By Kevin Nix and Patrick Schneider, Cronkite PR Lab
Growing up in East Aurora, N.Y., McLaughlin was constantly outside playing and training with her brothers and neighbors. She always had an affinity for athletics and staying active.
“[My brothers and I] were constantly outside building things and playing with the neighbors,” McLaughlin said. “I remember when I was six years old, I would go down to my basement and lift cinder blocks. I also had my little circuit training thing. I wanted to be a professional athlete since the time I can remember having cognitive thoughts.”
McLaughlin loved playing sports growing up, especially basketball. It was not until eighth grade that her basketball coach encouraged her to try volleyball. She was not fond of it at first, but eventually, she warmed up to it.
“Heading into my freshman year of high school, my best friend was playing volleyball, and she encouraged me to join the team with her,” McLaughlin said. “I tried out and I made the varsity team. Things were going really well for the first few months.”
When all seemed well, McLaughlin was faced with a health issue that would change everything for her. At the end of her freshman season, her health deteriorated, causing her to withdraw from sports, and eventually her school, through junior year.
Maddie was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
“It was about two and a half years of just complete physical debilitation. I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs. I couldn't go get my mail,” McLaughlin said. “As time went on, I started having some mental health struggles as well. I started feeling a little hopeless, and I didn't know if I would be able to play sports again.”
The loss of physical endurance was a struggle, but the effects on her mental state made everything even more difficult. She felt as though her dream of being a professional athlete had been stripped away, and she felt heartbroken.
Through the obstacles Lyme disease created, McLaughlin tried to maintain her strong work ethic. She started regaining her hope via the little things in life.
“I would put in my earbuds and listen to the song ‘Something Just Like This’ by The Chainsmokers. I found it tremendously inspiring," McLaughlin said. “It was a matter of constantly pushing myself. I remember there was a day when I was able to walk all the way to the end of our driveway and get the mail, and I didn't need [my mom's] help.”
Little by little, she regained her physical strength and a more positive mindset. Her friends and family played a major role in reminding her to outwork her own self-doubt. McLaughlin was especially thankful for her older brother's wise words.
“[My older brother] was instrumental in helping me during my illness. He used to tell me, ‘Self-doubt kills more dreams than talent alone ever will,’” McLaughlin said.
She eventually won her battle with Lyme disease, and soon, McLaughlin yearned to play again. Because of the illness, she did not have the opportunity to play club volleyball, something that is seemingly essential in today’s volleyball landscape. However, her hard work and resilience opened doors for her. Losing three years of volleyball to the disease only made her more determined to play at a top level. She resumed her training and practice habits and began reaching out to colleges across the country.
Her first stop on her collegiate journey was SUNY Geneseo, a division III school. While there, she was the 2018 SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, as well as earning All-SUNYAC Second Team honors.
When McLaughlin decided to try to move to division I, her original intention was to go to Creighton over Arizona State, but she was wowed by the autonomy and opportunity that ASU provided.
“I flew out [to Arizona] and I was stunned. I completely fell in love with it,” McLaughlin said. “The people, the feeling of being on the west coast… There was a feeling of freedom and peace that I totally fell in love with.”
McLaughlin has been on the ASU volleyball team for four years. Now a second-year graduate student, she has become a leader of the team both on and off the court.
In the spring of 2023, just months before the season would begin, she switched positions from outside hitter to middle blocker. Head volleyball coach JJ Van Niel talked about the impact of her changing positions.
“The message it sends to everybody else is incredible. You have a veteran willing to do whatever it takes to help the team, and she did it,” Van Niel said. “Everyone’s rolled with it… The way she approached it - she’s just been all in. It’s pretty cool.”
This switch wasn’t just symbolic. She has shined on the court at her new position, starting in every match at middle. Her numbers across all stat categories already have long surpassed previous seasons, when she was primarily used as a blocking substitution.
She hopes her work ethic and resilience can be an inspiration for her teammates.
“I think I’ve always been better at leading by example,” McLaughlin said. “I was actually talking to my teammates the other day about not giving up, and the importance of running your own race… There’s so much work that you could be doing on the sidelines and waiting for your time to come because it will. I really believe that hard work pays off.”
Most important, however, is her inspiration to those close to her.
Marta Levinska is her teammate on the court and her best friend off of it. She recalls how fulfilling it’s been to have someone help her adjust to life in the U.S.
“I've known Maddie ever since I've been here,” Levinska said. “She taught me a lot about life and how to be a better athlete and a better person. I’m from Europe, and she has opened me up to how people from the U.S. act.”
From adhering to life in the U.S. with McLaughlin by her side, Levinska learned how hard-working and strong McLaughlin is.
“I think I've learned a lot more about what she had to go through,” Levinska said. “To think that a few years back, she couldn't do a push-up, she couldn't walk down the stairs, she couldn't run. Now she's so physically built and strong…I’m definitely inspired by that.”
Maddie McLaughlin’s journey on the court has been special to those who know her, but her journey off the court has made her truly appreciate and love herself. Everyone has a unique story to tell, and Maddie has finally embraced being her own author.
“We all want the classic storybook career, and yeah, that’s really fun if you get it,” McLaughlin said. “[But] I think the more time that has gone by and the more I've interacted with other people who had the story that I wanted so badly, I'm able to see the beauty in my unique path and what it gave me in terms of my work ethic and my mental strength.”