Wadsworth High School star player Gavin Madigan has reached the halfway mark to 100 tackles. He plays for both defense and offense on Wadsworth’s football team.
In the season prior, Madigan played mainly defense with only a touch of offense throughout the season. Madigan has a total of 40 individual tackles and 15 assists.
Wadsworth had plenty of success this season, ending with an almost perfect record of 9 – 1.
This football season has been a growth period for Madigan as a player and teammate. His improvement has been seen not only by his coaches but also by himself.
“I think it’s another year of experience,” Madigan said. “It’s not really a certain thing, it’s just another year of being more comfortable out there. There’s not much I haven’t seen. I’m more comfortable, seen a lot. Obviously getting stronger and bigger in the weight room.”
Training for the season is a continuous process of developing strength, strategy and more education on the game. It does not just stop after the season but continues constantly throughout the off-season.
“The biggest improvement I’ve seen in his game, beyond the physical maturation that happens between your sophomore and junior year is his ability to play an extended period of time during games,” said WHS Football Coach, Justin Todd. “He’s playing a lot of snaps and he’s a focal point of both our offense and our defense.”

With Madigan being asked to run the ball and having a variety of positions on the field, Todd has also seen improvement in his overall understanding of the game.
As people improve as a player and teamate, their goals develop with them.
“When the team stuff comes around, the personal stuff kinda goes with it,” Madigan said.“I’d like to play college football eventually, but next year I want to win another league championship and be the best team we can be.”

Success in the football season does not come without hard work. Madigan and his teammates are constantly working to better themselves as players and as a team during and after the season.
“We practice really hard, we watch a lot of film,” Madigan said. “We take that stuff seriously. That’s stuff people don’t really see. They see Friday nights but don’t really see what happens Monday through Thursday.”
Not just Madigan is improving, all of the players for Wadsworth’s football team is too. This sets Wadsworth up to be a more a functional, winning team where each player reaches their best ability.
“I think that’s one of the more rewarding things for us because when a kid works really hard, you hope that as a coach, you put him in a position that he can be successful and when they are successful, you take a bit of pride in the fact that you helped influence that in some way, but in reality it’s primarily the kids and that’s what high school sports are about,” Todd said.
During Wadsworth High School’s homecoming game against Nordonia, Madigan experienced an injury.
He was rolled up on during the 5th leg of the game. Madigan was in a boot and crutches the Saturday following the Nordonia game.
“It’s like a grade-three high ankle sprain, some ligament damage, but nothing season-ending,” Madigan said.
Since he was in a boot and crutches for some time, Madigan is working to build strength and balance.
Madigan has made his waves for the football team as a junior and it is easy to wonder what he will do for the football team his senior year.