Born in London, junior sports management major Sophie Madden is part of the women’s golf team and was chosen as Honorable Mention All-American by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association for the 2015-2016 season.
How did you start playing golf?
“When I was 8 years old, my granddad played. No one in my family played golf except for him. In my family, they are all soccer players — especially the boys — and my granddad is the captain of one of the golf clubs back home in England. He took me out for group lessons one day and he told me that I had a natural ability for it. Then, I took single lessons and carried on playing till this day.”
How did you find NSU given that you are from England?
“I got recruited by the coach that was here before. She went to England to watch tournaments and I went here to play tournaments and that’s how she found me.”
How is it different being in the golf team here?
“In the golf side, it is very similar. The only difference is the American culture and the weather here in Florida — which it’s a lot better — at least for my game since it’s better here.”
What’s your relationship like with your teammates?
“We get along super well. We are super close. I mean, it’s only seven of us. We are not all best friends, but we are really close in many aspects and any one of us would definitely help another one.”
What about your relationship with your coaches?
“It’s really good. We have a good ratio of coaches and the men’s coach now was our assistant before, so we get along with him pretty well and Heather [the women’s golf head coach] is great. She’s always helping us.”
How do you manage school while being a student athlete?
“It’s ok. Sometimes it’s super hard. If you have tournament after tournament after tournament, that makes it hard to keep up to date. For example, if you have an eight-week Monday night class, it’s hard because you miss like four of them. It’s not easy, but you just manage your time and figure things out. The professors here at NSU are really helpful so that makes it better.”
Do you think that golf is going to play a big part on your life later on?
“Yeah, definitely. It is something I love. I love it. It’s something that I enjoy. So, if I’m coaching or anything, as long as I enjoy it, it is going to be fine.”
What are your future plans?
“Right now, my plan is to graduate. After I graduate, I’m going to try and be a graduate assistant here in South Florida for a golf team, get my master’s in business or marketing — which could take me up to 18 months — and then focus on my profession if things are going well in my plan. But you never know, I could go home back to England. But, right now that’s the plan.”
Do you have any anecdotes from your years spent on the team?
“In my freshman year, it was the National Festival DII, which means that it wasn’t just golf, but it was everybody’s nationals. It was golf, softball and track and field all in the same place in Denver, Col. That was pretty cool because I had activities every day and we ended up coming third. I came ninth by myself, so I did pretty good as a freshman. It was really my favorite [because] I had never been to Denver. We stayed in the downtown which was pretty crazy.”
How do you see yourself differently from your freshman year?
“You can ask literally every one of my teammates because I’m a totally different person. My freshman year I was so homesick — like really, really homesick. Just because everything was different, you know? The culture, the people and I missed my family and friends. My golf game has gotten a lot better. I’ve learned how to score better and now some of my best friends are here. I also got a car which was something that I didn’t have in my freshman year and that is a big factor since I’ve gotten to use it.”
What do you like most about Florida?
“The weather definitely. That was a really easy question for me. But also, America in general is cool, especially South Florida since it’s like a melting pot of everyone. But the weather is my number one reason.”
What’s the thing that you miss the most about your home?
“As a whole, probably the culture. We have like a big, social culture. Not just with your friends, but with your family. So, I do miss my family, I am really close to my family and my two younger brothers who are twins. And the English culture and the food in general — I feel like anyone misses that [food] from their home.”
