Ep 2: The Family Behind a Top Louisiana Hooper

Behind every top-ranked athlete is a family who sacrificed everything to get her there. This week on Time Out, Ashley sits down with Marlon and Theresa — the parents of Madyson, a top-ranked 2028 out of Louisiana — to get real about what it takes to raise an elite young hooper.

From the early mornings and the long drives to the financial reality of travel ball, the pressure of rankings, and the conversations every sports parent needs to have — Marlon and Theresa hold nothing back. They share the hardest moments, the most joyful ones, and the advice they'd give any family just starting this journey.

Whether you're deep in the trenches or just lacing up for the first time, this one will leave you feeling seen — and ready to keep pouring into your own athlete.

🎙 New episodes every week. Hit follow so you don't miss one.

Connect With Ashley & Time Out: → Subscribe to the free BSPL newsletter: [Flodesk link] → Read longform reporting at Legacy Lines on Substack: [Substack link] → Follow on Instagram: @ashleyjantoine

If this episode resonated, do three things for me:

1. Hit follow on Time Out so new episodes show up automatically.
2. Leave a quick rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it's the biggest thing that helps the show find new listeners.
3. Send this episode to one sports parent who needs it.

— Ashley

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, hey y'all, I'm Ashley. Welcome to Time Out. And listen, on Time Out, I don't just break down the game. I sit with sports parents who are in the trenches, living this life right now, so they can share what they've learned, the mistakes they've made, and the wisdom they've picked up along the way. So you all don't have to figure it all out alone. Today I got two real ones with me: my people, my family, Marlon and Teresa, Mo and T are the parents in Madison, a top-ranked 2028 out of the state of Louisiana. Y'all already know she's their girl, but today we're talking about the people behind her, the ones waking up early, driving the miles, flying the miles, writing the checks, and pointing to her dream every single day. Marlon and Teresa, welcome to the timeout. I'm so glad you're here. Give a quick introduction. Thank you. Thank you for having us. We appreciate it. We love your platform. All right, thank y'all. Okay, so let's start at the beginning because before she was top ranked 2028, before the rankings and the tournaments and the spotlight, she was just a girl with a ball. I want y'all to take us back to where this journey started. So tell us about Madison, who she is on the court and off the court. Okay, so let me start with this.

SPEAKER_03 1:12

Her dad used to play men's league. So at two years old, I started bringing her to the basketball games. And she just loved it. Like her little hair was moving around. She tried to get on the court every time she wanted to. She's playing with the ball. And he was, I was like, there, you gonna get us started in basketball? He's like, yeah, eventually, eventually, eventually. So probably around, I would say four or five years old. She would be outside playing, and then she would, he would be playing the cutting grass or something, and she would call us and, like, Mom, come see this. And she's doing these little combinations with the ball and stuff like that. So he was like, okay, maybe it's time to really start, you know, pouring into her.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Right.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

So he decided, yeah, I want to do it, but I want to teach her the way I learned it, which he played a lot of defense. So he was like, let me just, we're gonna sign her up for like the little wreck ball, but I'm a hoacher.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Pretty much where it started. And that makes so much sense. That makes so much sense. Listen, for those who don't know, Madison, as I mentioned earlier, she's a top-ranked 2028 in the state of Louisiana. Dad, can you tell me when did basketball just become her thing?

SPEAKER_04 2:16

Probably pretty much at four. I mean, when we when she basically seen me play the game, she came home. She never took the ball out of her hand. She always had a ball in her hand, whether it was a tennis ball or something. She was always an outdoor kid. She never was an indoor kid. She always was a daredevil, first and foremost. She was a daredevil. She was a daredevil from day one, from one year old to two years old. She wasn't scared of doing anything. She would get on a four-wheeler, ride a four-wheeler, she'd get on the hubber board. So just with the whole basketball thing, she just um, like her mom said, one day she just grabbed my basketball, went in the garage, and went to doing a combination. I showed her a combination one day. She did a combination. Next thing you know, I went and bought her gold. Every day she came home from school after that, she was out there on that court shooting the ball, get frustrated at herself when she wouldn't make it, and she'll sit there and make it until she made it, and then when she makes it, she'll come inside, Daddy, I made it, I made it, come see. So she'll figure it out. She was a two-handed shooter, so she used to push, but she used to shoot with two hands. So we had to figure it out quick which hand she was stronger with the right or the left. So I tied one hand behind her back with the right and did the same thing opposite with the left to find out which one was stronger. My hand came off kind of kind of strong with the um left hand a little bit more than the right, but she's absolutely right-handed and she shoots the ball with the left. So she's a left-handed shooter, but she's alright.

