Maxwell looking to improve
Archer City senior Mallory Maxwell was born into an athletic family. With parents that both played highend collegiate athletics, Mallory was quickly destined for athletic greatness.
“We’re very competitive, whether it’s playing games at home or something else,” Maxwell said. “I’m very thankful for my mom and dad. Not only did they give me athletic genes, they taught me how to work hard and how to be determined, how to be a leader on the team. I love coming from a family with my mom and dad both being really good athletes and good people.”
After returning to Archer City her sophomore year, her impact was felt immediately on the court. She’s coming off back-to-back Offensive Player of the Year campaigns in volleyball while earning District MVP honors in basketball.
Since her arrival, the Lady Cats have won or shared five district championships between volleyball, basketball and softball. Last year, Archer City girls’ athletics only lost two district contests, coming on the final regular season weekend against Petrolia in softball. This year, Maxwell’s goal is finishing the task from last year and running the table across all three sports.
“I really want to go undefeated and be district champs in every sport. I know that we could do that after we came so close last year.”
Head Coach Krissa England had high praises for Maxwell after the season opener against Bowie.
“She is a leader on and off the court,” England said. “Anyone that can go 25 kills, 22 digs in your opening match is good. She’s going to have a more expanded role this year. We’re going to go to her more on the back row when we’re in trouble so she’s going to get some more swings. She needs to improve a little bit, serve/receive-wise but there’s not a lot in her game that you can critique.”
Going into her final season to wear the black and gold, Maxwell has thoughts on the legacy she hopes to leave behind.
“For my legacy, it’s not about what the high schoolers think about me; it’s about what the little kids think of me. They love to look at us. I want them to look up to me and think ‘I want to play like her.’ That’s something that’s always been close to my heart.”
After high school, the multi-sport all-state athlete hopes to play volleyball in the collegiate ranks. She would like to start at a small school to finish her basics before transferring to a larger level.
When her athletic career comes to a close, Maxwell wants to work with children.
“I’m leaning more towards pediatrics,” she said. “I think I want to be a peds nurse or peds speech pathologist. That’s what I want to do after college.”
This season, however, she wants to play with no regrets which will hopefully lead toward a lengthy postseason run.
“I want to go far. We have the potential and I know we’ve said that for a long time. All of us just want to get better. We want to do stuff we work on. We talk about it outside of practice. As a team, we want to go far. We want to play every game and not regret anything. Even if we lose, we want to play well.”
With her leading the charge, expect big things from Maxwell and the Lady Cats this season.
