone and anyone that I had the best season I think I've ever had in high school, out of anything, yeah.
Speaker 2:It started summer, summer first day, she was like, okay, we're going to do a lot of running. And we did do a lot of running but, like later in the games, we were all like this running has come to use. We were running to the 25 yard line and then the 50 yard line and then 75 and 100. And it wasn't like one time, like you, were running it 20 times back and forth, minimal breaks. You know, keep going, keep up the pace. It's timed. And that really helped a lot of us because in those fourth quarters you could tell who was conditioned and who was not. And we were a very well conditioned team. The thing that like sucked was we had a lot of sophomores get hurt and we didn't have a big team. We had eight players at the end, which is good and bad. I mean. You know everyone got to play but everyone had to step up a lot. And it's a good thing that everyone had to step up, but it does get, you know, like your body hurts and hurts.
Speaker 2:In the beginning I did not play much. Actually I was probably averaging, maybe like five, six minutes, did not score. It was like if I scored 10 this day. I was so happy and by the end of season I was a starter and I was averaging 13 points. So I was really proud of myself. For that. Really proud.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how did you stay focused to obviously just stay with the grind and say, hey, you know, when I get the opportunity I'll go? What kind of kept you driven and focused to just stay with the process?
Speaker 2:Well, my thing was I could play defense. My offense wasn't as good as it should be at the college level and my coach told me that she was like if you want more playing time, you're going to have to like step up this way.
Speaker 2:You need to be more consistent with your three. You need to figure out if you want to be a slash or a shooter. And I was like, okay, and first conference game. I kind of got thrown in the fire like one of our players. She got hurt like right before the game so she couldn't play. So my coach was like okay, madison, like you're starting. When I was like oh shit, it's starting.
Speaker 1:I was like oh, that's like my heart.
Speaker 2:You're like, oh shoot. And we were playing cannons and I remember that game. I scored 13 and I had had a pretty good game and my coaches were happy that I didn't like crush under pressure, that they threw me in the fire and I wasn't like, oh my God, like I don't know what to do, I'm not going to do good. No, I actually succeeded and I was proud of myself. What kept me motivated was when it's my time, it's my time and when I get called up, I'm not going to be scared and be like, oh, I can't do it. I can't do it Like I have to stay consistent and stay ready the whole time, because my problem was my thing wasn't oh no, I'm not playing. I'm not playing like I just I might as well give up. My thing was I need to get consistent, so then I can play.
Speaker 2:Like there's a reason why I'm not playing as much now and it's not Hanks fault, it's my fault, so I need to fix that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you took ownership of it. Sounds like you said hey well, this is not somebody else's fault, this is my fault. This is where I'm at. I'm going to accept it, then I'm going to work on it. Oh yeah, yeah, oh, that's awesome. It sounded a little bit also like I don't know, but did you lose a little bit of confidence, or did you always have the confidence and kind of where it's just waiting?
Speaker 2:I think it was a little bit lost, but they're at the same time.
Speaker 2:I remember telling my mom. I was like I'm not mad that I'm not playing, I just want to do more for my team. I don't want to just be a person on the team, I want to do more for the team. And I think a lot of my confidence it's going to sound weird comes from starting. I don't know, I can't. I'm an overthinker. I can't just sit and like see the game play because I'm like, oh, I could do this or that or that or this or that. It's too much, I need to starting I was like it's kind of like getting thrown in the fire.
Speaker 2:You just have to react. And I like that most because I feel prepared and ready and that's my element. So I gained a lot. And my teammates said to me too they were like you gained a lot of confidence at the start of conference than you did. And I was like I don't know. I just I think I got more ready with my skills. I mean, I knew that I was fast. I knew I could drive left-handed maybe not with my right hand, but with my left hand I could drive pretty fast. It was just drive to the basket and then when they would stop, it was like, okay, I'll just shoot the ball now.
Speaker 2:I can shoot the ball and I became more consistent and I was like, okay, well, now my coach has trust and I have trust in my shot now. So I'm going to just start shooting the ball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, no, that's. You know, the more you try sometimes in baseball, related to baseball the more you try to steal a base, you're going to get caught more often. But also you're going to steal more bases. And so in basketball, the more you just drive and shoot the ball, eventually a lot of them are going to go in. You're going to fail several times. But you also gain the confidence and the trust of the team and saying, hey, she's, she's at least putting it out there. You know, you're not timid. You can be timid in college and playing ball, especially in basketball. Yeah, um, if you could have done something differently, obviously. Well, you know, we'll go on to like, if you could have done something differently to prepare for college, uh, would you have, or what would you have done?
Speaker 2:I think I took too much time off when our season ended my senior year.
