JADENCE EFURD-EUFAULA
The story of Eufaula senior Jadence Efurd’s success in athletics can’t be told without a tip of the hat to her dad Jared who has, asyou’ll see, has been instrumental in helping her get there.
To begin with he and his wife both played basketball when they were younger and introduced Jadence to the game.
“I played in a little league to start off with where I met Kate (Pippenger) and Maddie (Ballard) who are still playing with me today. That’s also when I started playing softball, playing T-ball and baseball until my dad put together a softball team around third grade.”
Jadence is also on the golf team, which was another idea put forth by her dad who is the golf coach at Eufaula.
“Dad thought getting into golf would help me become mentally tough because in golf you’re out there by yourself chasing that little ball around, so you have to learn to be mentally tough.”
Basketball coach Jason Radomski also had his take on Jadence’s dad.
“We call him the utility man around here. He’s the golf coach, assistant softball and basketball coach and even fixes our IT problems around the school,” Radomski chuckled.
Turning to Jadence, Radomski, who is in his first year at Eufaula, could tell right away what he was getting.
“I could tell when I came in last summer that she was a natural leader. A lot of the girls go to her, and she leads by example. She does things right whether we’re running a little drill, going full tilt, or in the weight room doing strength and conditioning.”
Asked about role models in her life, Jadence was quick to respond.
“My dad has to be one because he’s coached me in basketball ever since I started playing. I was a team manager when I was in middle school and there were several girls that inspired me and that I always considered like sisters. Another person that had an impact was Journi James. She was a selfless player and set a good example.”
Outside of athletics, Jadence is an officer in Teens For Christ, in the gifted and talented program, National Honor Society, Native American Cultural Club, student council, secretary of the senior class and is in the running to be class valedictorian.
As far as being a team leader, Jadence leans on some advice she got from-you guessed it-her dad.
“If you treat each other like family, you’re going to play like family and if you play like family, you’ll accomplish a lot.”
