Madeline Staley '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello, I am Madeline Staley, aka Bama. When I hit the water at 4 years old with my summer recreation swim team, I knew swimming was what I loved and is what I wanted to do, even into college. I started swimming with the local Modesto club team, Blue Tide Aquatics (BTA-SN) just before my 10th birthday. I left BTA due to pool facility issues and have been swimming with Ripon Aquatics (RA-PC) since 2020. 

I am a Senior at Ripon High School in Ripon, CA.  Our family moved from Modesto and Thomas Downey High School, to Ripon prior to my Junior year, where I am continuing to pursue my education and athletic goals. I am competing in Water Polo as well as Swim, but my first love is swim.  I competed on the Varsity Swim team during my  Freshman and Sophomore seasons with Thomas Downey High School, and during my Sophomore season was named the Modesto Bee 2022 Girls Swimmer of the Year.  During my Junior season, I was named to the Manteca Bulletin 2023 all area swimming team. I cannot wait to hit the water in the Spring and continue to make an impact with Ripon High School.  I have the goal to be swimmer of the year for the League and possibly break a school record in the 200FR or 50FR with the time I have remaining. It will take a lot of work and dedication to reach my goal, but I am ready for the challenge.  I cannot wait to help, support, and motivate my  team.  I started Water Polo later than most. I began playing my Sophomore year at Thomas Downey High School, and am going to continue to play for Ripon High School.  Water Polo is challenging, but I believe it makes me more rounded and can help support my goals as a swimmer.  

I had the unique situation of having to transfer high schools in the middle of my high school years, but I believe it helps me more than hinders me. I have the opportunity to grow with a new coach and a new school, and take what I learned with my old high school coaches and build on my abilities with a new coach.  Change is never easy, but it is only going to make me stronger, more resilient, and handle changes that will come after high school. 

My ultimate goal is to continue to swim in college, and simultaneously continue my education with a direct path into a fulfilling profession that continues to challenge me. Swimming has continued to push me to work harder, it has made me more teachable and coachable. Swimming has helped to push me to set and pursue my goals (academic and athletic), regardless of obstacles I may have to overcome, and swimming has helped me be a more dedicated individual, among other things.  Academically, I will continue to maintain my grades and my educational successes.