Speaker 2:I think I took too much time off and I kind of lost like shooting. You got to shoot at least every day, it really do, cause that's something you can lose really fast. And that's something I didn't do. And if I could go back and tell him you know my younger self, like shoot the ball, I would shoot the ball because I think that's where I lacked. I mean, I came to you, I was still pretty fast, still pretty fit, I had my um reaction speed and everything, but the thing I need to do is dribble the ball and shoot the ball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it seems like, um, it seems like you get in and get into the skill as much. You kind of just stayed as an athlete strength conditioning, endurance, um but the skill of shooting and dribbling and all that was. You took some time off on that and that's okay too, obviously, probably because you've been playing your whole life for probably a year, year round. So it's good to take a mental break and a physical break as well.
Speaker 2:It was good, but I think it took a little too much time.
Speaker 1:I think it was too much fun I think it was a vacation, not a break.
Speaker 2:Too much fun, too much.
Speaker 1:Um, if you could have done something else. Um, you know, I know you went to Shamanad Chachworth and that was a route or pick, you know, and played at a travel ball. Um, would you have done something differently, you know, to maybe enhance where you could have gone somewhere to a four year right off the bat? Or or, uh, done something differently in high school that you said, hey, I didn't leave it all out there in high school.
Speaker 2:I think I wouldn't have gone to Shamanad.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Honestly you went two years, I went two years. So freshman and sophomore Okay.
Speaker 2:My freshman year I was on the JV team and it was pretty good. I thought I did good. I thought I was doing good. And then my sophomore year, we had one team varsity. So I got moved up and my coach I remember her telling me that I truly earned that spot and I felt proud. I was like, oh, I earned it and I kept working. And then we had one game and I didn't play. I was like, Okay, it's okay, it's just one game. And then the next game I didn't play. And then I didn't play at all, except for two games. And in those two games is against Nordid Aime and I got 50 seconds each game.
Speaker 2:And I remember after every game I was like what am I doing wrong? What am I doing wrong? She kept telling me that I earned this, I earned this. And then here I am, I'm not getting anything. Everyone's getting something, I'm not getting anything. And I remember talking to my mom and I was like I think I'm done with basketball. And then she was like well, you can always transfer. So we were trying to figure out where to transfer. It was either like heritage Christian or Because a couple of my friends, my teammates, were gonna go to heritage Christian, or it was going to chat with, because Mike was gonna Go to chat with them a little bit easier. So I toured heritage Christian and I didn't really like it wasn't my favorite, I didn't feel like I needed to be there. So my only option was like chat to us. I was like, okay, we'll see. And I was deciding if I was gonna play soccer or basketball.
Speaker 2:Hmm because I did miss soccer. I still do. I still miss soccer to this day because it's just been something I've been playing since I was little. And then my grandpa he played soccer. So he's always asked me like so no more soccer? And I'm like, oh, Maybe I should play soccer. But I Was deciding and my dad was like I think you should still play basketball.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and.
Speaker 2:I was like, okay, so I was playing basketball my teammate destiny, who I'd been growing up with, and so I was eight, she went to Chatsworth with me and that was the first year we went to the D2 championship. Yeah and then we went again my senior year. We did not win. Yeah, exactly, we got there.
Speaker 1:Yeah and then. So it probably wasn't a right fit with you and and the coach. I would say at shaman at, is that what it was? And just the misunderstanding maybe, of like why am I not playing? This is what she's telling me. There's some confusion going on.
Speaker 2:I just, I don't really know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I Just I couldn't figure it out. And then when I asked her, she was like all your time will come and she would always say that. Or she was like no, you're earning it. She's not the right moment Now. It's confused. I was like well, there's times we're done by 20, we're not gonna win. Just put me in, like let me show you what I could probably do. Like we're down by 20, five minutes left. We might get it, we might not. We're playing as juju walk-ins. Yeah, who's like averaging 24 right now? You see, I highly doubt we're gonna outscore her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, I was like I was like, just put me in for right now and she wouldn't. I was it's kind of. It was that's where I lost my confidence. Yeah and that's where I was, like I might be dumb and basketball I'm not, I don't know. And then I went to travel ball with coach right and I was like no, I love basketball, I still want to play. Just wrong coach.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's kind of what happened to me at one point in my life and then I just took a step aside from basketball, from baseball, for like a summer and I found the love again and I just realized that I shouldn't be influenced by a coach or by other people of what I love and what I know, what to do and stuff. And then I got back into it and what not. But it happens to us all me, you play since a young age. Not everything's the right fit, not, you know. And Either way, you know, not Transferring out. I hope you learned still something from her or from shaman I'd.
Speaker 1:You know I went to Notre Dame and a long, long time ago and I didn't really fit in, and only fit in with the baseball team because that's what I went to go do and study. But it wasn't as diverse back then. You know, and thank God I had baseball, but if I went there just for school I wouldn't have liked it. You know, and I tell everybody, you know, no matter what, and everything's right fit for you, you know, just because somebody's having fun at whatever school they're going to, or enjoying it or likes this coach or is having a great time or a great season and studying. Everything's great for them Doesn't mean it's gonna be great for you, you know. And so you just got to choose, just like you did, to go to Valley College and play there, and it seems like it's going well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah that's good.
