Four-Sport EJ Athlete Competes Despite Injury

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(September 5, 2021 8:00 AM) East Jackson High School student-athlete Addisyn Rudd didn’t think anything was wrong when she felt a pain in her foot during a track meet this past spring.

That was until it just kept hurting.

Rudd – a four-sport athlete at EJHS – just kept practicing for basketball, volleyball, and golf during the busy summer months. 

Nearly a month ago her injury was diagnosed as a stress fracture in her left foot.

EJHS golf Coach Ray Hill said Rudd originally was told she could not compete in any of the fall sports. Rudd was later cleared to play with a boot on her left foot and use a golf cart.

“All the while when Addisyn was not practicing, she spent time working with the other golfers on their swings,” Hill said. “That tells you what kind of student-athlete she is.”

Rudd said the school wrote a letter to the Michigan High School Athletic Association asking to play golf with the boot on her foot and with the use of a cart. 

“I was okay with the boot because it meant I could play golf,” Rudd said. 

The MHSAA agreed and Rudd has been the No. 1 golfer for EJ so far this season.

She recently won the Grass Lake Best-Ball Invitational combining with Paris Khan to shoot an 85. Rudd is currently one of the top three golfers in the Cascades Conference based on scoring averages.

The perceived handicap may actually be helping Rudd with her golf game.  

“I noticed that I can’t swing as hard or it will throw off my balance,” Rudd said of the boot. “I also try to avoid sand traps.”

The junior expects to get the boot off in the next 10 days and would like to be on the volleyball court by the end of September.

Rudd said her passion is playing basketball. She is part of the Michigan Premier program and plays on an AAU team. 

“Basketball is the sport that makes me the happiest,” Rudd said. “I spent most of the summer trying to improve with my AAU team.”

Rudd is also one of the best pole vaulters in Jackson County. She won the MHSAA Division 4 regional title last spring with a jump of 9 feet and finished seventh at the state meet earning an all-state medal.

“Doing the pole vault takes a lot of practice and training in the weight room,” Rudd said. 

She has a best of 9-6 in the event.

As if she doesn’t have enough on her plate, Rudd is a 4.0 student at EJHS who is dual-enrolled at Jackson College. She is currently taking four classes at JC and two at East Jackson. 

Rudd currently tops her class based on grade point averages.