Best of Both Worlds
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Madison Dill knows she’s traveling a rather unorthodox path.
Not long after the birth of her 14-month-old son Kasen, Dill made the decision to return to Miami to not only complete her degree, but again, suit up for the program that had changed her life and given her the opportunity to play high-level college volleyball.
Doing that, though, meant she’d have to spend time away from her growing boy, her family and her longtime boyfriend, former Hurricanes offensive lineman and current Jacksonville Jaguar Kc McDermott.
It’s a separation that’s proven challenging on the best of days and downright painful on the worst.
But, as she nears the end of her third season as a Hurricane, Dill remains steadfast.
It’s become a personal mission of sorts to set an example for her son. She’s determined to show Kasen that even when life takes unexpected turns, it’s important to rise to the challenge. For Dill, that’s meant finishing what she started both in the classroom and on the court at Miami.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back. I wasn’t sure what God’s plan for me was,” said Dill, a redshirt junior from the Jacksonville area, where her son, family and McDermott all live. “But after I had Kasen, I realized how much I was missing being here. I love being a Hurricane and I love being a volleyball player. I also realized that when he gets older, I want him to be able to look at his mom and say, ‘My mom is the strongest woman in the world and if she can do what she did after having me, then I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.’ That’s become my biggest motivation. That’s my biggest driving force.
“Every single time I have thoughts of just throwing in the towel and going home and being with him, I think about when he faces something tough in his life later and how I want him to handle that situation and how I want him to set goals and accomplish them. I want him to be able to see his mom as an example of that.”
There have been ups and downs, no doubt. But daily FaceTime calls with her family help Dill power through. And the weekends when Miami plays at home and her mother, Kim, brings Kasen down to watch her play have been, Dill says, the best weekends of the season.
Her family has embraced Dill’s efforts, too.
“She’s always had a very strong personality and when she puts her mind to something, she goes for it,” Kim Dill said. “I tell her now that she’s my hero. Even when she was home and preparing to go back to school, it was so cool to watch her work. She put her mind to it and she worked out, she got herself back into shape and to see her return to the game has been really cool. I know that she struggles probably mentally being away from her family and of course, being away from Kc, the guy she loves. But she has such a support system. When she’s down and she calls home, it’s not going to be a ‘We feel sorry for you’ phone call. It’s going to be, ‘You’re there for a purpose. Stay focused.’ It’s just been really cool to watch because, like I said, she’s probably one of the strongest people I know and she’s really put her mind to this.”
But it isn’t just her family helping Dill navigate her new reality.
Her support system at Miami – from teammates to coaches and athletic trainers – have stepped up to help Dill keep going, which is another reason the middle blocker felt it was important to come back to Miami after the year she spent away from the Hurricanes.
“My coaches invested so much time recruiting me and coaching me my first two years. They supported me throughout the whole process of taking the year off and I kind of wanted to pay it forward to them and show them that I’m the type of person that no matter what comes my way, I can still finish what I started where I started,” Dill said. “I felt a commitment to this school and this program. I always say we have the greatest coaching staff in the NCAA. I couldn’t ask for better coaches and teammates. It’s just a family and I knew everyone here knew what I was going through.”
That support, Dill said, began long before 14-month-old Kasen was born. It ramped up, significantly, though after her delivery, with coaches calling to check on her weekly and assistant strength coach Caitlin Smith sending her detailed workouts that helped her regain her competitive form, while assistant athletic trainer Simona Latino helped Dill develop a healthy eating plan that helped her shed her pregnancy weight.
McDermott, who signed with the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2018, provided support too, often joining Dill in the gym as she went through her training regimen.
“Every single day that we worked out, I was like, ‘Think about it – you’re going to the best school. You have a coach that calls you to remind you he’s committed to you. And on Senior Day, our son is going to be 2-years-old and he’ll be able to see what you’ve accomplished,'” McDermott said. “That lesson is going to be priceless. For me, the University of Miami means everything. I gave four years of my life, blood, sweat and tears to that school. I think Madison feels the same way.”
As much as her return has been a personal mission, having Dill has back on the court has been a boon for the injury-depleted Hurricanes who travel to face rival Florida State on Wednesday.
The middle blocker has tallied 102 kills on the season, a number that already bests her previous season-high of 94 kills. Her 16 aces rank second on the team and her 46 blocks are third-most among all of Miami’s players.
“She did the work to come back and she should be proud,” Hurricanes volleyball coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said.
Said Dill, “I really have the best of both worlds. I have this beautiful child and I’m still able to play this sport that I love and wasn’t ready to give up yet. I feel extremely grateful for that.”