Speaker 1:What do you guys, what does the practice look like for you guys? So you can tell people like what a what a college practice like, what's the difference, a little bit, between high school and college training, whether it be in the weight room or the school wise so our practices are about Maybe three hours long.
Speaker 2:Sometimes we're there for five and a half hours.
Speaker 2:She's like you gotta have passion. She's like Then me a players have passion, no, but um. So usually we have weights. If we have film, then we'll get there a little earlier. We'll watch film on either who we play or when we played them, stuff like that. And then we do weights during season. It's just very light, just to keep it engaged and everything off season. Right now we're gonna start heavy lifting to get stronger, but that's usually from an hour, so we get in there at least like 11 20, and then we get out. We usually get tased, so that takes like five minutes and then we're in the gym. Maybe two and a half hours In there. It really depends.
Speaker 2:Before game days we go over our plays. You go over what they play and then they kind of quiz us on the player profile Like who's your best player? What does she do, what does she not like to do, what are we gonna do to, you know, defend her? And Then they'll quiz us on the plays, like if we actually really study them or not. They'll be like okay, what plays this? And then we just have to like guard in. If they score, it's like oh, you did it wrong. We do a lot of Lot of skill work.
Speaker 2:Yeah like we'll do jump stops. Still we do post moves like. I even learned some post moves because my coach was like you never know when you're gonna get that rebound, you need to know post me. We never know. We do a lot of shooting like shooter shoots. Last year's drive post work with post so honestly and honestly varies on what we need, because some days are defense, some days are pure offense.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then Were some of the things that you're doing there in college, were you doing that in high school or no? Like probably not scouting some other players or teams, or like having film? No, yeah, exactly yeah. And then it seems like college is a lot more specific and scouting is involved and Understanding the other team and each player were in high school, didn't? I know? I'm high school, even at Notre Dame. They're a good team, they're. You know, everybody wants to kind of go there for baseball, probably other sports. We didn't do that, you know, we didn't go over player profiles until I got to college and they're like you know, you have the. The pitchers were taking stats of who pitches, what, where they hit, where they, you know what their tendencies are. This picture, this picture has this Out pitches to strike pitches. And you, you do that in baseball as well. But that's probably the biggest difference, I'm assuming.
Speaker 2:No, definitely. Yeah. Yeah, there was like so much you have to remember. You have to remember they're high if they're a post player, if they're a guard, if they're the point guard. Do they like going left? No, can they go both ways? Can they shoot? Do they drive? Do they rebound?
Speaker 2:Yeah you know everything like are they? Are they the leakers on the fast break? Do you got to keep an eye on them? It's just like a lot because you got to remember. Is that for every single player? Yeah, and then sometimes you have your brain farts. But you can't have too many of those, yeah. The more you have, the worst, the worst it gets.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had too many as you get older in the college, every little thing becomes more magnified. You know, and you can get away with certain things at certain levels, right. But as you get a little bit more into college and then divisions and levels of sports, you can't have brain farts and you can't. You can't make errors because they come back and to haunt you.
Speaker 2:For sure yeah.
Speaker 1:So I know you but you do your outside training. You come here, obviously, and you do your own training as well. How important is obviously strengthening conditioning, getting in the weight room, doing some other kind of work, movement, explosive movement, plyometric stuff. How important do you think that is for an athlete, for basketball, for yourself?
Speaker 2:It's really important. I mean, just because you're working on something in the gym with a whole team doesn't mean that's Specifically what you need to work on, right? So for me, a lot of what I need to work on was fitting fit, fixing my form. So even though I was shooting at school doesn't mean that I was fixing my form. So I would get home and I would go up against the wall and you know, perfect my form, make sure my hands will come down. Even now, sometimes I'll just like be flicking my wrist to make sure it's just second hand motion that it comes down. Going, going to you actually really helped a lot. I mean I became lighter on my feet faster and that allowed me to make the reads. And I also became stronger because when I was at Chatsworth.
Speaker 2:We didn't really go into the gym at all, so I wasn't very strong. I was not strong when I came to you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's another thing they don't do as much. I mean, I don't know if you guys have weight room, mandatory weight room, like you guys have with his team. Now, you didn't have that a chat with them. Okay, do you have daily Habits, daily rituals, daily things that you do, or superstitions? Yeah, anything that obviously is a different from game day. Or like what do you do to stay prepared, stay ready and then you do something different on game days.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm so superstitious. Oh my god, my coach does not like it.
Speaker 1:You should have been a softball baseball player. I asked my teammates.
Speaker 2:I'm like, do you guys have superstitions? I like no, and I'm like, is that just the baseball thing or what?
