Unique Opportunity for the Student to be a Teammate with Her Coach/Mentor
Kenzi Maguire has made a career of spectacular plays with her whip-like, sidearm delivery on the softball diamond. Now South Carolina’s redshirt senior shortstop has a protégé in freshman infielder Maddie Gallagher, who became a pupil when Maguire helped coach her travel ball team in Florida.
Maddie Gallagher
“I just knew she would be a role model for me, and it would be good to be under her wing so I could be where Kenzi is one day,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher, who is from Port Washington, New York, had been impressed with the travel ball team in Tampa that was coached by Maguire’s father, Kevin, several years ago and decided to make the commitment to play with them. Maguire was assisting her father during the summer and began to show Gallagher her unique delivery.
“I had met a bunch of my future (travel ball) teammates at a UF (University of Florida) camp,” Gallagher said. “We just hit it off, and I wanted to be seen more by SEC coaches. I thought the Tampa team would give me more of an opportunity to do so. I didn’t know Kenzi would be helping out.”
“I wasn’t really that big of a part of the team when she first joined,” Maguire said. “She was already on the team when I met her. I was more like a defensive coach and the mental coach. I think I was more like a big sister than a coach. We had a lot of fun. I just tried to teach them everything that I know because defense is my favorite. I pride myself on defense.”
Maguire has been featured in ESPN’s top plays more than once in her career, and Gallagher is showing a lot of promise after an outstanding high school career. She was the 2019 Nassau County Player of the Year, a two-time high school All-American, and was selected to the United States 17-U National Team that won the Pan American Games. Even with the accolades, she thought she could get better.
“Obviously, it’s very different,” Gallagher said of the throwing style. “I’ve watched Kenzi play several times, and I’ve seen how fast she gets rid of the ball. It obviously works, so I was willing to do anything I could to get those 2.5 and 2.6 slappers out. When I first started, I could not reach first base. It took a lot of reps, and I got really used to it. It’s second nature now.”
“She didn’t throw like me at first, but she does now,” Maguire said with a smile of satisfaction. “My dad and I both worked long hours with the girls to try to get them to throw like me. It takes a lot of practice.”
“It was pretty simple to go from being her coach or mentor to just a teammate.”
– Kenzi Maguire
Maguire began with her own unique delivery and quick release early in high school when a collarbone injury made it painful for her to throw with the traditional overhand motion. She lowered her arm angle and discovered the ball got to first base quicker without any pain or discomfort, so she stuck with it and the rest is history.
“It’s better because it’s faster,” Maguire said. “I can throw out runners with a lot of speed when most people can’t. Maddie is a very visual learner, so just seeing me do it, she was able to follow my footsteps pretty quickly. She’s good!
“What stands out the most about her is her athleticism and work ethic. She’s a great person and will do anything to become the best that she can be. We are pretty similar all the way around, other than that she swings from the left side of the plate.”
Kenzi Maguire
Gallagher had actually committed to the Gamecocks several years ago. Now the former coach and student are teammates as Maguire and her fellow seniors were granted an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting the season last spring.
“I thought it would be weird, but it’s really not,” Maguire said. “We’ve built a really solid foundation with our relationship, so it was pretty simple to go from being her coach or mentor to just a teammate. I never had them call me coach. I always told them, ‘my name is Kenzi.'”
“I never called her ‘coach,'” Gallagher said with a laugh. “She was always just Kenzi. Coming in, I wasn’t expecting to have my coach as a teammate, but it’s awesome to not only learn how to throw like her, but also learn how to be a leader from her. It’s not just learning how to play great softball, but how to be a great teammate.”
While Maguire has taught her some of her secrets, she’s not ready to give up her position.
“Competition will only make us better,” Maguire said. “It’s my last year, and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch the 27 of us play!”
“It’s awesome to have my mentor right next to me,” Gallagher said. “If I’m taking reps in front of her or behind her, she’s right there to coach me through it if I do something wrong.”
Maguire noted that she has tutored several players with her delivery, and she’s not leaving coaching out as a possibility for her future.
“There’s more!” Maguire said. “Coaching is really fun. I enjoy seeing them develop, especially in travel ball where you get to see them fulfill their dreams. It’s really fun to do.”
When Maguire is done playing for the Gamecocks, fans of the Garnet and Black may just do a double-take if Gallagher is successfully slinging the ball across the diamond just like her mentor, friend, and teammate.
“Learning from her has been an amazing experience,” Gallagher said. “I’m excited to show how fast I can get rid of the ball, just like Kenzi.
“I’m still trying to impress my coach.”
