Tompkins Goes All Out – On and off the Field

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(April 24, 2022 8:00 AM) To say that Columbia Central High School student-athlete Kenadee Tompkins goes all out all the time may be an understatement.

Last year a teammate asked her to stop throwing the ball so hard across the diamond in practice. 

The searing throws from shortstop were painful.

Some high school graduates plan to go to college and live at home during the summer.

Others get into the workforce and eventually move out of the nest they have inhabited over the years.

Tompkins plans to do both as she will attend Jackson College to study nursing, work, and move into an apartment.

“It was scary to me (the amount of money it takes to attend a four-year college),” Tompkins said. “I saw that with my brother.”

Before the real world hits Tompkins, she has a senior year of softball to complete. The Golden Eagles are off to a 10-3 start having started the season winning seven consecutive games.

“As a team, we have gotten a lot better,” Tompkins said. “It is exciting to see.”

Tompkins said she made it to every softball workout at CCHS despite working and playing volleyball. The Golden Eagles are coached by former CCHS and Jackson College player Kylee Cochrane. 

Tompkins likes her style as a coach. 

“She (Kylee) has really high standards … and she doesn’t let things go,” Tompkins said. “It is straightened out right now.”

Tompkins has four home runs and nearly 20 RBIs through 13 games. She is also hitting over the .500 mark for the Golden Eagles.

“I love killing the ball and the feeling of making a good play,” Tompkins said. “I have been playing since the age of six.”

Tompkins also led the Golden Eagles to an LCAA volleyball title last fall. The Golden Eagles also won a district title but lost a heartbreaking five-set match to Monroe St. Mary in the regional final. 

Monroe went on to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 state finals.

“I was so sad after losing to Monroe,” Tompkins said. “That was the best team I have ever played on. 

“I loved that team because we held our own with every team.”

So just over a month from now, Tompkins will begin the adult world with a job, a scholarship to play softball at Jackson College, and study to be a nurse.

She has learned some valuable lessons along the way thanks to sports.

“Sports teaches you about leadership and being a good teammate,” Tomkins said. “You can always get through tough situations.”