SPEAKER_00 3:39

That is crazy. It is. How special she is. What is it like seeing your daughter's name on ranking lists at her age? And how do y'all keep her grounded through all of that?

SPEAKER_03 3:50

So when we first started seeing it, we always would teach, we always taught her that it's about you. You're in competition with yourself. So you're really not in competition with anybody else. So when the rankings started coming out, I think she came out with the first ranking, I think she was like number eight. And she was like, why I'm number eight, you know, why I'm not, blah, blah, blah, blah. So we just, we just kind of instilled in her that the rankings are good because it puts a perception on what you're doing to other people. But you know yourself. You know you're number one in your heart. So we're not even gonna worry about the rankings. We love them. You know, we love to see her growth and what everybody else thinks about her. But the number one thing that we tell her is what you think about yourself. So in your mind, if you're number one, you're gonna all you're always gonna be number one of us. So on paper, it doesn't matter. You know, but you just make sure you stay grounded and you, you know, you believe in yourself. So that's kind of how we, you know, went about doing that. Well, on my part, what'd you say, babe?

SPEAKER_04 4:46

I'm gonna piggyback off of that. Um that was good, wifey. Thank you. Answered it pretty good. I loved it. Um, yeah, um, Madison is a kid of he, she's so different. And I say she's so different because when I realized what I love about the rankings and all that stuff like that, I told my daughter, you can't get caught up with the rankings because those things change. So um, when she started getting stuff like that, she was excited for like a split second. And when we're talking about Madison, we're talking about Christmas when she got 10 gifts under the tree, she opened the small ones, she's more excited about the small ones than she is the big ones. So she never got over excited about anything. It's hard to really excite Madison.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

If you know Madison, she has like this one look, and I mean, I'm sure if you've seen it several times. You don't know if she's happy or she's there.

SPEAKER_04 5:27

The whole basketball thing with Rankers, man, I love it as a parent because I'm gonna put it like this. I told my daughter she's way better than me when I was at her age.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

And that's why I say I'm doing my job because whenever I can put in her, instill in her something that I didn't have in my game. When I was playing high school or college ball, I know I'm doing my job because I want her to be better than me, not me, be better than me. She she carries her own name for a reason. Madison Parker, not Marlon Parker. I want her to have her own legacy, her own name, and do what she thinks that's best for her. And rankings don't matter until the end of the day. You got to put in the rank, rank, you got to put in the work to basically carry over rankings all the time. So she knows that. So that's why she puts in the work.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

Yes, and we know, listen, I remember a time, I can't remember, we were on FaceTime or something. Backyard, it was pitch black outside. She was putting that in. Um, and that just speaks a lot to what you all have instilled in her about the grind, right? Like just keep putting in the work, rankings are f people's opinions, but again, people's opinions, exactly. You've done you know the work you've put in. Now let's get into the part nobody really sees. Okay. Sacrifice. I want to start with time because I think the one thing that people underestimate, especially for folks who are coming in new to the sports world or especially basketball, um, they underestimate the time that it and and the sacrifice on the parents' part. It is. So give us a real look at what a week in your household looks like during the season. So we could talk about time, what does a typical week look like, or you can talk about how many hours a week would y'all say y'all investing in Madison's basketball practice, travel, games, training, right? Everything.

SPEAKER_03 7:14

So with me, it's Madison's world at this point. You said it just right. I felt you with that as well at this point. Fortunately for us, we are business owners, so our schedule is very flexible. Now, I do, I feel for the parent that has to do a nine to five or twelve to eight or and can't be there or can't be there. Luckily, um, for lack of a better word, we are very, very flexible. And so that means we can put more time into Madison. So let's, for example, she'll wake us up at like four o'clock in the morning, like, okay, come on, get up, let's go. Um, we're in the gym before school. Sometimes she'll pack her bag and she'll take a shower at the gym to get ready for school. So we can just bring her straight to school. Sometimes she won't welcome home. Um, we'll have breakfast. Normally, if you know, like I know a lot of these athletes, they don't want to eat breakfast, they skip it. You know, and we try to um, we try to get it into her, but you know, we're talking about a 16-year-old. Right. Kind of do what they want to do. Kind of do what they want to do. So we go, you know, she has school. After school, she has practice. After practice, she's like, let's put up some shots. We have, you know, we're putting up shots. We then we come home, we have dinner, school still has to be involved because Madison is a 4.0 with honor. So she's, you know, she's doing so much, you know, so much. Just just for example, this week, we didn't even know she really wanted to do track. She's been doing track. Now, right now, she's number two in the region for the 200. And I'm like, you just started running track. So now it's now it's get up, wake up, go to the gym, go to school, go to track practice, then go to basketball practice, then come home. Yeah, it it it's um it's a life. What you say, babe?

