Senior volleyball player adjusts in pandemic

WADESBORO — Playing sports in a pandemic looks different for all athletes, but for Madison Dutton, she had to adjust to playing without her mom as the head coach for the first time.

Dutton is a senior setter for the Anson High School Bearcats. As a setter, she volleys the ball to the team’s hitters in the hopes they can get a point for the team, a position she’s been mastering since middle school.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a leader,” Dutton said. “But I try and keep everybody in a good mood and keep everybody happy.”

Volleyball entered her life way before making the middle school team. Her mom, Celeste Dutton, coached for Anson High School. Plus, her two sisters also play volleyball.

“My mom was the volleyball coach up until this past year,” Dutton said. “So even before middle school, I would go to all the volleyball camps with her and go to volleyball practices with the older girls.”

Now in her senior year, she welcomes new head coach Patty Livingston. Dutton admits it is a little weird without her mom, but she’s experienced many different coaches while playing club volleyball.

“I’ve been close with Coach Livingston too,” Dutton said. “She’s helped mom the past few years. It is not really that much different to me. I don’t feel like it is.”

Dutton has always enjoyed playing volleyball. Add in her time with her travel team, and volleyball is all that she has time for.

Her travel team, Stanly Extreme, is based out of Stanly County. She likes playing for Stanly Extreme because of all the travel, but she also loves playing for Anson because she gets to be with her friends everyday.

The bigger adjustment this unusual season for Dutton was to play in masks. Both of her teams require masks during all practices and games. Fans are limited for both her teams too. Only 25 people can attend the Bearcats’ home matches and for away games, the girls do not have any fans in-person. Dutton’s travel team allows one fan per player.

“I hate wearing the masks but I guess I’m used to it now since we wear it everywhere,” Dutton said. “At first it was hard to breathe in with running, but now I’m just used to it.”

Outside of volleyball she also had to adjust to COVID world as she works as a waitress in Marshville.

“I just (waitress) on the weekends but we have to wear a mask the whole time,” Dutton said. “I don’t want to get (COVID) but I’m not that nervous about it. We’re supposed to wear masks, wash our hands and (customers) are supposed to wear their masks too.”

This is Dutton’s first restaurant job and the place only opened up over the summer. She was previously a lifeguard but because of the virus, the pool never reopened.

Looking forward, Dutton is thinking about playing for club teams at college. She just found out she was accepted to Appalachian State University, UNC-Wilmington, East Carolina University and Western Carolina the past couple weeks, but she is still waiting to hear back from a few more before she makes a decision.

She is already one step ahead and is on track to graduate high school with her Associate’s. Dutton took five college classes this past semester and is about to take another four or five this semester.

“It was stressful, but it is worth it,” Dutton said. “They do it at the early college but then they started offering it at the high school. I think we are the second or third year that this has been offered to.”

Dutton is leaning towards majoring in psychology, but she is not set on anything yet. She likes to help people and talking through people’s problems with them which is why she thinks she’d like to work at a hospital psych ward or be a child psychologist.

Until then, she is looking forward to a possible playoff run with the Bearcats after getting in the groove of playing in a pandemic.