TENNIS
In the past few weeks, the incoming first years have not been the only new arrivals on campus. Paige Madara has succeeded the long-serving Andy Hamilton, who has become the Director of Athletics of the College, as head tennis coach.
Previously an assistant coach at Washington and Lee University, Madara described the transition to head coach as a demanding challenge that has pushed her to take on new responsibilities. However, thanks to previous exposure, she has settled in well into the Grinnell community, calling it a wonderful opportunity.
She had to settle quickly with the women’s tennis team already having competed at a meet held at St Ambrose.
“It went well,” Madara said. “We got our first team win of the year, which is always good to get under our belt.”
Madara has been involved with tennis throughout her life, starting from an early age and going on to compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III level for Washington University in St. Louis. Yet she never planned on becoming a coach.
“I fell into coaching by accident while I was getting my graduate degree and just decided that it was the career path for me,” Madara said.
Madara discussed her goals for the upcoming season.
“Winning the Midwest Conference again,” Madara said. “The men have quite a streak going on, and we would like to keep that going, and the women are also building a streak of their own.”
By Tommy O’Donnel
FOOTBALL
New Grinnell College assistant football coach Scott Brade will serve as co-offensive coordinator, with a focus on quarterbacks and running backs. Brade, a native of Bad Axe, Michigan, has 13 years of college football coaching experience, which has taken him all over the country. Most recently, he was the head football coach at Feather River College in Quincy, California.
Brade started coaching while in college, after an injury ended his football career during his first season at Alma College. Following the injury, Brade became an assistant coach at nearby Alma High School. After graduating, he earned a Master’s degree in physical education from Western Michigan University and began coaching all over the United States. Brade’s experience, he says, will help him the most at Grinnell.
“I have worked with young men from various backgrounds and places,” Brade said.
This season, Brade hopes to use his experience to improve the Pioneers in terms of wins and losses, but also in personnel management.
“We’re looking to be more competitive than the last year or two,” Brade said. “With our numbers, we’re having to be good football players on both sides of the ball. In some positions, where usually there are two or three backups, we may only have one.”
He also noted that he and Head Coach Jeff Pedersen will have to constantly maintain a dialogue about how to use the players they have in creative ways.
Aside from football, Coach Brade enjoys spending time with his wife and children, hunting, fishing and riding around Grinnell on his new bicycle. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity provided by Pedersen and Director of Athletics, Andy Hamilton.
“The community is outstanding,” Brade said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that both Coach Pedersen and Andy Hamilton have given me at [the] College.”
The football team begins its season on Saturday, Sept. 3 against St. Olaf. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. on Rosenbloom Field.
By Jackson Schulte
VOLLEYBALL
Scott Chaney is the new kid on the block as the new assistant coach to the women’s volleyball team.
Not only is he new to Grinnell College, he is also new to the sport of volleyball. Initially, he began his career as a football coach. A couple of years afterwards, he became the volleyball coach to the Collins-Maxwell Baxter school district in Iowa, where he developed his volleyball coaching skills.
“I kind of cut my teeth on the high school road,” Chaney said.
He credits his smooth transition into the sport to lots of studying and his experience as an athletic coaching major at the Ohio State University and William Penn University.
Chaney welcomes the challenge of coaching at the college varsity level, an opportunity that he believes will allow him to be more proactive in the sport.
“When you coach for a high school, you get stuck with what you have. Here, you actually get to build a team, and you get to envision the future,” Chaney said.
This year, he hopes to recruit five new players.
Beyond recruitment, Chaney wants to build a legacy of strong players and hopes to quadruple the number of wins the team had last year.
Chaney lives with his wife Jayn in Newton with their dog Cooper and cat Kip.
By Julia Echikson