SPEAKER_04 9:10

I'm gonna pick back off of that one as well. Wifey, you did a great job, then. But um, I'm gonna keep it, I'm gonna keep it 100. It's um my wife said it's a sacrifice when it comes to nine to five different people and people that own the business. I still tell my daughter to this day, we still make tremendous sacrifices because we still try to teach her today. Our customers, every time we put somebody off on a weekend that I can't go do a tattoo because weekends usually be my busiest weekends. I'm I'm bas basically changing my weekends to week my weekdays to weekends because I have to be on the road with her.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:44

We could simply say one of us stay back home and the other one take care of the business, because my wife can take her business on the road with her. And and I could stay here and make money. But like I tell my daughter all the time, the sacrifices that we make as parents, it's tough. And we tell every parent, it's not, it's not for everybody. Yeah. So I I tell kids all the time, when we see parents not in a stance to be there to support kids, we get it. We understand. Because we know you can't tie, you can't put a job on a, you can't tell a boss that I'm not showing up because I gotta make my daughter's basketball game in Houston or Phoenix or Chicago. So you can't simply take off for those days, especially when you use all your vi your um your um your time up for vacation and stuff like that. So we get it. So being business owners is good, but it's also to the point to where we still have customers and clients that depend on us. So we tell my daughter, it's a lot of times that we we make tough situations for our business as well. Just because we're business owners, not easy. It's easier, but it's not easy because we still have people depend on us, and we have to come back and make up for that. So um, at the same time, we enjoy it because my wife became more of a basketball head because she does not sleep. She breaks down footage, she breaks down videos, highlights, she does all of her social media, she does it all because she actually puts more into Madison than she does her job. I tell her that all the time. I say, babe, hey, you can't forget about this customer because of Madison, but that's just how locked in we are of her because we see her grind. We see her potential. And we know what she wants to accomplish. We know what she wants to accomplish, and she's the last one in the house besides our baby girl that's a love that's 13, but she does not play sports. So it's easier for us to focus on her with her accolades and everything that she has going on because she's the only one doing that. And she's doing a great job at it. She's doing good in school, and she's prepping. And we're trying to prep her for after school. Even when basketball is not taking place, a bass that ball stops playing, ball stops dribbling, and it's not moving. We s we want to focus her on the business aspect of trying to put her in a situation to where she can win no matter what.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Absolutely, man. I love it. And so y'all were leading into my next question because Carl and I are still trying to find the balance to make you work with other kids. Um marriage still. Like, of course, we both locked in on a basketball end. Like, but sometimes date nights don't even happen. Like, we just gotta get it in. A village has supported us with the twins and Kai, but this year Kai will be coming with us more and the twins because he has his last, you know, hoorah. So, like, how do you all balance basketball with the rest of your lives? Like, we talked about work, we talked about your other kids, but what about your marriage? How does that how does that look? Are y'all spending time together, date nights, or y'all just kind of like we on the ground right now? We know what's up. Talk to us about it.

SPEAKER_03 12:47

That's kind of it, but it's like with her and going on these trips and these stuff, and since we do it together, it's it's it's better. I would say if if I had to only go by myself or he had to only go by himself, it might be a little bit more of a strain. When they get up at five o'clock in the morning, he's showing her basketball, he's training her, but I'm just sitting on the sidelines watching. It's like a constant, constant. And a girlfriend tell me, oh my God, she said, I need me time. I'm like, we don't got me time around here. What is it's us time. Like we don't have like that me, you know.

SPEAKER_04 13:22

It's we time. So we need that. We just became a team. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? We told my daughter today one, when you when you choose this sport, I told her, I told my wife, I said, I'm not training her unless she's going all in.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:35

Because I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. Uh I I'm, you know, me, I told my daughter, she was like, Dad, you play for free, I'll play for free. That's just how much love I have for the game. That's the way I played it. But at the same time, I told my wife, I said, we're gonna go in with it. I'm not training her unless she's serious about it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:54

We're not gonna play with the sport that I love and I'm passionate about. So if she loves it and she wants to play it, I'm gonna give her the game. But at the same time, she's gonna have to work for it because I'm not gonna give her anything. Absolutely. So those are things that we kind of put in. So that's what, that's where, like she said, it brings us to we go together. That's why we go together. And that's why I tell people and family members that don't be able to go with their husband and go with their wife because they got to send the wife with the kid this time or send the husband. So that separates the that separates the two. And that's that's kind of tough. But we go together and we use that for vacation time. So we already looking up stuff that we could do while we are on the trip as a family. And um, it works for the best, but man, we that my wife learned the game, we become competitors in his house. So I'm we my wife fussing with the city. I'm telling him how to do this, how to do that. Now she never played basketball.

