The CT Softball Blog

NEWTOWN—Madison Thoesen can’t wait to give back to the sport that has given her everything.

Truth is, she has already started.

The kid who always looked up to those players ahead of her, who these days is now a role model for players growing up around her, is headed to college to put herself into a better position to give back even more.

Last month, Thoesen, a senior pitcher and shortstop for Newtown High, signed her NCAA Letter of Intent to play at Central Connecticut State University. In fact, she said, she wants to major in Physical Education so she can teach and coach and give back to the game that has given her so much.

“It’s an honor. I see myself in these kids,” Thoesen said. “I’m going into physical education so I can work with kids. It reminds me of when I was younger. It makes me want to help bring out their passion.”

Initially, she never expected her journey to go through Central Connecticut, however.

For the longest time, the Thoesen family expected her to head south for college.

One trip to CCSU changed all that.

“First, it was the coaches, definitely,” Thoesen said when asked why she landed at Central. “I felt like I had such a connection with (CCSU head coach Breanne Gleason) and when I went on my tour and saw that campus, I was like, is this a dream?”

In other words, Thoesen found CCSU to be her own little paradise right there in New Britain.

“I thought for sure I’d be going down south, or at least away, but when I saw it, I just fell in love with it,” she said.

Thoesen never chased the D1-or-bust dream some players go after. Instead, she wanted to find the right school that would fit her both athletically and academically.

“I didn’t really mind which level I played at,” she said. “I wanted academically to be where I can succeed the best at, and I’ve been playing so long, I don’t want to sit, but I wanted to play at school where I wanted to play hard and earn my spot. I wanted what was best for me and Central was the best option.”

While the Blue Devils recruited Thoesen as a pitcher, she is hoping her prowess as an infielder or hitter might get her more time on the diamond, if the coaches see fit.

Newtown coach Megan Goyda knows the Blue Devils are getting a really special player and kid in Thoesen.

“She is everything,” said Goyda. “Last year was my first year as a head coach for softball and she was essentially an extension of our coaching stuff. She brings such energy, but it’s her poise as a leader on the field. It’s her passion for the game. She loves it so much and wants other kids to see that and know they can achieve that level of heart for something.”

Thoesen grew up in Newtown, the daughter of Ian Thoesen, NHS’s baseball coach, who had once played professionally.

Being the daughter of a coach is never easy, but Madison Thoesen said she can’t imagine having made this journey without her dad being such a big part of it.

“I love my dad coaching me because without him I wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had Central looking at me. He puts so much time and effort into me playing that I’m trying to play for him, as well. He’s always pushed me, but he’s never pressured me.”

She actually got her genes from both her parents. Her mom was also a field hockey player, as well.

It’s almost hard to believe looking back on her career that it all started behind the plate.

“Funny enough when I first started in rec ball, I was young and wasn’t too vested in it, but I was a catcher and had fun with it,” she said.

Soon enough, however, she was 40 feet away from the plate learning how to be a pitcher.

Madison Thoesen grew up in the CT Thunder travel program. Goyda’s family was one of the families that helped initially build the program, the coach said, while these days Ian Thoesen oversees the program and its array of age-group teams.

When she was younger, rising through the Thunder’s travel ranks, Madison Thoesen looked up to the older players above her and when she arrived at Newtown High as a freshman starter, she was surrounded by more players she looked up to.

“I knew I had to work hard to be able to earn my spot and now I’m a senior I feel the same way,” she said. “I have to work hard to earn my spot.”

Thoesen and her Nighthawk teammates will head into the SWC season with another strong team, one that would love to repeat the 2023 season when Newtown stunned Masuk to win the SWC championship.

Goyda just hopes her star pitcher can enjoy the ride before college.

“It’s going to sound so cliche, but I just want her to have fun and ball out,” Goyda said. “Knowing her, she can be a bit of a perfection and it adds such pressure to herself. Nobody is putting that pressure on herself but herself. She’s already proven to be a powerhouse. She has to enjoy the ride now. I’m proud of her.”

Beyond that, the future awaits with a path that now goes to New Britain and the Central Connecticut State University campus, and comes out on the other side.

And that’s an exit ramp that leads directly to the lives of many future players.

“That was me,” Goyda said. “I lived and breathed sports growing up and I had no idea what I wanted to do until my PE teacher sat me down and said, ‘You need to be one of us.’ For her, all she has known is sports. To be able to get paid for it? She’s so good with kids. It’s just the added extension to who she is becoming.”

Once upon a time, Madison Thoesen was one of those players who wanted somebody to look up to.

Today, she is that role model for all those players in Newtown, in the Thunder organization, or any field anywhere where a kid picks up a yellow softball.

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