Wolverine Athlete Spotlight: Madeline Dion
3/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 19, 2015
Sophomore Madeline Dion talks about her improvements as a player and also touches on her interest in majoring in communications and what it was like growing up in Maryland with seven siblings.
On learning the offense and defense as a midfielder ... "Our coaches do a great job of balancing it -- we'll usually spend half of practice on offense and half on defense. As midfielders, we each have our strengths. Personally I've been working on my defense this year so I've been focusing on that more and also working with the offense to set up other attackers and midfielders. We all try to emphasize each other's strengths on the field."
On the team's biggest improvement this season ... "I think the biggest thing we've been working on is team chemistry and also realizing that there are multiple people on the field that can fit different roles. We're working on getting everyone looks and helping people realize that everyone can step up in their own way and contribute no matter what their strengths or weaknesses are."
On her improvement this season, especially in caused turnovers ... "This year I've been working on my confidence above all else. I think that has helped me be the best player that I can be -- that's what the coaches have been helping me work on. Again, I've been able to realize what my strengths are on the field and I think my aggressiveness helps get those caused turnovers. I think I excel the most on the ride and in the midfield, helping to turn the ball over, and remaining composed while at the same time being aggressive and getting turnovers."
On the team's consistent mentality ... "Our coaches and our team talk a lot about having a strong mentality for the whole 60 minutes. We're learning how to maintain a lead. And no matter how we come out, if we're up or if we're behind by a few goals, we're focusing on keeping the same mentality the whole time no matter what the score is. We work a lot in practice on having that game mentality at all times."
On her interests academically ... "I'm learning toward majoring in communication so I've been taking a few courses in that subject this year. Our advisors help a lot in directing us and helping us get a feel for what we enjoy and what we're most interested in. This year has been going a lot better academically. I'm starting to realize I'm really interested in communications. Communications 101 is a course that helped me realize that's where my interest is. I'm specifically interested in marketing and advertising so I'm hoping to go in that direction."
On what it was like growing up with seven siblings ... "We're definitely a sports-centered family, so having six brothers, we were always in the backyard playing lacrosse or tossing a football or playing basketball. I think that's helped shape me into the competitive and aggressive person that I am."
On leaving her large family in Maryland to come to Michigan ... "Coming from a large family, the family atmosphere of a team was a huge factor when I was considering different schools. Having 34 other girls that I can rely on is great -- they're like sisters to me. That definitely fulfills that void of being away from home."
• Previous Spotlight: Kim Coughlan