SPEAKER_03 14:46

You never played basketball ever. I said, I bet y'all know more than you know about it.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

She's doing more research than me and Madison ever does because she wants to know how to help her be better. She wants to learn how to make things better for her colleges, her offers, NIL deals. And she does, right. So her as a mother, she's actually a parent parent. Me, I'm a coach parent and father. So it's like I told her, we have like a miscommunication at times because different um, you know. It and it's just like a disagreement, but nobody's wrong, type of situation. Everybody has an opinion. And with us, our opinions get into, you know, a confrontation that we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

We both have strong personality.

SPEAKER_04 15:30

So when that confrontation comes, Madison, like the media, they're like, man, I'm playing ball. What are y'all talking about? So me and my wife sit up at 2, 3 in the morning talking about Madison and basketball. And it's crazy. We can't go to sleep because that's how we spend our date night. We sit up in a bed watching film, breaking our film, babe, look what she can do here, look what she can do here. Yeah, and I love people.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

We like talk more than the average couple. I mean, it actually gives us more to talk about. You know what I'm saying? Because some people, you start going through life, but we've been together for so long. Sometimes it gets monotonous, you know what I'm saying? Like you go through your everyday life or whatever, but we have, we like a lot of things together, but we have this common ground that we love. So now, what about this? What about this? So we're literally communicating a lot more, probably, you know, than most people just because of that situation. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 16:19

A lot of times we'd be wanting to do date night and stuff and get away and just do us. But Madison's schedule is so busy, so big, and so much going on with her to where it's a business. And so if it's gonna become when it became, we treated Madison from day one like as it was a business.

SPEAKER_03 16:36

MP12.

SPEAKER_04 16:37

So that's why we started our brand with the MP12 change the game. So, you know.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Let's go.

SPEAKER_04 16:45

So we we just um we became a business. When we started business owners, we wanted our children to realize that they can only have, they can have their own business. So we're trying to teach Madison that if you're gonna play basketball and go to school, focus on your school to get good grades. But we're gonna tell you this is how college and ABA and WNBA players get paid. If you work hard and you train hard, I'll pay you. So she gets paid on allowance through all the hard work she put in and training in the morning and in the evening. And then that's how she gets money on her car because she's working for it. So that's how we paid her. So that's our allowance to keep working hard in school and on the court.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Yeah, y'all just drive some gems, bro, from coming together as a team and just realizing that this is the space that we're in right now. We're gonna make the best of it. You know, I love you, Bay. But but I'm going out in it. You sound a lot, um, Teresa. Carl is he traveled to work. Like right now, he's holding the twins down so I can do this. We wanted to get on together. But them boys, you know them.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

We know. We know, we know nephews will be everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 17:48

I have seen Carl get in from out of town at eight, nine o'clock at night. He's like, Cash, let's go to the gym. In the gym with her 10, 11 o'clock at night. We have a a membership at 24 hour fitness, getting up at four, five in the morning. I do that when he's out of town. Talk about recovery, nutrition, yes, all the things. And even trying to help her maximize this landscape that we're in. Um you don't have to be ESPN ranked to get you a piece of the pie. There is so much there is so much that you can do, being that all eyes, all things are on women's sports right now. Right. So feeling in her to maximize her name, her image, her likeness, even in the smallest ways, is gonna set her up for longs, uh long-term success. And so I appreciate y'all sharing that. Um, I'm gonna ask a few more questions, and then um we'll kind of skip around and go ahead and end it so you all can get on with your Easter Sunday. Let's talk about the financial side, the money, of course. I want you all to be honest because I know another family needs to hear um that sometimes, you know, you get into the world of elite sports, and we're not saying anything, I'm personally not saying anything is wrong with grassroots program. However, I know Madison plays for Sci-Faire Elite. Right. So that comes a cost. Yes. That is nowhere near cheap. And so let's keep it real about the financial side. Travel ball training, gear tournaments, hotels, gas. What does this actually cost a family at her level?

SPEAKER_04 19:22

Uh, when we jumped in out of regular AAU basketball, which we both was on that circuit at one point, AAU basketball, when you're coaching, it's a lot easier because they pay for a lot because you're a coach. So until we got on the circuit, we didn't realize how much money that parents was paying out of the pocket for AAU if you was not a coach. Bro realized that sometimes when he was a coach of coaching Cass, I was coaching Madison. So it was a lot of times that we got paid for the hotel fees and stuff like they'll pay for our hotel and pay for our gas. So it was good being a coach if you was coaching AU. But when you get on the circuit and you playing for a shoe comp, a shoe deal and a shoe team, and uh, it's it's tough because now you're talking easily, easily. Madison first year, her freshman year at SciFair, we easily spent, and this just a ballpark figure. I'm gonna go anywhere between 30 and 10.

