Maddy hatch: Confidence is built

Interview and story by Terence Yee
Media Intern, Kenny Hatch Basketball

About Maddy Hatch:

Maddy is currently a fifth-year professional basketball player. She began her basketball career at St. Ignatius, where she played two years of varsity basketball for the Wildcats.

Despite suffering two knee injuries and undergoing two surgeries, Maddy found a way to earn a scholarship to play at Cal Poly Humboldt, where she graduated with a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy. During her time at Humboldt, she helped her team win the 2018 CCAA Conference Championship and make two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019. Maddy is also in the Humboldt record books for three-pointers made in a season.

In 2021, Maddy continued her basketball career internationally, where she played professionally for four years in Spain and Italy, helping two teams earn promotion. In the 2022-23 season, she helped her team win the Italian A2 Championship, earning promotion to the first league.

Maddy’s basketball training focuses on building a strong foundation. She possesses expertise in the fundamentals of shooting. Her journey has equipped her with an understanding of how to best overcome adversity, not only in basketball but also in life. She brings this experience into her basketball training and mentorship.

Maddy is trained in pre-physical therapy, with a particular focus on injury prevention, rehabilitation and strength training. In 2024, she received her Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Bakersfield.

Maddy can help players master the fundamentals of basketball while gaining the confidence to overcome whatever obstacles they may face.

Tell us briefly about your role as the Director of Basketball Operations at Kenny Hatch Basketball. What does your day-to-day look like?

My main job is really to be the connection between the KHB leadership team, the coaches and the other assistants in the gym. I help with a lot of scheduling, and if we have a leave request or anything from our employees, I help find other people to work.

When we have pro players coming back into town, I help with scheduling, getting them in and making sure we have staff available. I also get to work on some cool projects where we're exploring partnerships, so I help out with our other leadership teams in that aspect.

It's a little bit of everything, but it's pretty fun. I enjoy being able to work on that side of the business and then also come in here and coach.

I saw that you earned your Master's Degree in Kinesiology from Cal State Bakersfield. Tell me more about your expertise in injury prevention and strength training, and how that influences the way you're able to help players?

I ended up getting my Master's when I was still playing in Italy, specifically in Milan. I really wanted to learn more about how I could work with athletes and the general population to help prevent injuries.

I think I've always had a passion for that since I got injured myself. I wanted to understand how I could prevent injuries, and the biggest thing I learned is that they're not always 100 percent preventable. But there are things you can do to set yourself up for success.

What I really enjoyed studying was the psychology of injury. I ended up doing my thesis on that, looking at the different emotions that a person or athlete goes through when they're dealing with a serious or significant injury.

I thought it was really important to talk with athletes who were going through injuries and get their perspective on getting back into the game they love.

Through that study, I realized that when you're rehabbing or coming back from an injury, you have good days and bad days. It's not linear. Your healing process isn't linear, and I think that's a lot like your basketball journey as well. You're not always going to shoot well every single day. You'll have a good day and a bad day.

I think in that way, they're very similar. You just have to stay focused on having another good day. It's a journey and a roller coaster ride, so you have to arm yourself with the best tools to get through those difficult days.

What do you enjoy most about coaching here at Kenny Hatch Basketball?

I think what I enjoy most about working here is getting to work with different athletes from all different parts of the city and outside of the city.

I think it's so cool that I can be at the beginning of some of these athletes' journeys, and then also be there toward their middle point or even their end point.

Just being able to influence their lives is probably the thing I find most rewarding.

What's your favorite player-development tip?

I would just say, "Rep it out." Rep it out until you get the confidence to do it in a game.

The important thing with the reps is that you need to understand whether you're doing something correctly. But once you know you're doing it right, you get that positive reinforcement. You see the ball go in the basket, and you keep repping it out until it becomes a habit that you can apply to your game.

The other advice I'd give is to watch the game. We have so many people who come in here, and I'm always telling them, "You need to watch the WNBA. You need to watch the NBA. You need to watch the EuroLeague."

You need to understand how to get advantages out of the game. If you don't watch or study basketball, you're not going to see where those openings are.

I think that's something my brother Kenny really helped me with. He would force me to watch NBA Summer League, and what that allowed me to do was understand where those gaps were that I could potentially take advantage of. I could also see players who had a similar game to mine and get inspiration from watching them.

So I think those are two really good tips that I've applied to my own game and now tell the athletes who come in here.

What's it like to be working with your family in this business, and especially with your older brother, Kenny?

It's crazy. I feel like it's a dream come true because we grew up being the two who always went to the gym together. Now, to be working in a gym together, it's pretty awesome.

I think he started training me when I was really young, so we found such a passion in the work it took to get to the next level. I think that's where we found our love of the game — in the grind.

We both shared a very similar sentiment that the little things, the reps, the early mornings and the late nights in the gym set you apart from everyone else playing basketball.

I think that's probably the coolest thing about working together now. We can bring that into the work. It looks a little different because we're not the ones doing the workouts, but we're able to give that same love and passion to every single person who comes into the gym.

Finally, what's your favorite quote or motto that you live by?

I can't remember what movie or book it's from, but one of the quotes I know best is, "I'll get knocked down seven times, but I'm going to get up eight times."

No matter what comes your way or what obstacles you face, you're going to face them head-on. You're going to get back up.

I think I took that into my early life when I got injured and then got re-injured. I also take it into my adult life. We can't always control what's happening, but we can control our attitude and how we respond to it.