Since transitioning from a college to a university, Marist has been pushing a new tagline: “Inspired to do more.” One student-athlete embodies this message more than anyone: women’s basketball junior guard Jackie Piddock.
Piddock balances a difficult major, biology, with the grueling schedule of a Division I athlete while working to follow in her father’s footsteps by joining the United States Marines. Despite the grueling schedule, she manages it with a smile every step of the way and consistently puts her best foot forward.
“One of the really unique characteristics about Jackie is whatever Jackie is doing, she gives it 110%, whether she’s in the classroom, whether she’s on the court, whether she’s at Bible study, whatever she’s doing,” said women’s basketball head coach Erin Doughty.
Despite the constant effort in all aspects of her life, Piddock puts her family first, including her team and fellow cadets. She also maintains her trademark bright personality, no matter where she is.
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like Jackie Piddock. She just always has a smile on her face,” said Doughty. “She’s one of those kids that finds joy in everything she does and sees the goodness in everything around her.”
Piddock’s childhood was in large part defined by her father’s nearly 25-year career in the Marines. She moved seven times and saw it all during her childhood: the heat of the desert of Twentynine Palms, the beautiful sights of Rhode Island, the fields of Nebraska and plenty more. The longest she called a place “home” was just three years.
Of course, that takes its toll on a young child, especially an athlete.
“It was hard, honestly, growing up just because every year you’re changing to a new team, new coaches,” said Piddock. “You don’t really have a solid set of childhood friends growing up.”
However, given Piddock’s nature, she found the good in the challenge.
“It was also really good for me to learn how to adapt to new environments, meet new people, go out of my comfort zone and things like that,” she said. “Every time I’d move somewhere and join a new team, I had to prove myself again. You’re coming in and no one knows you, so I think that was really helpful.”
Luckily for Piddock, she settled down in Adams, NY before high school because of her father’s retirement. This eased the recruitment process for her because she attended South Jefferson High School without needing to switch schools, allowing her to focus on improving at basketball and the recruitment process.
However, staying in one place throughout high school did not make her recruitment straightforward. The COVID-19 pandemic struck during the peak of her recruitment process, meaning she could not attend official campus visits or speak to coaches face-to-face. She could only speak with each coaching staff remotely and she could only visit schools on admissions tours.
Doughty said the Red Foxes held numerous phone calls with Piddock and were struck by the ease in speaking to her; the coaching staff fought over who could call her. Throughout her recruitment, Piddock’s communication skills stood out most to Doughty and the rest of the staff.
“She was constantly communicating. If you come to our practice, you will hear Jackie from start to finish, talking. Those intangibles that a point guard has, she has them,” said Doughty.
The traits that also stood out to the staff include her smarts, leadership, ability to know team needs, ability to limit mistakes and general intangibles as a point guard.
“Jackie’s always been one of those players that does whatever her team needs,” said Doughty. “If you watched her with her high school team, she would take about 20 shots and score 30 points a game. Then you’d go to her AAU game, and you might see her take three shots, but she’d drive and kick and find her shooter that was on fire, or she’d get the ball inside.”
Despite the challenges it presented, in some ways COVID-19 actually propelled Piddock to Marist. She credits the coaches with trying harder to communicate, which makes sense because she earned her first call and offer from the Red Foxes. She also expressed the high effort levels she received from the staff during the process and the sense of community the school portrayed to her, which she still feels today.
In addition to her education and basketball career, Piddock decided she wanted to pursue the military just this past fall after receiving an email about a PLC (Platoon Leaders Class) program. Upon receiving the email, she researched the program and loved its goals and morals; thus, she enrolled.
The program took place this past summer in Quantico, Virginia, and lasted six weeks instead of the traditional 10 weeks for a PLC program. This fits into Piddock’s offseason schedule perfectly, given the team’s return to practice in late June each year, and she looks forward to returning this coming summer for the second part of the program. After completion, she hopes to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a Marine officer after college.
Piddock chose to pursue the Marines mainly because of her father, who served in the branch for nearly 25 years. She witnessed the environment and culture through her father’s service, seeing how Marines act and carry themselves firsthand. She admired these traits and decided she wanted to go in the same direction.
Her choice to pursue the Marines marked the second time Piddock followed directly in her father’s footsteps. He was also a successful college basketball player, spending his playing days at LeMoyne College in Syracuse.
The PLC program entailed the same as a normal OCS (Officer Candidate School) program, with a strong focus on leadership. It graded the cadets on physical fitness, leadership and academics. During the short six weeks, she learned plenty, in addition to the program’s stated goals.
“I learned a lot about myself,” said Piddock. “I learned a lot about pushing past my limits and what I can actually accomplish. I learned a lot about the right way to lead … how to work with others and things that I can apply to my daily life as well.”
Piddock’s military background and time spent in Quantico also translate to her basketball career, helping her on and off the court. Her time at the PLC program provided countless connections and friendships in addition to leadership from experienced military personnel. She also felt the program helped her learn discipline, routines, values, morals, adaptability and discipline.
Of all the skills she learned in Quantico, leadership may have the most impact on her going forward. She believes the program improved the way she approaches her teammates today by teaching her what a leader should do in certain situations and how to keep a level head. Doughty relies on this leadership, crediting the floor general with various important roles.
“She’s the one who keeps us organized,” said Doughty. “She’s the one who gets the right people the ball. She’s the one who makes sure everyone knows what’s going on. So in that way, she’s our on-the-floor leader, and she’s an extension of the coaching staff.”
Piddock’s enhanced leadership skills also improve her ability to adapt on the fly; a huge skill for a point guard.
“You can’t predetermine what’s going to happen on the court,” said Piddock. “You need to be able to adapt to in-game situations. That’s kind of the same as flexibility [and] leadership. They definitely all apply.”
Doughty believes that Piddock embraces one of the team’s mantras, “pride, passion and joy,” in addition to loyalty and, of course, leadership.
“You never have to question Jackie’s effort. You always know she’s going to be prepared, be where she’s supposed to be when she’s supposed to be there and that she’s constantly going to be a good teammate. She’s the one who gets excited for everybody in every little thing, and she just plays with joy, and those are the things I like out of players.”
As the new “inspired to do more” tagline suggests, Piddock feels Marist allows her to do more. Through her relentless dedication to basketball, academics, her family and the U.S. Marines, Piddock embraces the new university’s message.
Edited by Max Rosen and Ben Leeds
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore; Photos from Marist Athletics
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