SPEAKER_03 20:19

Try about sweet.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

About 30 grand. I'm gonna say with hotels, gas, food, and everything, and and plus shoes and and socks and everyday things and all that stuff, and plus trying to maintain home and things like that. People leave out the whole thing where they're saying, Well, I spent 20 grand on her just to get into the thing, but you're not looking at how much you're losing back at home. Right. Where you got the finagle thing.

SPEAKER_03 20:45

If I had a wedding that I could I can you're losing that 20, I can get fifty, I can get 15,000 on a wedding, but I'm not gonna schedule a wedding on the day that she has a tournament at Nike because I want to be there.

SPEAKER_04 20:57

So when we So when we're talking about a ballpark figure of somebody gonna pay just to have their child on the circuit, you're looking at about 20 to 30 grand. Easy, easy, that's where gas is. And I'm sure you can attest to that. Um that's if she's first time in.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

I remember we were in the Airbnb, y'all. We had us a nice little Airbnb.

SPEAKER_04 21:16

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Listen, we had to buy groceries. We was cooking. Then y'all had boots you put on. You had to pay for those. Yes. Besides, listen, don't even talk about recovery.

SPEAKER_04 21:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Um stuff like that. So, yes.

SPEAKER_04 21:30

The reason why I say 20 to 30 grand, because when we sit back at home sometimes and we start spending fast food on you have to figure out you have to eat three to four times a day. And if you eat three fourths of the time a day and it's fast food, you're spending at least a hundred three hundred dollars every time you eat. At least two, at least$150 to$200 on three to four people every time you eat. All depends on how many people you have with you that you have to feed. That's that's and all depends on where you eat, you know. So I tell my wife all the time, that's a big ticket. Then you got gas if you if you if you travel in a rental car and um it's just it's a lot.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

To mention you have to pay to get in the tournament. Then you have to pay to park to pay the tournament.

SPEAKER_04 22:11

You pay for parking.

SPEAKER_03 22:12

Then you have to pay to park at the hotel. Chicago the hotels were$400 and we have to pay$75 a day in the park. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 22:19

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 22:21

And you're talking about four days.

SPEAKER_04 22:23

Yes. So on top of that, you know, that's a big ticket. And when parents look at that when parents look at that they look at that like man that's a lot that's that's a car that's a house that's my car note that's my house note and we get it and trust me with parents that's not locked in and not and don't see the bigger picture they're not gonna they're not gonna invest in it. So we we became It's an investment we invested in her it's an investment. We invested in her because my daughter really wanted this and she's working a behind off for it and I see her fight for it and I struggle for it. So before I let her struggle with it by herself that's why we became a teen and we became MP12 and we want to change the game with her. So that's why we do what we do.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

I joke with her all the time I'm like I'm not paying a dime for college not one penny.

SPEAKER_00 23:11

That's the return on investment right there. That's the R that's who that's I said that's your whole college fund.

SPEAKER_04 23:17

That's that's where the parents miss out at spending a college fund right now. When you're doing what you're doing right now, you're putting your kid in a place to win at the end because once college and they pick that college they go to all that all that takes care of everything that you invested in her and spent in the money and all that stuff, you get that right back because now she has a great college she's going to she goes to free. She don't have no longer have to pay for it no more. You setting her up for life to where now she done seen some things that you went through with her during the the cypher the the elite camps and things like that to show her that this is how you don't go do these things again. You have to do it this way.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

So it's now she's not gonna have to worry about once she finished colleges student loan I got$300,000 worth of student loans because I wanted to be a doctor in college. Yeah we might spend$20,000 a year but that's way cheaper than, you know, Maddie's gonna go Maddie is a 4.0 student she has big dreams and big goals. And so us spending$20,000 a year maybe more than that right now it's gonna benefit her where now it's not on her. You know what I'm saying? It's not her having, we having all these student loans at the end of the, at the end of her coming out of college, you know, she can go there she won't have to worry about oh where we're gonna get college money from you know and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

So but I'm I'm gonna be like this too I say this ass if I'm gonna make this simple too and quick. If we don't spend$20,000 on a kid that's trying to do something right for themselves and trying to better themselves in life, what would we spend over the summer if we if she's not playing basketball, what do we think we'll be spending$20,000 on?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