Speaker 1:You get it cuz, you get it cuz you have a boyfriend.
Speaker 2:I'm slowly starting to lose my superstition. It's really good, but one main superstition I have is my hair always has to be in a ponytail.
Speaker 1:Like all day.
Speaker 2:No, not all like game days, oh it has to be in a ponytail in the middle, like not a high one, not a low one, and it has to be crawled at the end. I don't know why it's just. I've been doing good with that, so I'm keeping that. Yeah, for a while my superstition was to eat Chipotle before the game, because I I did really good one game and I had Chipotle.
Speaker 1:So I don't know, chipotle is good, I mean it's great, but I think it would have set my stomach.
Speaker 2:No, it didn't. But I lost that superstition because I was like, because there's one game where I didn't eat it and I had my high scoring game. So I was like, oh, but Caesar, my mom's not gonna like this. The two games that I scored 20 this season. My parents weren't there. No, yeah, I was like they were texting me there, like of course you have that many when we didn't go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like I was like okay, yeah, yeah, you guys can't show you had all wasn't there either. So my parents tell them they're like oh, you can't come to the, you can't go either. How about daily routines? Anything you either eat for your health, or anything you do consistently, on a consistent basis that Improves your athleticism and in or they just. Mentally or physically, you're a better person because Honestly, I don't think so.
Speaker 2:I think one thing I do when I drive by myself. I like to decompress there sometimes, where I listen to a podcast or I listen to music, that's like fitting my vibe of the day. Or I'm talking to myself, I'm like, okay, this is what we got to do today, this is how we're gonna get it done. Even when I'm angry, I'll just like, I'll let it out when I'm by myself in the car and I think that's what helps me mentally because, like practice, I got to be mentally ready.
Speaker 2:I gotta leave whatever's happening to me outside the gym. So I just get ready and like if there's something happening and I got to let it out, I let it out right before I step foot in that gym.
Speaker 1:Yeah, winner, winner, lose, or have a good game or bad game, how do you Try to let it go and overcome and then say move forward towards the next game, or or the next shot, even maybe. What do you, what is your process of trying to, you know, move forward from either a good game or a bad game, the way you deal with it?
Speaker 2:After good games, my dad always tells me. He always tells me he's like you got your praise, now move on. Like you did good. I'm congratulating you for doing good. You got your praise, now move on, because you know you have focus on the next game.
Speaker 2:Yeah and they're back to back, so you can't just like, oh, I get a whole week of praise, yes, I'm doing great, yeah, no, I gotta move fast. And for me, my expectation for myself, is, if I'm doing good, I got consistently do good, I gotta do good the next game. I can't just have one game and it's like where'd she go, yeah, where'd you go? When I have bad games, I like to talk it all, actually, with my parents.
Speaker 2:I even though sometimes I don't want to talk about it, I like to, because they tell me what they see, and then I tell them what I think, and then we kind of watch it. And then I'll watch film and I'm like, oh, I shouldn't, I should not have done that. Like why did I do that? Moving on from that, I just I don't know, I kind of just let it go like yeah.
Speaker 2:I can't hold on to it. The world is the same after after a loss. The world is still the same. After I had a bad pass, the world is still the same. So I just I just gotta move on I can't just hold that grudge forever. Yeah, I'd be holding on to gorgeous and I'm had like fifth grade. Like damn, why did I make that pass?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, exactly no, I think that's that's super smart, super great that you talk it out. That means to me and watching film, that you're trying to learn so those mistakes don't happen, the small little things, because they're gonna continue to happen and that's how we learn them. So that's super, super important that you do that. I think that's a really, really good advice that People should take. You know, people will just do all on it and get the press and not look at what they actually did wrong and how to get Better, because we learn from our failures, our obstacles and stuff. Um, and the other way that your dad told you was to hey, okay, get your praise now, move forward. You're only as good as your last shot, you're only as good as your last game and move forward.
Speaker 2:So saying humbled oh yeah, my dad really humbles me, not in a bad way, not a bad way. No, yeah like they'll talk to me. They're like oh, you had a nice shot. My dad's like, but why didn't you do this? Like sometimes, I'm like damn. Last thing I want to hear but then I'm like he's right, like he just wants to be better.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, yeah there's one game where I went four for four out the three point line. You know, going a hundred percent the three point line, that's a really big thing, yeah my dad's like but why didn't you shoot more? Yeah, I was like, oh, that's a good point. He's like why didn't you drive more? No, they, you know, maybe you're right, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what kind of morals obviously coming from a good family, like. What kind of morals, values and traits that they instill in you, that you carry, that are super Valuable or super important to you, and how you carry yourself.
Speaker 2:For me it's honesty and like effort, passion and hard work. That's something my parents always told me. They're like we can only take you so far, we can only do so much for you. It's what you want to do for yourself. Like yeah, they want good grades for me, but it doesn't mean I'm just gonna get good grades. Like I have a passion to get good grades, I want good grades.
