Catching up with former Paint Valley multi-sport athlete Anthony McFadden
BAINBRIDGE, Ohio — Starting in the fall of 2012 and running through the spring season of 2016, Anthony McFadden lifted Paint Valley football, basketball, and baseball to some high levels of success. Over the holiday break, the three-sport star was honored for his outstanding career with an induction into the Paint Valley Hall of Fame.
In the fall, McFadden served as head coach Pete Hollon鈥檚 signal caller, and the dual-threat quarterback put up video game-type numbers while earning All-Ohio honors.
鈥淎nthony was a football coach’s dream,鈥� said Hollon when asked about his time coaching McFadden. 鈥淗e was like having another coach on the field. Athletically, he was just so gifted – smooth, elegant, and it was just fun to sit back and watch. Anthony left a lasting impression on not only those players around him, but also coaches as well. I was blessed to have coached him!鈥�
In the winter, Anthony was an outstanding basketball player. His high school coach, Dave Shoemaker, shared with me some special thoughts and memories from their time together.
鈥淲hen I was asked to return as head basketball coach at Paint Valley, I knew I would do so under one condition – that 8th grade wrestler Anthony McFadden would agree to be my point guard,鈥� said Shoemaker. 鈥淎fter speaking to his father, he agreed, and Anthony proceeded to lead us to two District championship games. He started as a freshman and scored 31 points in the Convo as a sophomore. He was an integral part of putting PV basketball back on the map, and the amazing thing is, basketball was probably his third favorite sport. His 1,047 total points are a testament to his athletic ability. On top of that, Anthony was an even better person and role model than he was an athlete. He鈥檚 one of PV鈥檚 greatest athletes.鈥�
Finally, the spring is where this gets personal for me. As Anthony鈥檚 high school baseball coach, I would use words like privilege, pleasure, lucky, or fortunate to describe the opportunity to coach Anthony. His All-Ohio status and Scioto Valley Conference Player of the Year honor are a few of so many accomplishments that tell a special story about how good a player he was; but just as Pete and Dave described, Anthony was (and still is) an even better person.
After high school, Anthony went on to play quarterback at Ohio Northern and majored in pharmacy. In 2021, Anthony married McKenna Newman (a Chillicothe High School graduate). Anthony鈥檚 family has always, and continues to be, a great family in the Paint Valley community. His parents, Casey and Lisa, were both PV graduates. He also has extremely athletic siblings, as his sister Lea was a great athlete who played volleyball at Ohio Northern, his brother Cruz is pitching in college at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and his youngest sister Averi is currently a senior at PV and an All-League athlete in three sports.
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