Badminton: Hinsdale Central coach Katie Maley continues family tradition

First-year Hinsdale Central badminton coach Katie Maley is the fourth member of her family to lead a varsity program.

The Maleys became a household name years ago, when the three children of Jim and Pat Maley, of Western Springs, became star athletes at Lyons.

Now, even Jim Maley’s daughter-in-law has joined the family business, as Red Devils athletic director Paul Moretta named Katie (Jaskierski) Maley as the new badminton coach to replace Carissa Niemann, who stepped down from the varsity to focus on attaining a master’s degree. Niemann, a Hinsdale South graduate, remains in the program as a freshman coach, while Julie Laase is back as JV coach.

Katie Maley becomes the fourth member of her family to run a current varsity program, and begins her first season just weeks after her sister-in-law, Kelly Maley, took charge as the new boys volleyball coach at Hinsdale Central.

The patriarch of the family, Jim Maley, led the St. Joseph girls basketball team to an IHSA Class 3A sectional final in February. His son, Jimmy Maley, recently completed his season as boys basketball coach at Kenwood in the Public League. Katie is married to Jimmy Maley.

Jimmy Maley’s sister, Katie (Maley) Ramoley, is a former girls volleyball coach at Proviso East, and was the coach of the Pirates before Arielle Wilson went on to fame as a four-time NCAA national champion with Penn State’s women’s volleyball team.

All three Maley children played basketball or volleyball at Lyons, and Katie (Jaskierski) Maley played badminton at Lyons long before marrying Jimmy Maley.

“I’m really excited about it,’ Katie Maley said. “My first year was at Oak Park-River Forest. For five years, I’ve coached girls badminton. These seniors are my first team at Hinsdale Central. They went 16-0 and won the conference (as freshman).”

To give matters an unusual twist, badminton coach Katie Maley will coach against her sister, Julie, a La Grange resident and Lyons senior competing in her final badminton season.

Julie Jaskierski will compete against the Red Devils in a dual meet, in La Grange, on April 10. Katie Maley’s older sister, Julie, is a former tennis and badminton player at LT.

The Red Devils placed first in the Hinsdale South Invitational on March 17. In the Singles B bracket, Brina Gartlan finished first, Ailynna Chen placed second, and Shirley Yeng was sixth. In the D bracket, Julia Huang finished first.

In the Doubles A bracket, Claire Foster and Kristina Stang finished fourth, and Ali Gibson and Zoe Larson were first in the C bracket. In addition, Mia Larson and Lizzie Shaw finished first in the D bracket.

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