Speaker 2:I have a four-point on right now and you know I'm struggling in one of my classes anatomy who's. That is not easy. No, no, and that's the only class where I don't have an A and I have an exam next week and I'm just like constantly printing pictures, studying. And that's where my parents instilled on me Like you know, you need to work hard to get those good grades, you need to work hard to become a starter. You have passion and effort. Like it's not just working hard, like anyone could work hard and get somewhere, but if you have effort and passion, like people see that and admire that and they just they want you over the person that just works hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, 100%. Go back to anatomy, though. I mean, why can't we keep this simple? This is your head, your arm, your bicep, you know.
Speaker 2:Little holes in our skull and they have a name for it. I'm like what?
Speaker 1:the heck. Crazy names to crazy names. No, I had to study all that stuff too and, to be honest, like it's great to know it. But then if I try to tell somebody like, oh, this is what's going on with you, it gets too nerdy and they don't understand it. So you just try to keep it simple. Like, look, you're squatting. Cuz you know I'll be like, oh, the the gloop me, either this or, and I'm like look that, just it works, your butt.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was like I can't believe. I have to know which one which of my patella is is left and right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was like how am I supposed to know? It's not like I have a blinker on this thing.
Speaker 2:This is your left one, this is your right one, I don't know.
Speaker 1:No, it's in my body. Yeah, oh, my god. Well, good luck with that. What does the word success mean to you Specifically, and it could be broad, obviously, or it could be instances but what is the word success mean to you?
Speaker 2:Success means to me, just like never giving up on myself like knowing that nothing is impossible. I can just keep going for me. I like to look back on my day and be like was I successful? Did I get what I wanted to get done?
Speaker 1:Yeah did.
Speaker 2:I do what I wanted to do and I always have goals for myself, like every day, a specific goal I want to do, like today, get my statistics, homework done, you know, and that's my goal. Or Game days it's like maybe shoot, you know more shots, or you know 10 rebounds yeah, cuz I'm not a big rebounder. So that's been a lot of my goals lately, you know, and if I get 10, I feel successful. If I get 9.
Speaker 2:Even then I feel successful because I was getting close to my goal or something, and I think that's what it means to me. It's just like never giving up, knowing that nothing is impossible, that there's no limit I cannot reach. I can always, just constantly be improving, improving, and you know, every damn getting better.
Speaker 1:Do you? Do you write it down on something like put a vision board or like a motivational board or anything on journal, or you just kind of set it in your mind?
Speaker 2:I kind of set in my mind. I mean I have a calendar and sometimes I just write like Motivational quotes or like things that I really want done, or even in my planner. But I usually have a lot more in my mind, because it's I don't know. It's just always there. It's always like a reminder to me. It's easier.
Speaker 1:You're constantly thinking about it yeah it's good. What is probably some of the best advice that you have received that you always hold, whether it be from a coach or your parents or somebody else that you're like. This is the kind of the way I live my life as a person, that it translates into my basketball and who I am.
Speaker 2:So this one, I had a hard time. I get a lot of advice from people. One of the main ones on my parents told me to say this was shoot the damn ball. Because I do Not shoot the damn ball and they get a ball.
Speaker 1:That's right, that's good advice. I'm sure you get a lot of advice, like you said, so just give me some, whatever you think and you know.
Speaker 2:I think the best one is to not give a fuck about what anyone says Because everyone's gonna have an opinion on how I live my life, how I Train, how I prepare and everything, and I just I can't care. Like. I get that advice from my mom when I have confidence issues. I get that advice from my dad when I'm scared if I'm gonna do good or not. When there was a time I wasn't playing, my dad was like, don't give a fuck if you miss or not. Like, shoot the ball, you know, either way you're gonna get put on the bench, you're gonna get sat for a minute or two. Just shoot the fucking ball like no one cares.
Speaker 2:Or even Roger Tafoya he was always telling me like don't give a fuck. Like, do your thing you know. Like do what you know you're good at and then expand on it. Yeah, I mean every, every game before my games He'll text me and he'll text me like a, like a little paragraph telling me like, oh, good luck. Like, do your thing, be a leader or be aggressive, shoot the fucking ball. And. And those honestly make game days like ten times better. Because then I'm like okay, like those are, those are additional Goals I have for myself. Like okay, today I'm gonna shoot the ball more. Today I'm gonna be more aggressive on defense, you know. So I think that's like the best advice I've ever gotten that is really good.
Speaker 1:We hold ourselves back a lot, you know, because we Start thinking in our head what somebody else is gonna think, what my team is gonna think with whatever, whoever, instead of just playing the fucking game and and giving it all and shoot the fucking dime and, you know, shoot the ball. And yeah, that's really really good advice. I try to kind of live well, not try. I don't give a fuck what people think. You know I, I do me, like or not.
