Most high school athletes across America share one common aspiration: play their sport at the next level in college. For a select number of fortunate athletes, that dream becomes a reality when they commit to a school and sign their letter of intent. But are they really fortunate? College athletics are oftentimes not as glamorous as one would think. The transition to college is not a walk in the park, but add a rigorous summer conditioning program, two-a-days every day, and the pressures of coaches you have yet to impress, and you have a recipe for disaster. What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan shows just that.
Maddy Holleran, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, is running cross-country for one of her dream schools. She’s pretty, popular, smart, and seemingly has everything figured out until she shocks her family, friends, and the entirety of Penn when she commits suicide. Fagan, along with the help of the Holleran family now must dig deeper into the life of Maddy and student athletes like her to find out exactly what motivated her to do what she did and what this means for the mental health of other athletes and college aged kids across the country.
Fagan leaves no aspects of Maddy’s life out, including photos from her Instagram account and text messages between her and some of her friends. Social media and today’s technology become one of the biggest factors in the story as Fagan argues that the root of a majority of Maddy’s problems come from her inability to communicate with they people around her without her beloved smartphone in front of her.
Fagan also discusses what this means for college administrators and coaches. She points out the fact that most athletic departments employ full time trainers and nutritionists, but when it comes to psychologists, only 25 out of 347 division one programs have one on staff. This, along with a slew of other saddening facts, help Fagan, who also has experience in the division one athletics scene, make her point that the NCAA and colleges across the country must do better.
Athletes and coaches will love this book but, by no means do is it necessary to be an athlete or even like sports to enjoy this book. This book will be a hard one to put down for anyone even the slightest bit interested in mental health or discovering the pressures of college aged kids.
Maddy Holleran, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, is running cross-country for one of her dream schools. She’s pretty, popular, smart, and seemingly has everything figured out until she shocks her family, friends, and the entirety of Penn when she commits suicide. Fagan, along with the help of the Holleran family now must dig deeper into the life of Maddy and student athletes like her to find out exactly what motivated her to do what she did and what this means for the mental health of other athletes and college aged kids across the country.
Fagan leaves no aspects of Maddy’s life out, including photos from her Instagram account and text messages between her and some of her friends. Social media and today’s technology become one of the biggest factors in the story as Fagan argues that the root of a majority of Maddy’s problems come from her inability to communicate with they people around her without her beloved smartphone in front of her.
Fagan also discusses what this means for college administrators and coaches. She points out the fact that most athletic departments employ full time trainers and nutritionists, but when it comes to psychologists, only 25 out of 347 division one programs have one on staff. This, along with a slew of other saddening facts, help Fagan, who also has experience in the division one athletics scene, make her point that the NCAA and colleges across the country must do better.
Athletes and coaches will love this book but, by no means do is it necessary to be an athlete or even like sports to enjoy this book. This book will be a hard one to put down for anyone even the slightest bit interested in mental health or discovering the pressures of college aged kids.