With a strict testament of hard work, balanced with well-earned success, Madelyn Pink was awarded the Female Roscoe Eades 2022 Award. Pink’s golf career took off at the beginning of her freshman year. Pink originally wanted to play tennis; however, she was cut from the team. Golf was her second choice. Although she had never even swung a golf club before, Pink would go on to win countless meets and become an exceptional leader for her team. “My dad was my biggest inspiration to play,” said Pink. “He golfed himself, so it just made sense as my next step.”Her father, Chad Pink, paved the way for her success. From helping her obtain all the equipment she needed to encouraging private lessons, he was her biggest supporter starting out.“He was the reason I was so successful, especially in the beginning,” said Pink.With inspiration from her father and the tools needed to prosper, Pink was ready to channel her hard work ethic and dedication to golf and turn that into a passion. After a year of practice under her belt, Pink began working extremely hard in the off-season to perfect her craft. “It takes a lot of hours of practice to be good at a sport,” said Chad. “She would play round after round on the practice areas at Emerald Hill or in the backyard, travel to junior tournaments, take lessons from swing coaches, and keep busy in the weight room; she did anything to get better at golf.”Her hard work started to pay off her sophomore year. As a sophomore, she was awarded 2nd Team All Western Big 6 Conference honors. Pink was beginning to grow both as a golfer and a leader for her team.“Maddie is a competitor, so that award lit a fire and drove her to be better,” said coach Weston Henry. Henry, along with coach Nick Hubbard, became a crucial part of Pink’s support system. They encouraged her to continue to build on her golf game, year in, and year out. “She has only continued to progress ever since,” said Henry.After her sophomore year, she continued to receive private lessons and work on the fundamentals of her sport. “Junior year is when I really fell in love with golf,” said Pink. “I was getting super good and even made it to sectionals.”Her third year of golfing entailed an MVP award for the S.H.S. Girls Golf team and 1st Team All Western Big 6 Conference. Pink was also crowned Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week, and of course, qualifying for sectionals.Her persistence carried over into her senior year. She was team captain, earned the S.H.S Girls Golf MVP again, deemed S.H.S. Scholar Athlete for September 2021, 1st Team All Conference and Academic All Conference Western Big 6, was a sectional qualifier, state qualifier, and state finalist. Although she has only been playing for four years, her unwavering determination to get better allowed her to become a great athlete. “She went from a kid who never swung a golf club as a freshman, to a state finalist by her senior year,” said Henry. “Many athletes never get the state experience, and for her to accomplish what she did in just three years, isn’t anything short of incredible.”Pink is an inspiration to future students just entering a sport. Her athletic journey proves that anything is possible if you put forth the effort. “Maddie found her sport much later than most of the previous winners, but I’m proud their pictures will be in the same hallway.” said Chad.