In Depth with Mady LeBeau

Mady's Artwork

I had the pleasure of being able to sit down with a Dean College athlete to learn about their life as a student athlete here at Dean. The student athlete I was able to interview is a senior on the women's lacrosse team, Madeline LeBeau, who is majoring in Exercise Training. This a very young team that Mady plays on and her maturity has helped ease the transition for her teammates, Assistant Women's Lacrosse Coach Alicia Moquin spoke highly of LeBeau's intangibles saying," Mady is a great role model for the younger players. She is a fantastic lacrosse player who is disciplined and focused. She has the best GPA on the team, and shows up to every practice. She gives 100% on and off the field. Having her on the team demonstrates to the younger players the standards that the coaching staff expects". After hearing what Coach Moquin had to say about Mady helping her teammates, I wanted to know what some of her positives were of how she helped them specifically, "Mady is the type of teammate that understands how to provide constructive feedback, support, and compassion all simultaneously towards her teammates. She also understands what it means to balance athletic discipline with academic success; two concepts that I feel hold equal importance to the success of a team. Her attitude is always positive, but she is also able to be firm and take the role of a team leader when its necessary. I see the role of “big sister” in her". Being able to speak with Coach Moquin before my sit down with Mady was beneficial for the sake of being able to see what I heard first hand live at their first game this past Sunday.

Mady's Artwork

The term student athlete gets tossed around a lot but this girl is the definition of it, as she is one of the hardest workers on the field and in the classroom. As Coach said, Mady has the best GPA on the team. Being a student athlete can have its advantages and disadvantages towards your college workload, one being a restraint on time. LeBeau saying, "An advantage to being a student athlete is that it always gives me something to do. I never feel board when I'm at school cause my free time is limited. One disadvantage is that I don't have as much free time as the normal, strictly academic student. Along with that however comes the advantage that my busy workload outside of class is filled by lacrosse which is more fun that anything else!". Personally knowing Mady, I know can speak on the fact that she is a very caring and compassionate girl, that would help anyone, especially her friends or family. During our talk, Mady was working on her new art piece, which helps her relax after her long days. Seeing she was interested in painting I asked what some of her hobbies were away from lacrosse. Mady said, "I enjoy getting to spend time with my teammates on and off the field. Whether it's taking random road trips just to get off campus for a little or meeting up to watch a movie together. Team bonding is a key part being a successful team in my eyes; it leads to building trust and easy communication on and off the field". Such a gifted athlete who understands the nuances that go into building a successful team, and being the leader that girls wanna follow.

Being the she is a senior, I wanted to know what her plans were for after she graduated, stating "After college I want to pursue a career in the sports fitness world. I want to become a personal trainer and possibly go into sports medicine and work in a clinical setting. I want to stay in the sports world as it has always felt like home to me". Mady is very intelligent and passionate about her work and her lacrosse team, which she has big plans for this year. She stated " My goals this season are to help the Dean College Women's Lacrosse team evolve into a strong and upcoming team in the NCAA division. As we transfer from the NJCAA into the NCAA we will now be a division three team. This allows us to start recruiting girls and building a team to get a on the banner in the gym. I want to be the class that started it with Coach Ortiz and Coach Moquin." With this being such a young team, this is the type of student athletes that coaches and programs dream of bringing in.

Seeing how much effort Mady puts into everything on and off the field, I decided to ask her for any tips she has for incoming student athletes. This prompted her response, " I would tell all incoming athletes to take the time to adjust to school before stressing over practice. Also stay organized and don't let yourself fall behind in academics. The important part to college is your academics. Sports are there for you to enjoy your time at college. It can be used as a stress reliever and also a family on campus." I could not agree with her more that the best way to a college athlete is managing their time. With the right mindset like Mady LeBeau, any student athlete can be successful!