Madisen Helms '20 Recruiting Profile

Winning the CIF Open Division Championship game for the San Diego Section was truly a high light of my softball career.  When I started my high school varsity career, as a Freshman, I knew our team was great.  We had 5 committed juniors going to top Division 1 schools.  I was not a catcher, but knew this team needed one, so I worked with my training coach to help me learn the basics of catching.  It was not easy and I had to learn fast.  Our pitcher, Payton Tidd, was one of the top pitchers in the nation.  My goal was to make the varsity team and do my best to help our team win a championship.  Our team came up short that year, but it left a mark on all of us.  In 2018, my sophomore year, we came out even more determined.  With pretty much the same team,  we worked hard to come up with big wins throughout the season, including a win over a top team in California, Norco.  My batting average soared over 400 during the season and we all worked hard on and off the field to maintain our strength.  During the championship game, we faced Megan Faraima (Gatorade Pitcher of the Year, 2018), and the Cathedral Catholic Dons, the team that beat us the year previous.  We know it would be a very tough game.  My first at bat was a pop up, then with a runner on first, during my second at bat, I hit a double to score our first run.  We were all so excited to score first, then my team mate Cydney Sanders came up and hit a 3 run home run to get us in the lead by 4.  Our defense played amazing to hold our lead, making diving catches and double plays to ensure our victory.  It was an incredible night.  A few highlights from that night are that we were named State Champions for California, as well as National Champions for 2018.  Fortunately for me, I was able to play on an incredible team with incredible athletes and life long friends.