Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2024 55 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY TYLER HORKA M addy Westbeld is one of the lucky ones. Since she was in grade school just outside of Dayton, Ohio, it became clear she was physically gifted enough — she's 6-foot-3 and primarily plays the post but possesses the agility of a guard — to thrive on the court at the highest level, Westbeld's No. 1 goal has always been to play professionally. First, she knew she'd have to make a name for herself collegiately. Westbeld saw her sister, Kathryn, do both before she even graduated from high school. Former Notre Dame head coach Muf- fet McGraw called Kathryn "the glue" of the Fighting Irish's 2018 national cham- pionship-winning team, the second in program history. High praise from a leg- end who has a statue in front of Purcell Pavilion. Kathryn has played pro ball overseas for over half a decade now. She did the thing. Is still doing the thing. Her younger sister has kept a close eye. "It's important to have a mentor," Westbeld said. "It's everything. When you see anyone who's successful, the first thing they talk about is the mentor they had who they were able to see go through it, who failed, who succeeded and then were able to get a step higher." That mentor doesn't have to be a sib- ling. Often times, it isn't. Not everyone has a national champion, professional basketball veteran as an older sister. Cognizant of that, Westbeld has con- ducted a youth basketball clinic in her hometown two years running. This year's took place June 7 and was put on by Westbeld, Notre Dame graduate student point guard Olivia Miles, Westbeld's per- sonal trainer Xander Smart and a sur- prise appearance from … Kathryn. "It was full circle for me to stand in front of those kids and then see my sis- ter who was also there right beside me," Westbeld said. They all joined forces to foster the next age of young hoopers and to illustrate that the next big-name baller from Ket- tering, Ohio, doesn't have to be a West- beld. The camp was split into two ses- sions at Trent Arena at Fairmont High School, one two-hour period for first through sixth graders and another for seventh through 12th graders. Westbeld's favorite part was seeing Smart so en- gaged and insistent on giving the kids ev- ery ounce of energy he could offer them. For the Westbelds, Miles and Smart, this wasn't a four-hour throwaway kind of day. It was an opportunity to change lives. Encouragement and guidance goes a long way. "That was the most important part of the whole camp," Westbeld said. "Of course it's about ball handling, skill de- veloping and different stuff like that, but the main part and the reason I feel like kids should get the chance to do this is because we're here to be mentors." Westbeld isn't just focused on the youth in Ohio. She's a regular volunteer at the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County in South Bend. "I'm about to spend my fifth year here," Westbeld said. "In a lot of ways, I see South Bend as a home to me. I grew up here looking up to my sister. I have an obligation to give back." Westbeld wants to leave a legacy as strong as her sister's. "I want to inspire whatever commu- nity that I touch, whatever community I'm engulfed in, so that by the time I leave the people who are there are in- spired to do more, to act more. That is a really important part of the platform that I've been given." Westbeld recently graduated with a ma- jor in finance and a minor in poverty stud- ies. Odd juxtaposition? Absolutely. West- beld said she gets that all the time. But to her, it was a purposeful combination. "I'm so grateful to have had both per- spectives of economics," she said. "It's definitely something I want to follow and see where that path takes me. It's something I'm really passionate about, and I love to learn about it. It's about people. The human interaction is some- thing that I love." That's why coaching camps comes naturally to Westbeld. She said the easi- est part is the teaching. A bit more difficult? Finding a way to set her camp apart from the others. She did that by partnering it with a fi- nancial literacy nonprofit. Each camper received a free book explaining the ins and outs of being smart with money. Westbeld is a non-degree-seeking student at Notre Dame for her final year. She said she's going to spend her final 12 months in South Bend speaking to financial advisors, picking their brains, learning as much as she can about the way the world works. The more she knows, the more she's able to pass on to others to leave the place better than she found it. She called it "planting seeds" — ones that grow into something worthwhile and sustainable. "My heart is on fire about it," West- beld said. That makes her a mentor worth look- ing up to. ✦ Heart On Fire, Maddy Westbeld Is A Force For Good Westbeld, who has conducted a youth basketball clinic in her hometown two years running, has made an impact on and off the court during her time at Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY DAVE JABLONSKI "In a lot of ways, I see South Bend as a home to me. I grew up here looking up to my sister. I have an obligation to give back." WESTBELD