Absolutely probably nothing. Probably foolishness probably a vacation here a water park here four, five times a day because they have we have to find something for her to do. So now that we have to find something for her to do now we got to pick places to go that's gonna probably cost us a cruise may cost us a vacation here with hotels and this and that and maybe maybe Disney World because she may want to go to Disney World that's expensive. So by the time the two months of summer is over with or three months or however long they get out for summer you're still looking at paying about and then watch this not only that over the summer you got to feed them. Over the summer you got to feed them with us being on the country out the summer with us being on the roadboard keeps my wife out of the kitchen. It keeps my wife out of the kitchen keeps grocery bill down. We we we provide we we go to hotels where they have a full kitchen where we can actually make grocery and we that's one advice to it's one advice to pay home to sweet something with a kitchen and a refrigerator and a washer and dryer as well you know something that you could utilize you could utilize everything to make you put you in a sense that you're at home to where you don't have to spend money you can eat sandwiches and she could eat healthy and stuff like that. You make sacrifices and a lot of people want to eat out all the time nah we're gonna make sacrifices because we see how steep you could get real quick.

SPEAKER_00 26:17

Yep absolutely thank y'all listen I'm gonna hit you all with the emotional side of things. What's the hardest moment you had as a sports parent so far was it a bad game a tough coach something Madison went through walk us through the emotional side we know time and money that is hard but I think the emotional piece is the part that really tests you sometimes find whether the journey you know trying to stay positive when you when you have your own emotions wrapped up in this as well and helping push your daughter past um uncomfortability, teaching resilience what's the hardest moment you've had as a sports parent the hardest part I think I've had with a sports parent is trying to balance the three of being a trainer, a coach and a father to the point to where I had to realize that I had to had to separate all three of those things and I had to become one.

SPEAKER_04 27:10

So I had to put someone else in training her and me becoming a better father to less understand that I don't have to be tough on her all the time. I was coaching my daughter 24 hours around the clock. So even when she didn't want to be a part of basketball, we was talking basketball and it didn't give her an outlet of trying to be a little girl and try to enjoy having fun without being about basketball. So those were the toughest times for me. And then as a coach and as her dad just watching her become always the starter on a team and so that's why I say for Sci-Fair this year, she went through a test. Last year she went through a test that it was it was hard for me to watch my daughter go through because she was always used to having the light bright on her and used to being a star, the starter and stuff like that. So it gave her her freshman year it gave her a rude awakening of not being that girl. So when she came to Scifair it gave her that college I want to say college look instantly like you're not gonna be that star you're not gonna be that starter when you go to college they could tell you that but when you get there you're gonna have to work for your time you're gonna have to work for your position and work for everything. Watching her sit on that bench and do it the way she did it, it was hard for me to watch it, but it was amazing to watch her go through it. Because when I watched her go through it and it didn't break her, it made her stronger. It made her want to come back and physically say that I'm gonna get in the gym more when I go back to practice whoever I have to take their position whoever I got the dog out or take them down through there. I'm gonna take them through there every day I'm gonna lock them up I'm gonna make that coach see me for who I am and I'm gonna let him know I deserve more than a second. I deserve more than 30 seconds I deserve time. So you're gonna give me my time. So that was the thing that I thought was hard for me to watch at the same time but also great for me to watch because I seen a young lady grow up I seen a little girl grow up to be a young lady at that point.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

Yeah yeah and there are so many lessons through the game uh through the sport of basketball I mean I'm speak speaking specifically for basketball because that's what I love. But there are just so many lessons to be um learned through sports and resiliency transfer to life. Like we tell Cass all the time and Kai coming up like it's not gonna be easy. You're not gonna be comfortable through every situation with growth there will be uncomfortability. So with it Cass um although she did really well this season I think she went through a transition um to being on the prep um prep circuit having basically every night felt like software nationals right instead reaching that level of intensity and having to show up and produce every single game was challenging. And so to support her through that um because she's used to being a certain type of player out of Louisiana supporting her through that that says like listen this is your mama the growth like it's uncomfortable it looks different but we're gonna support you through that and you're gonna get back out there you're gonna grind and do what you do. Yes um ultimately like a life lesson that cannot I just don't see being taught just being a regular kid. I'm sorry not sorry I suggest put some child in sports. This last question um and then I'll let you all go on with your day um this is a part of this is basically why I do timeout. I think that you know your your voice you all's experience is invaluable we didn't have a roadmap just getting into elite basketball we just knew our children had dreams, goals and because we know the game because we you know because of the parents we are we just push our children right but somebody is listening right now who is just starting the journey and they could possibly feel overwhelmed. There were times we like oh what's this then the other looking for a sign they're looking for wisdom they're looking for somebody who's been there or where they're or been where they're trying to go. So let's pour into them really quickly. If a family came to you tomorrow or today and said we're just starting this journey what do we need to know what's the first thing you tell them the first thing I would tell them is just get prepared for sacrifices.

