By: STEFAN MODRICH
Staff Writer
Her father’s shadow used to loom over her athletic career.
On Thursday in the Rivera High School auditorium, Madelaine Blanco began shaping her own legacy. The senior libero signed her intent to play volleyball at Bethany College, a private school near the West Virginia – Pennsylvania border and 50 miles from Pittsburgh, where Blanco said she intends to study pre-occupational therapy.
Blanco also grew up surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins who helped to establish the Blanco family’s tradition of success at Rivera. While she respected and revered them and her father, Anibal Blanco, she pushed herself to perform even better, and leave her own distinct imprint on Rivera athletics.
“Ever since we were little, this is all we would talk about,” said Madelaine’s mother, Melody Blanco. “It was more like a dream, and now it’s a reality. It’s just an amazing feeling. We’re blessed. (Anibal) was an awesome athlete here, and she just went above that, and it was just an amazing feeling.”
Madelaine’ parents helped instill in her a sense of pride in her accomplishments on the court and in the classroom, a constant source of guidance and reassurance.
“I always was told, ‘oh your dad was a football player, he was one of the best,’” Blanco said. “As I grew up, being here, I wanted to have everything he had. I wanted to have the fame that he had and to know that I was good, just like him. I always wanted to be better than (my family) and continue to train, and I grew to love the sport.”
And one of her defining characteristics — the impetus of her competitive spirit — was easily recognized by both her incoming college coaches and her coaches and teammates at Rivera.
“I always hustle,” Blanco said. “I always want the ball. I always want the ball to come to me. If there’s a ball that’s super far away from me, I’ll go get it because I love setting challenges for myself and I don’t want to let anyone down.”
Rivera volleyball coach Elizabeth Avelar-Guerra said Blanco’s desire to succeed was evident from the day she walked in the door. Avelar-Guerra described Blanco’s pursuit of the ball like that of a “hungry tiger or lion” and earned perhaps the highest praise a coach can bestow upon a player, labelling her “the best libero in the Valley.”
“As soon as she came in, she started playing defense,” Avelar-Guerra said. “She stepped up, she was newcomer of the year, she did an awesome job. She was very athletic and energetic and everything, but her control was a little bit (off), and she had to work on certain things — not swinging — and she worked very hard to gain that control. She just blossomed.”
The Swedes compete in the NAIA and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. Blanco will join three Texans on the Bethany College roster: Nakajeya Massenburg from Arlington, Maya Telles from Garland, and Ashae Murphy from Kileen.
Blanco gained reps and exposure playing for the Texas Fierce Elite club, traveling to Houston, San Antonio and New Orleans. After her club experience helped her connect with the Bethany
College coaching staff, Blanco said she thought deeply about moving across the country a lot of thought, trying to balance her family with her desire to explore outside of Texas.
“She’s a very strong young lady,” Avelar-Guerra said. “It’s hard, because she’s very close to her family. So (moving away) is going to make it even harder for her. But she’s strong enough that she’s going to go after her dream. “