Speaker 1:I've gotten advice on so many different factors to my business, to other things, and I Try not to get influenced by external factors and just try to do me at the best way I can. And. But I learned as well take people's advice and also say you know Not when I think what you're saying, what I'm saying when people say, when they say don't give a fuck, is not that be careless and fucking, just so? And so it means stop holding yourself back from being aggressive, confident and carrying yourself. You know Shooting the ball because you, you know you have the ball and you can do it, so that's good. Have you chosen a major?
Speaker 2:I'm a nursing major.
Speaker 1:Nursing major. Here we go. Yeah, that was now. I take it all back. You better learn the anatomy and all.
Speaker 2:My little brother and I was like Matthew, did you know that this is your knees a bone? He's just like every like. I don't care.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. But see, like I said, like I was thinking like I don't fucking matter, nobody cares. But you, if you're going to that profession, you better know. Yeah, all right, good an A. And then, what influenced you In choosing that major? How long have you, you know, wanted to be a nurse or help and going that profession?
Speaker 2:Since I was in fifth grade, I wanted to be in the medical field really for the longest time I wanted to be a psychiatrist. But I knew that I would have too much emotion behind it because I'm very much. I can't, and I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon because honestly, I know most people get grossed out by like watching people tear their ACLs or something and I'm like watching, I'm like, oh, it's so cool, it's like how did that happen?
Speaker 2:But I think nursing is a route for me. I don't know, it's just something. I'm one with my gut instinct really. Yeah it was just like choosing and Something about nursing just stood out, like there's so many ways I could go about it. I can come on travel nurse, so you know there's so many different things I can do, so I was like I want to choose nursing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it takes a special, special people to get into the first responders and Medical field, firefighters, cops, military and all that. Yeah, in the passion of helping others is is probably the the one thing that all of them have in common, and it's hard, it's not easy, you know, to sacrifice yourself for others and help others and whatnot that can't help themselves. It's, it's really courageous. So, yeah, good luck on that. That's, that's super cool. I didn't know that. Actually, what is, uh, what is some of? Or, if you have more than one, what are your favorite quote or something you kind of live by, you really like or inspires you, or you're like you hear and you're like, fuck, yeah, I love that.
Speaker 2:The one I chose this year for my season and our little, like you know, season book. You know everything I Chose and it's a Disney one, it's a little weird.
Speaker 1:I like it, I like it.
Speaker 2:Okay, the problem is not the problem. It is your attitude towards the problem, and that was Jack Sparrow which is crazy because Jack. Sparrow is a little crazy.
Speaker 1:Are you sure Jack Sparrow didn't get it from somewhere else? I? Don't know, I don't know. The problem is not the problem, it's your attitude towards a problem. Yeah, well, I like that. I've never heard that one. Yeah, probably because, I'm not a Disney guy, so no, I love Disney.
Speaker 2:Okay, I know and I was like that's how I kind of lived my my freshman year. Right now, I mean, when I wasn't starting, I didn't look at the problem, like, oh, that's the problem, like that's the thing. I was like, okay, what am I gonna do about it, you know, am I gonna have a good attitude? Am I still gonna be there for my teammates and myself, or am I just gonna shut everyone out and be like no, I'm done?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, yeah, oh, that's a great cool. I like that one. It's actually really simple as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I like that. That's really good. Never heard that because I don't get a lot of people just quoting Disney characters or Jack Sparrow, that's, that's.
Speaker 2:Jack Sparrow is a pirate. The pirates of the Caribbean, johnny Depp. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:All right, cool, let's talk a little bit really quick before we end the session, and thank you so much, such great advice that you've given One. You know we live, you guys live on a time, more than anything, with social media out there, a lot of influencers, what they call themselves influencers Hard times, where things are being magnified, good times as well, where people can make a living as well and and get noticed to go to colleges as well or make a living off certain things. But as a teenager growing up in high school and all that, how did you deal with so much social media, with like tick-tock and Instagram and I don't know snapchat and I don't know if anybody uses snapchat anymore and some of the other things? And and how did it Negatively maybe affect certain things? And then how did positively like Twitter, maybe affect certain things?
