Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Veteran Previews: Senior Maddie Hanlan & Bonus Interview w/ Coach Debbie Humphreys

To get you ready for the Butler Tournament this weekend, we will continue our veteran previews with Senior libero Maddie Hanlan. Even though we have the bulk of the season remaining, a fair amount of isolated thought has led me to the conclusion that Hanlan is one of the best back row Ladyjacks I’ve ever seen. Stephanie Figgers was the best, but that’s an unfair comparison. Figgers may be the best back row player the conference has ever had. At the very least, Hanlan is a very special player. Later in the year, I have an entire article that I’ll post – after making some 2012 additions to it – exclusively about her. So, rather than mix online questions with audio interviews as I typically do for these previews, we will stick to the audio and then shine more light on just Maddie’s accomplishments later in the year in another post. The next veteran preview will center on fellow senior Sabrina Burns.

As a bonus today, I’ve also included an interview with Coach Debbie Humphreys that was done right before the chat with Maddie. Make sure and listen to them both.. Humphreys throws out a lot of really great stuff in our 12 minute talk. As always, I am thankful for the time from both Coach Humphreys and our players. Both interviews were done shortly after practice, so the sacrifice of time at a point in the day where both players and coaches were tired is greatly appreciated.

Remember that NEXT weekend we will host the Chilly Fillmore Tournament here in Nacogdoches. As always, check the upper right sidebar for upcoming match times and dates. Conference play begins during that tourney as Northwestern State will be in town. I’ll be contacting co-head coach Hugh Hernesman to check on his availability for an interview over the weekend. I’ll also try and introduce you to 2011 Freshman of the Year Staci DiFranscesco.

The 2012 Southland Depth Chart is almost done and will be added in the right side bar over the weekend. SLC5 makes a return in the next few days – we’ll do a “Texas” version first and then a few days later cover the Southland teams from outside the Lone Star State.

The team is in Dallas on Wednesday night having an early morning flight on Thursday along with an afternoon scheduled practice. Here’s to safe travels and another strong showing during the tournament portion of the 2012 slate. Axe ‘Em Ladies!