The President and The Coach

By Lieza Klemm

The weather was perfect for softball practice. After days of overcast, the skies opened up and sun

shined on the Michigan State University club softball team as they practiced in the early

afternoon of March 19. Team president Madison Cytlak was in attendance; she hasn’t missed a

practice this year. “You have to lead by example,” Cytlak said. “Otherwise, who is going to help

motivate the women on the team to show up.”

Cytlak, a long time softball player, was thrown into the position of coach around the same time

as taking on the president’s position. “All of the

board members from last year were graduating

seniors, so I basically had to start from scratch,”

Cytlak said. And when the team’s coach left early

in the fall, that role fell on her shoulders. “It’s

been stressful, to say the least. I’m friends with a

lot of the women on this team, so being coach in

addition to president can put strain on those

relationships.”

Club president and acting coach The difference between friend and coach taught
Madison Cytlak prepares for the
next pitch, via team’s Instagram Cytlak the valuable skill of communication. “I

would say my communication skills are so much better than what they used to be,” Cytlak said.
“I learned how to tell people hard news, especially when it comes to critiques because not

everyone is prepared to hear what they are doing wrong, especially when it comes from a

friend.”

“I’ve known [Cytlak] for a long time, and this has really pushed her,” Claudia Rea, a former

teammate said. “Not only is she in the role of the president, planning club events, and making

sure all the players have what they need, but she is also the coach, which puts her in a weird and

stressful position,” Rea said.

The role of the president, according to the team’s constitution, is to provide “adequate supplies

and necessities for all members of the club,” promote the club and its events, attend all general

sports meetings, and make sure “all members can fulfill their duties.” The coach must “have an

extensive knowledge of softball” in addition to fostering positive sportsmanship and quality play.

Other duties of the coach include creating

practice plans, renting out spaces for practice,

and communicating the game schedule. On top

of all this, Cytlak is a full-time student at

MSU, creating a huge workload for her.

Throughout the 2022-2023 season, the

women’s club softball team has won nine out

of ten games, and came out of the Great American East National Conference with six wins and

zero losses. During the Elkhart tournament, the team went undefeated in pool play, where teams
are assigned to a pool and the teams in that pool play against each other. The team lost the first

game in bracket play. “Losing the first game with Members of the MSU women’s club
softball team huddle for a handshake,
bracket play was difficult,” Cytlak said. “We lost via team’s Instagram

because we did not perform, not because we could not win.”

“There’s always a lot to manage, but I can’t think of anyone better to do it than [Cytlak],” Paige

Stroster, the club’s secretary said. “And when the entire board from last year graduated, she was

left without the support that you usually expect.”

For Cytlak, softball is more than the competition. “We’re a close knit group, and knowing my

teammates are counting on me gives me motivation when I’m struggling to balance it all,”

Cytlak said. “My teammates have supported me when I’ve needed it, and I always have to

remind myself that I don’t have to do it by myself . . . it's so cool to be able to lead them and help

them develop their skills as athletes and individuals.”

Cytlak plans to run for president for the next season and is determined to prove that, even

without a coach, the team will thrive.

Sources:

Madison Cytlak

Phone: (517) 902-4801

Email: cytlakma@msu.edu

Claudia Rea

Phone: (313) 587-4443

Paige Stroster

Phone: (616) 822-0495

Email: stroste4@msu.edu