Maddie Fey

Killeen Chaparral HS, Killeen, TX, c/o 2024
AthleticNET Bio

At the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, OR in June, Maddie Fey had the time of her life. Entered in the shot put showcase, she hammed it up for the photographers, video cameras and the crowd as she finished second with a throw of 48-00.75. Reminded of the moment, she says, “ I was a completely different person that day. That is the most fun I have ever had throwing. I ended up throwing a PR which made it just that much better. I was just surrounded by people I had been throwing against back to the seventh grade. Haedyn Bambolo was there and every time I am around her, I just become a crazy person. She’s so crazy fun.  I just knew everyone and it was a comfortable space. Knowing that people were watching us because we were throwing made me want to have fun. I am not normally like that at all. It was just a fun experience.”

“Fey Fey,” as her mother began calling her to distinguish her from other Maddies, primary event though was the discus. She won her third straight Texas State discus championship in May(175-08) and before the shot put showcase event, won the Nike Outdoor Championships with a toss of 178-05.25. It was her second title in a row. She followed that up with a win at the USATF U20 meet (168-07) and a bronze medal at the Pan Am U20 meet (172-10). Her shot put wasn’t shabby either; she finished runner up at the Texas State 5A Championships(47-10) for the second year in a row . The season couldn’t have gone much better.

Maddie was introduced to the throws by her mother, Dr. JoAnn Fey(nee Hacker) who was a five time All-American at SMU in the shot put. Dave Wollman was her coach then and it just so happens is Maddie’s coach now.

“He's kind of like a grandpa to me because I've known him for a long time,” says Maddie of Dave Wollman who  retired from college coaching in 2015 after 28 years as SMU Head Coach. “ I first met him myself, at least when I remember, when my sister started throwing when she was in eighth grade. My sister is about four years older than me. So I've probably known Dave for close to 10ish years now. Oh, but I've been working with him for about five.”

When she was growing up, she didn’t want to throw. “I actually did not want to throw originally because I was kind of that kid who was like, ‘I don't want to do what my mom did or something.’” She saw success in the seventh grade which made her more serious about the event. She played softball, volleyball and basketball as well.

The expectations grew after she won her first state championship as a freshman which she won by three inches(144-07-144-04). Her sophomore year, the pressure began to mount on her. As she recounts on her instagram page, the pressure got to her early on in the season, but she was able to grow from it.

“It the beginning of this track szn, i was worried I wasn't going to live up to the expectations I set after winning state as a Freshman. I became fearful of becoming the girl who was great, but never got better. I had a rough time overcoming this and I let it affect my life and throwing. As days went on, the fear only grew until track szn creeped up. My first meet out, I couldn't handle the pressure I was putting on myself and didn't even secure a mark; I had a total meltdown. After many long, difficult talks with those around me, I found it in me to walk back into a ring and do what I do best. My first mark was just 153, the next 166, then I topped it all off at 179. Through all the pressure and mental involved with this szn, I've learned so many important things. I learned that the mental side of throwing is just as important as the physical. I've learned to understand the throw, all the little things we work on and why, to the point where I can look at my throw, find whats wrong and fix it. Most importantly, I learned how to trust in myself and my capabilities. To not let fear and pressure of being the one that won overtake me and prevent me from doing the great things I know I can. I didn't perform as well as I hoped for discus at the meet, but I'm not upset. I'm still only a sophomore and I have plenty of time to come back and kill it. Thank you to my family for always supporting me, the coaching system behind me, and above all else God for blessing me with my abilities. This is still the beginning of my throwing career and I don't plan on slowing down anytime soon. Til next year UT…”

As her instagram post attests, she made a huge improvement- 35 feet. This junior year, she was happy to  consistently be  throwing above 170 foot range and tossed a personal best of 182-04.

She prefers the discus over the shot put at this time in her career. She expounds on her reasons.

“I think it's just because it is a lot lighter and it goes a lot further. I like the shot put, but it has always been much more taxing and it makes you tired longer.  It's so heavy. You don't see that distance for all your work. With the discus it's so much lighter, you can just push it out further and it's much more rewarding seeing a discus fly 150 feet versus a shot put fly like 40 feet.”

That doesn’t mean she is giving up the shot put. Her physical strength is something she feels could help her in her discus and her shot put as she matures. Her physical strength is something she planned to work on beginning this summer. She started three years ago, but Coach Wollman doesn’t believe in hitting the weights too hard early on. Technique with her body size is going to be where she makes the biggest gains.

“With the shot put especially when you're younger and even now, I'm still not that strong compared to most throwers compared to my PRs. I am probably the weakest thrower when it comes to what I lift in the weight room. I’m definitely strong though.” 

She says she can’t even bench 120 lbs. Where she is most impressive is her power clean which she is able to do 170 lbs. It’s not about being “super strong though,” she says. “It’s about being explosive and faster.”

She was seeing results from this summer’s more rigorous training regimen, but things have been thrown a bit off track as her mother has taken the Superintendent position at Killeen ISD. It will be the third school for Maddie in her high school career. She began at San Antonio Southwest HS in the ninth grade, and was Midlothian the past two years. This year she’ll be attending Chaparral. She plans to continue to work on weight training and once she figures out what Chaparral had to offer facility wise, she’ll adapt. Midlothian, she says, had facilities that were better than some colleges.

She hopes she may have a growth spurt like the one inch one  her mother had in her first year of college.  She is currently 5-10 and her mom has told her that she grew an inch when she was in college. She’s “still holding on for that.” 

She has committed to the University of Kansas and Coach Doug Reynolds. She was one of the top prospects in the nation and come July 1 of her junior year, her phone was ringing off the hook which overwhelmed her a bit. She knew she had to make a decision. With so much knowledge of the throws, she was looking for a program that didn’t have too many throwers and whose coach would work collaboratively with her. Coach Wollman has told her that she is the only thrower he’s had who ever has fought back on him.

“I've kind of been brought up under a very collaborative kind of coaching style. I know things he[Wollman] has taught me things about how the throw works. If  I get told a queue to do, it is explained why that's going to help me, or why this needs to be fixed, because it's messing other things up. I've kind of learned the kinesiology of how certain movements affect your throw.”

During the recruiting process she could tell which coaches would fit her collaborative method she was brought up with. She was looking for someone who approached it the same way she was taught.

There was one question she asked every coach to see if it was the right fit for her. 

“I had like one question that I asked every single coach. I asked them what their throwing philosophy was. How they coach? The only person who actually gave me a satisfactory answer was Coach Reynolds. He was the only person who actually went into detail about it and actually explained it. He is probably, in my opinion, one of the best coaches in the NCAA right now. It was just a really good conversation. It was really easy to talk about throwing and it wasn't like he was just asking me questions like every other coach was.”

Maddie has been happy with her progression and she wants to be the first US High Schooler to throw over 200 feet. She already has next year planned out.

“Right after Pan Am's I'll kick into the off-season and do more technical work. I won't do as much regular throwing. I'll do a lot of drills or I'll probably throw into a net so I'm not worried about distance. I’ll do more heavy lifting to try and build strength in the fall when I don't have to worry about being sore. Indoor season will kick up towards the end of December. I want to be the first US girl over 200 feet because no one's done it. Not even Shelby Vaughn.”