Scottsboro pole vaulter Maddox Hamm is the 2021-22 Gatorade Alabama Boys Track & Field Player of the Year, the company announced on Wednesday.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior-to-be won the pole vault event in the Class 7A state meet with a clearance of 17 feet, 10 inches to help the Wildcats to the outdoor state championship this spring.
Hamm’s personal best height of 18-1 set a state record and was the No. 1 clearance among high-school competitors in 2022. Only five other high-school athletes jumped within a foot of Hamm this spring, the closest being 17-6. He was ranked No. 31 in the national MileSplit 50 at the time of his selection and also won an indoor national title at the adidas Track National at 18-0.5.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Hamm as Alabama’s best high school boys track & field athlete. He is a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July.
Hamm, the first Gatorade Alabama Boys Track & Field Player of the year from Scottsboro High, is a member of First United Methodist Church in Scottsboro. He has participated in multiple service-mission trips with the First United Methodist Youth, during which he has volunteered in soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters for the needy.
He has also donated his time raising funds for the Life Resource Center, which provides services locally for the homeless. In addition, he works part-time doing site maintenance for a local outpatient healthcare facility.
“Maddox is one-of-a-kind,” said Scottsboro head coach Luke Robinson. “Since the day he walked into track practice, he’s been dedicated to being the best. Within the first couple of weeks of practice, we realized that Maddox was going to be something special. He progressed so quickly that we were scrambling to make sure we had enough poles for him to use. It felt like he was outgrowing poles every other week. Maddox’s record speaks for itself, but he’s also one of the most humble people I’ve ever met.”
Hamm has maintained a 3.92 weighted GPA in the classroom.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.
The Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee evaluates and selects state winners in each sport based on discussions with experts including coaches, scouts, media and other sources.
Hamm joins recent Gatorade Alabama Boys Track & Field Players of the Year Ethan Strand of Vestavia Hills (2020-21), Josiah Harry of Mobile Christian (2019-20), Charles Lewis of Sparkman (2018-19) and Marion Humphrey (2017-18), among the state’s list of former award winners.
Through Gatorade’s “Play it Forward” platform, Hamm has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of their choosing that helps young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports. Hamm is also eligible to submit a short video explaining why the organization they chose is deserving of one of 12 $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year. To date, Gatorade Player of the Year winners’ grants have totaled more than $3.5 million across more than 1,300 organizations.
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