Speaker 2:Negatively, I Get a lot of like basketball stuff on my feet a lot of like players like me or younger. You know they're doing crazy stuff like they're. They're ballers, like you could tell, like a juju walk-ins.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like a juju walk-ins in a making yeah and I'm looking and I'm like I wish I was me, I wish I had that skill set. And then I think and I'm like, well, you know, I have different skill sets that maybe they don't have. Like I see a lot of offense, I don't see too much defense, you know, maybe I have the defense that they don't have. You know, but that's something that I still struggle with right now. Like I think about him, like man, like sometimes I wish I had, you know, maybe juju walk-ins or quarter, what juju walk-ins can do. You know, maybe then I'd be out of for you D1 or something. But I can't really look at it that way anymore. So this is something I'm working on but, Positively.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I did not really post on Twitter. That was a mistake I made. I didn't, I got it way too late and everything I would post on my Instagram. You know, like me training with you, or you know, basketball clips and my stats and everything, and a lot of college coaches the ones that were interested in me started following me and they would view that and they would see that, and they would not only view my profile but my mom's profile and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm. So I think that's something that positively helped me get myself out there and then Right now, for transferring to whatever college and trying to continue your basketball Career. Are you, what are you doing, or what is your coach doing and how how to transfer over?
Speaker 2:That's a good question.
Speaker 1:I don't know what my coach is doing.
Speaker 2:That we have like this. There's this one app, synergy, and it has like all your plays, like your turnovers, your blogs, your free throws and everything has everything, and that's what college coaches look at, like they just like they're like, oh, I'm gonna look at you know Madison girls profile, and then they'll search it up and it'll be like how many turnovers does she have? How many stills does she have? Does she get back, does she not? You know how much effort is she giving? Like that's what they can tell from the Clips.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, that that would probably be good to to do. I mean, when I was in college I don't know what my coach did, but you know people would come and ask questions about you and If they needed a second baseman, they're like, hey, who's your second baseman, how good is he doing? I'm sure they shopped around with other colleges. But now I think positively, with social media it is, you can reach out to some of these colleges and kind of tag them and whatnot, and if they want to pay attention to you, great. If they don't, and then they can reach out probably to your coach. But I hope your coach obviously is doing something and I would probably suggest make sure that you talk to your coach.
Speaker 1:You have one more year. You're going into your sophomore year and say, hey, what do I need to do? I definitely want to play at the next level. What are you doing and what can I do so that People can start looking at me and I can continue my basketball career? You know, at a nursing school, somewhere, correct, at a nursing school, what does it? Some of the people before I end, some of the people that you want to Either give a shout out to or say thank you to or people that have Been through you the good and the bad times you know through basketball in high school, travel and college.
Speaker 2:Obviously, I'm again with my family. Yeah my parents, my mom and dad. They've sacrificed like so much, not only just for me but my siblings, and, honestly, I don't know where I would be without them. Like my mom is someone that would take me to you, my dad someone that would go with me to shoot and my dad would give me advice, my mom would Cry with me. There's times where I needed to cry like I just I wasn't having it. My mom was there for me you know, she.
Speaker 2:Those are the times where she didn't judge me. She was like you just have to fucking deal with it. Like she knows that I'm also human too. Like yeah there's just the days where I don't want to hear that. I need a shoulder to cry on, and my mom was my shoulder, obviously, michael, michael, I don't know where I would be without Michael.
Speaker 1:Honestly he's.
Speaker 2:He's my best friend and he knows that we're each other's best friends. He's one of my biggest fans, you know he when I wouldn't play too much games, he would come and give me a hug. He's like it's okay. He got the next one when I started starting. He was like, how'd you do Well your stats. He'd be so excited to hear he came with me to you and he's my, he's my little competitor. When we hear we push each other.
Speaker 2:And honestly, I appreciate that, like today, today the row, we pushed each other to see who's gonna get a faster time yeah and yeah, he got a faster time than me, but honestly I'm so proud of him and how far he's come yeah and I will lot to him. Yeah he grew up with me. He understands how hard we have to work to get there and everything. And then obviously, matthew. Like he's just, he's just not, he's just there, but like he's just always like happy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's a little one. Yeah, he's a little one, he's just like how'd you do?
Speaker 2:He's like, did you do good? Or he'll come up to me. He's like how'd you do that in the game? And I'm like I don't even know, matthew. My body just said let's do this and I was like okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The coaches. I really want to thank coach Ryan, obviously coaching, and the whole coaching staff at Valley. Yeah and coach Lee and coach Juan. They were like my starter coaches. Coach Ryan got me through. It's some of my hard times, you know he would. He would text me like it's okay, Like and I see you're not playing too much like you're gonna get it like it's okay or he be. He was also the one to get on my ass and be like you need a fucking snap out of it right now.
Speaker 1:And I was like oh shit.
Speaker 2:Okay, I owe a lot to him. Actually. He, he helped me a lot. He helped me develop into the player I am. And then coach Lee and coach Juan, where my starter coaches. They were the one that helped me Start loving the game that I play and they were the ones I looked out for me Like I wasn't the best player, but they're like I don't know if she's good or not.
Speaker 2:I like the effort and I'm gonna coach that. I'm gonna help coach skill, because you can't coach effort. And, obviously, coaching because she's giving me a shot and I've learned so much from her. I mean watching her play, like she'll play with us. Watching her play is second nature, like she'll be doing some crazy move and she'll be talking through it, like telling you how to do it. I'm in mid-mid scrimmage to like it's not just like slow, like mid scrimmage, and we're just looking at her like how, how you doing this? This is like a nature we're struggling. So I love it. I love, I love playing with coaches who have passion.