SPEAKER_03 31:22

That would be like the first thing um make sure this is what your child really wants number one first and foremost. First and foremost because it's a lot of sacrifice and you don't want to get to the point where it feels like you're the one driving the bus. You're like I said it's Madison's world at this point. You know so if she's gonna go 100% then yes of course the sacrifice the money the time the effort is a hundred percent worth it. So that would be my first thing is to make sure that this is what your child wants.

SPEAKER_04 31:55

Yep absolutely what's one thing y'all would do differently if you could start over the one thing that I would do different if I had to start over I would first of all I'll learn more about AAU because a lot of people um like we did us as a family both our families we stayed on our independent teams way too long. And we didn't know anything about the circuit and we didn't know nothing about the Nike we didn't know nothing about Nike and Adidas and things like that. So when we started with Madison if I was do anything different I would think my daughter would have been on the circuit when she was in the sixth grade and the seventh grade instead of waiting until she made the ninth grade to be on the circuit. I would have had on a junior circuit immediately. I would have never kept her with me for as long as I did on the independent team playing where she wasn't getting noticed for her talent and she wasn't being seen and been pushed to play on the levels instead of playing her upper level all the years that she played in AU, if I would have played her on the circuit in her age group and playing against kids that was on her level, she would have been a lot better than where she's at right now, I think. And that's one thing that I would have done different. So I'm gonna tell parents today search your team find your team for your daughter and your kid or your son for AU and research it do not rely on independent teams unless your independent team is doing something different and that's actually traveling a little bit more and plan against circuit teams and plan against great great competition but put your kid to where they can win. Don't just put your kid in a situation because you want them to be the star on the team. That sets the level of your child's ability you want to push the if she's if she's that kid she could be that kid on any team but you have to maximize her. You have to get the max out of her and if you got her on a team to where she's not being pushed you're not maxing her out.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

So I would rather I tell people any day if you want to see the best come out your kid find a team that's gonna get the greatness out of her yes y'all hit it on the head that's the same thing Carl and I said Kaz first time on the circuit like we played around with it. I ain't gonna lie her ninth or tenth grade, no ninth grade year. Ninth grade out to play she was come check it out and see right so we went to a um EYBL tournament out here and um we loved it Kaz actually was playing doing her thing we're like okay but we had already put our money time and effort and loyalty into the local grass team and so Kaz was not she was not on um the circuit for a full summer until her 10th grade year. Now this is the last year and we're like we're in hustle mode right and so that's the same advice I would give um a parent if your child is hooping and I mean really invested putting the time in they need to be challenged get them on a team that's gonna expose the areas possibly to pre exposure or expose the areas that are weak and they need to work on. So either way it's empty. Last question I said that before and then I'm gonna let y'all go for real the time. When people hear Madison's name one day what do you hope they say about her? And what do you hope they say about y'all?

SPEAKER_03 35:15

So it when they hear Madison's name one day I want them to really just I guess hope that they know the work the effort that she put in I hope they think that oh my God this child really, really wanted it. She really really loved it. You know what I'm saying? She's very humble. She's grateful. What else you think?

SPEAKER_04 35:35

She left it all on the floor. Yeah she left it all on the floor. At the end of the day she played that game with all her heart. She left it on the floor. Today hearing my daughter name it's amazing to me. I get chills just hearing her name right now I ain't I'm not lying and she's so humble about that. I try not to break a tear in front of her but when I see some of the accomplishments and the accolades and you know being dad and being what I've seen this four-year-old come into right now as a 60 year old it's amazing to watch her grow. It's amazing to watch her carry herself the way she carries herself. The biggest thing with me as a father what I love about my child and it's not basketball is everything that she does outside of basketball. She's caring she's loving she finds ways to try to help us if she can she does not do the certain things that get in trouble. She stays at home with us so if she's not training or she's not playing basketball, she's in a room she's an easy we we see we we wait to see if she's gonna ask to go to the movie to friends and do these type of things. She finally realized as a kid of her caliber that she has to find a circle that maxes her out and does the same thing that she does. And if it they're not rocking like she's rocking she she shorten her circle up. So it's a circle of friends that she hangs with. If they're dealing with basketball she deals with them. If they doing something different she may try it if it ain't fitting her she back away from it. So I like the way I I like her energy off the court more than I like her energy on the court because she could be doing a lot more things as a kid as she and getting into trouble and she's not doing those things. So that's kind of tough with this world with with social media and everything going on. It's a lot for this kid to hold on her shoulders and to be the person she is today and to not have those things interfere with her goals and her accomplishments that's that's what I love about my child.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

