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03/02/2016 11:00 PMMaggie Smith’s road to back to basketball was lined with some setbacks, but she fought through them like a champion and ultimately landed herself a starting gig with Old Saybrook.
Maggie, a junior who also plays soccer and lacrosse for the Rams, played basketball from 5th through 7th grade and then took a break before joining Old Saybrook hoops this winter. Maggie didn’t play in the first six games while recovering from stress fractures suffered during soccer season, although she made up for lost time by earning a starting spot and ultimately averaged seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocks per game.
“It was definitely hard to get back. I had about two, three months off, but once I was cleared for activity, I knew I wanted to make an impact on either JV or varsity. I started working out hard at practices and my coaches really helped me with everything, such as taking time to show me certain plays,” says Maggie, a 2015 First Team All-Shoreline selection for soccer. “I didn’t have physical therapy, but my doctor gave me a running plan that involved running for two minutes and then walking for five every other day until I could build up to 30 minutes of running pain free every other day.”
The five-week rehabilitation process tested Maggie’s physical and mental limitations, yet she toughed it out with a hunger to compete, plus the backing of her fellow Rams.
“I really love playing sports and, for me, it was just knowing that once this rehab was all over, I would be back to my old strength,” Maggie says. “I also had the support of my coaches and teammates.”
Old Saybrook girls’ hoops coach Steve Woods says that even though Maggie had a small sample size this season, her performance opened the door for an even more successful senior slate for both herself and his squad.
“Maggie Smith is a multi-talented athlete in both soccer and lacrosse. Maggie didn’t miss a practice and was extremely diligent in her rehabilitation to strengthen her legs to be able to perform. At 5-foot-9 and being very athletic, Maggie worked her way up to being a varsity starter and has reason to be very optimistic about our immediate future, especially for next season as she is just beginning to scratch the surface of how good a player she can be and is still just getting comfortable with the system,” Woods says. “Her outstanding athleticism passing, catching tough passes, and disrupting opponent’s offenses marked her first hoop season. Next year, she will score a boatload of points because she will start the season healthy and the sky’s the limit for this wonderful young lady who will have a supporting cast that should make us much improved.”
Maggie made her debut on Jan. 2 at Valley Regional and, true to her hard-working nature, she pulled double duty by playing for Old Saybrook’s JV and varsity squads. While Maggie had some jitters entering the evening, she was able to go with the flow and settle in on the court.
“In that first game back against Valley, I played JV and honestly didn’t expect to be also playing varsity. Coach Woods just told me to play my game out there,” says Maggie, who later scored 11 points in the Rams’ 47-32 win over Westbrook on Feb. 16. “He really helped me out and my teammates were also great. It was nerve-racking at first, but once I really got into the game, the nerves disappeared.”
Finding her way back to the floor gives Maggie a big morale boost moving forward and she’s also pleased with how Old Saybrook played its best down the stretch to go 6-14 following a 1-6 start. As a result, Maggie has good reason to believe the Rams will be cashing in a postseason ticket come this time next year.
“Just being able to play again gives me so much confidence. Being out there reminded me of how much fun I had with the sport in the past, which helped me play better,” says Maggie, who thanks all of her coaches at Old Saybrook, along with her teammates and family. “We have a younger team with some experience and our work ethic is unbelievable. We also had so many kids we could just pull off the bench and play. With that, we hope to make the State Tournament next season and being so close this year gives us more drive towards that.”