CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. — Cedar Springs High School senior Ayden McClurken is back on the football field after a two-year journey to recover from a devastating knee injury that required three surgeries.
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McClurken, now a team captain and defensive leader for the Red Hawks, suffered the injury as a sophomore during his first season on varsity.
"I went to go make a tackle, and heard a loud pop in my knee, tore my ACL and meniscus," McClurken said. "I had three knee surgeries after that."
The injury kept McClurken sidelined for two full seasons, but he found ways to contribute to the team despite being unable to play.
"He basically becomes a coach, wearing the headset on the sidelines, talking to kids in between defensive series," said Matt Moffett, Cedar Springs High School athletic director.
McClurken took on defensive signal-calling duties from the sidelines during his recovery.
"I'd be out there talking with them during practice, and then I'd call the defense from the sidelines, like, put signals in all of last year," McClurken said.
His dedication impressed coaches throughout the recovery process.
"I would come in and do my workout after school. He's in there working out, you know, from 2:30 until four o'clock in the afternoon, and just always trying to get back. And it's been a very long road, but he's back, and he's made a tremendous impact on our football team this year," said Gus Kapolka, Cedar Springs head varsity football coach.
Kapolka praised McClurken's current performance as an outside linebacker.
"He's obviously one of the leaders on our team. He's one of our captains," Kapolka said. "He's an absolute. You know, hammer for us as an outside linebacker, and we couldn't be happier to have him out there leading our defense."
McClurken has already scored a defensive touchdown this season after forcing a turnover.
The experience taught McClurken valuable lessons about team contribution.
"Obviously, you know, a little hard because, like, you're out there, you're with the team, you're still part of the team, but you're not actually, you know, playing, and so, you know, that was a little challenging mentally," McClurken said. "No matter what your role may be on the team, you still have a role, and you still have the ability to, you know, help contribute."
For Kapolka, having McClurken back on the field exceeded expectations.
"It's almost like icing on the cake that he's been able to go out and perform as well as he has this year. Because, you know, for a while it was, it was anything from a certainty that he would even be able to get back on the field again," Kapolka said.
Not only is McClurken excelling on the field, but he is also excelling academically. McClurken maintains a 4.3 GPA and ranks second in his graduating class.
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