Speaker 1:And all those coaches have passion. Ryan, is he still coaching?
Speaker 2:He is.
Speaker 1:he's at Cleveland oh okay, yeah, oh nice, yeah. And then your coach right now Where'd she play?
Speaker 2:Yeah, hang yeah she played JC to okay she went to Ventura and then she went to Kentucky.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, nice, nice.
Speaker 2:She won a couple state titles. Yeah, hell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's a beast.
Speaker 2:She's crazy, she's good, she's good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you. You know we all learn from coaches in different ways. Little things, and we take a little bit of everything Before I let you go here. First of all, thank you so much for coming and sharing the transition from high school to college, your experiences, what success means to you, and just so many so much good advice that you gave out there for people. Anything you want to Leave us with, anything you want to say or anything else we want to talk about here.
Speaker 2:Can I shout out one more person?
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course, sorry, yeah, um obviously the Tafoyas, yeah, like they're always there for me. Roger's always texting me before a game. Favi's always texting me too. They're always there shouting for me. When Michael was in the hospital, he my parents obviously were with him and couldn't make it. Roger was there taking videos for me, diego was there sitting with him and all it was with him. Favi was with him and that means a lot to me, like they're. They really are like my second family. They, they, I know they love me and I love them so much. They're always cheering me on and you know I'm always talking basketball with Roger and he's always talking baseball with me. And then Manolo, he, he's like my critic and my fan at the same time. I could have 18 a game and he's like why don't you get 20? Oh, my mother fucker. I was like get out of here, get out of my face, get out of my face. But truly.
Speaker 1:I thank him a lot, like D.
Speaker 2:He's, he's a big fan. Like there's videos who where he's like jumping up and down when I score and I'm like okay, but then like I see him and he's like he's just like side. I mean I'm like army friends, yeah, army friends D, but truly I give a lot of thanks to them like they're always there and I love them a lot. Yeah, they're really really Great people, great family.
Speaker 1:I am blessed as well to have met him through France, um the Gonzaga's and um, and it's funny how it's all one big family. You know, we're all you know.
Speaker 1:Whether we're there or not, we're always keeping an eye on each other, which is a really good thing, and I'm blessed because of what I do. I've got to meet great people that have great families, and then I've grown to be great young adults and young ladies and young men, and that's most important and shout out to the fans Everybody, because I love them and and extendedly to the Coase as well, which, yeah, they're good people, even though the only mistake is, I think, daniel's a niner fan, so.
Speaker 1:And and to you that you're a Dallas fan, I'm sorry, even though your brother's a, no, he's a Dallas. No, we're all Dallas. I'm sorry, don't go around saying things he's a really nice guy.
Speaker 2:He's always asking me about Raider stuff. We're gonna turn him over to the dark side.
Speaker 1:No. All of a sudden, manola wants to be a Raiders fan. All of a sudden, when he met Mia, I was like you, but that's a FOIA family Raiders yeah but he was never in a football. So my thing is like all of a sudden you're in a football just because my family is Cowboys fan.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, my dad's like kiss you off. My dad's like get out of the house, kiss you off.
Speaker 1:When the Cowboys is Raiders fan, he's like get out.
Speaker 2:No, manola today.
Speaker 1:No, manola today.
Speaker 2:That's right, kiss you off.
Speaker 1:How can people find you, either on Instagram or any social media platform, whether it be a coach or anybody that has any questions? Where do they find you?
Speaker 2:My Instagram is probably the best place.
Speaker 1:It's underscore.
Speaker 2:Madison dot Guerrero. Underscore Simple, yeah, very simple, it's my name. Thank you so much. I'm so honored and humbled that you're here sharing your experiences.
Speaker 1:I'm super proud of you. I'm super happy for you. I you're a great young lady that has a great job. You're a great young lady that has continued to play at the next level. I can't wait to see you play. I'm sorry I missed the season for you, kind of like I'm like what the fuck happened. I asked her mom like hey, when's their next game? She's like they're in playoffs. I'm like what the hell happened to the season? It was quick.
Speaker 1:But I'm super proud of you. I've watched you play, whether it be from afar or from there, and continued success, continued love, and thank you for continuing to come here and trust me in what we do here and thank you for coming on this show and sharing your knowledge.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you for helping me and, like all throughout.
Speaker 1:You're welcome.
Speaker 2:You're welcome A lot to you, shout out to you, see you there hey lots of you.
Speaker 1:Let's go hey, and thank you for everybody who's listening. I really appreciate it. Thank you, you guys know what it reached me. I can't be broken podcasts or a ua g fit. Appreciate it and remember everybody.