And she's so humble. Let me tell you a funny story before we get off so I take it to the dentist to get her braces readjusted or whatever. So we go into the little room and it was the little I guess the hygienist you know whoever's doing the braces and she we had said something and we were talking about the state championship how they lost by one point and she looked at her she like really looked at her face and she's like oh my God you're Madison Puffy you're number 12 and she was like yeah hi and she was like oh my God she says we don't even have kids we live in Pearl River. She said we done followed your journey all year we saw you in the house oh my husband is your biggest fan can I FaceTime my husband so he can see that you're in my chair and Madison was my yeah and so she's like FaceTiming her husband and she's like look babe look who's in my chair Madison's like huh I say Matt that was your biggest moment that let me know right then and there she don't be bothered by it she just played again but like I told her that's her biggest moment love that could have been an N I L deal that could have been a moment to where that could have actually pushed you over to the point to where you don't know what they could have done for you.

SPEAKER_04 38:37

But that could have I say so now that's a realize just how much important she is at this and how we have to practice on like when somebody comes up to you like what to say.

SPEAKER_00 38:47

And the impact been there y'all I ain't gonna lie to you for sure where we had to be like yes okay this is possible. And absolutely um and I like that you even mentioned it could have been a possible like business opportunity for her. She could be doing uh you know social media for them. Exactly so anything can turn into that and like she's just an all-around good kid. I love our girl like that we love cas too listen they say if you you know show me your company I'll show you yourself and like you just look keep it cool keep it clean um she's doing exactly what needs to be done. Y'all are amazing parents thank you we're gonna miss y'all this summer but we're gonna see y'all too this summer.

SPEAKER_04 39:28

I'm gonna end it with this I'm gonna go back to the journey where when Cass and Matt first met each other and they had a New Orleans tournament when we um it was at the um it was the last one they had at the the Big Easy Classic or something at the convention Matt and Cass played against each other was Carl was Carl was coaching and I was coaching. It was the Ken Igels and it was Carl team and that was they was babies. This is the first time these two elite players this when I realized these two girls were special because even after that game and before that game they competed they behind off.

SPEAKER_03 40:01

They went at each other and I think Madd had a big game and Cass had Madd was playing up so that's why she was able to play against Carl and end up beating us by one point.

SPEAKER_04 40:09

I think they ended up beating us by one point. And um but at that game and Cass became friends instantly after that game and they started following each other. I never knew that so after a while Matt was like Matt, Dad, look what Cass did over at such and such dad look what Cass did such and such. So we didn't even know these two kids was even communicating until we seen them on the court. So then once and then we had to call and ask can Maddie play on her team but we had already committed to the Kingdom Angels and the first time I ever crossed words which I remember this right so to make a long story short you know we we didn't really communicate as well as parents because the kids were competing and we are competitive parents so we want to see our kid win no matter what but at the same time me and Carl we we probably went to Philadelphia remember with United that's when we started really talking yeah that's when the whole bonding after that after that man these girls from that LA United team I'm gonna tell you this from that time when they played on that team they seen something different. I think something clicked in both of them I think when Cass played on that team because they combined that team with a whole bunch of talent and they both had a great game and we seen just then just how um AEU teams could promise your kid this and then take it away from them just like that. Just like that yeah yeah and um so with the United team telling us that needed our kids to do something to come out to to win a a shoe deal and didn't go the right way about it, that lets us know just how the um college world can treat our kids when we're not even there. So we basically grooming her for what can happen when we're not there. So yeah man it was awesome just to watch these two kids grow from that moment and still be friends today and still check on each other and find out how each other game's going and I ask her did you talk to Cass? She said I just got off the phone Cass and um those are the amazing things that I still know that they're still competing even though they're not on a they're not playing against each other or they're not playing with each other they're still competing and never know one day they might end up on the same I just feel they're gonna be in each other's life forever.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

You know what I'm saying no matter what happens.

SPEAKER_02 42:28

That sisterhood is crazy.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Building those relationships um and it's so important to do that as sports parents find you the good group y'all can support each other it's not about mess and drama I have to keep saying that it's not about jealousy there's enough room and space it is it is really to win so this is exactly why I do time out Marlon Teresa thank you so much for being open for being real and for sharing that and your story with us because families all over the country for real for real are going to watch this and feel seen and so that's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_04 43:03

To everybody watching if this is we love it keep it going don't stop.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

Yeah we love what you're doing we love what you're doing we're falling behind you we share everything you're doing you're doing an amazing job as a parent as a mother as a wife we appreciate you yes absolutely so listen audience y'all keep watching Madison that 2028 is special literally just seconds away from winning the state championship she'll be back next year and we'll be cheering for her every step of the way I'm Ashley this is Mo Mo and Teresa this is midtime out see y'all next time. Thank you bye bye thank you have a good day happy Easter y'all to you all right sis love you back love y'all thank you bye bye