{"id":231502,"date":"2025-10-22T09:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T09:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231502\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T09:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T09:05:10","slug":"prep-girls-soccer-still-using-her-voice-sidelined-by-a-knee-injury-coeur-dalene-charters-judd-takes-on-coaching-role-in-senior-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/231502\/","title":{"rendered":"PREP GIRLS SOCCER: Still using her voice …. Sidelined by a knee injury, Coeur d’Alene Charter’s Judd takes on coaching role in senior season"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JASON ELLIOTT<\/p>\n

Sports writer<\/p>\n

As a junior in 2024, Coeur d\u2019Alene Charter Academy defender Mallory Judd felt something was off as she tried to return from a torn ACL in her right knee in 2023.<\/p>\n

Her dedication to the program didn\u2019t let her miss a match in ’24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of times when people told me that it was all in my head,\u201d Judd said. \u201cA lot of people coming back from injuries get scared and are afraid to go after the ball like they\u2019d done previously. Usually, after five minutes, I\u2019d come out of the game and then reset my leg, and it wouldn\u2019t hurt anymore, so I\u2019d go back in.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turned out, Judd had played the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL in her left knee, as well as a fractured tibia plateau (shinbone).<\/p>\n

\u201cMy leg had been bothering me all season, so I decided to go and get it checked out,\u201d Judd said. \u201cAfter being out my entire sophomore season, I decided I was going to push through the pain. So I played the entire season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judd underwent surgery on her left ACL in May, taking her out for her senior season this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a 9-to-12-month recovery,\u201d Judd said. \u201cIt took me 10 months on my right knee, and I\u2019m right in the middle of my rehab on the left side now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though she didn’t know it at the time, Judd tore her ACL three practices into the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me after my first one, if you go back or don\u2019t go back, you\u2019ve got a 25% chance of tearing the other side,\u201d Judd said. \u201cAnd it was a chance I was willing to take. And then three practices in, I tore my left side. It happens, but it\u2019s been a lot better because I\u2019ve prepared myself for what the rehab process is like. It\u2019s kind of less out of my mind and a part of my mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judd was a three-year starter for the Panthers, who last week earned a berth to state for the 13th straight season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was one of two freshmen to start my freshman year,\u201d Judd said. \u201cThere were eight of us I believe, and our goalkeeper was a freshman as well (Adysen Robinson). I started on the field with one sophomore and the rest were juniors and seniors. The next year, it was a fantastic season, and I got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Judd sidelined for her senior season, she still wanted to contribute to the program, somehow, so she spoke with Coeur d\u2019Alene Charter girls coach Stacy Smith about a role with the program.<\/p>\n

Smith then talked with assistant coach Trey Weatherly. They decided to make Judd an assistant coach, focusing on the positioning of players.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ended up deciding that it\u2019s a unique situation where we can allow for a kid to try to take on a little more of a coaching role rather than a captainship,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBecause, really, truly, if she was playing, she would have been a captain again. But we needed her voice in some way, and she\u2019s done a good job. It\u2019s hard to be a leader amongst your peers when you\u2019re not one to get to step on the field and do it. But she\u2019s done a good job of navigating that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never really thought this would be given to me,\u201d Judd said. \u201cI was a little nervous that I\u2019d just be another player on the sideline not doing much. Maybe a manager, maybe not. She (Smith) told me I was a captain last year and feel like you\u2019ve got so much knowledge that I want to give you this opportunity along with Trey and me. And it\u2019s definitely something that I never saw coming, but it made me realize a lot more about myself and I learned I had more patience than I thought, but it also tested those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d Smith said. \u201cFor a kid to recognize that this is bigger than me. I\u2019m part of something that my friends have been a part of and doing all of high school. And now I can\u2019t physically do it, but how do I still participate? She let me know early on that she was going to do whatever it took to be a part of the program and I told her, \u2018let’s think about what that looks like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not being a part of the team was something Judd ever considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been 10 freshmen that have come in this year, which is a huge group and reflects my freshmen year when we all came in,\u201d Judd said. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve learned that since I can\u2019t play, I shouldn\u2019t keep my own skills to myself. I should spread my knowledge to a lot of the kids that have never played before. The midfielder that took my spot (freshman Riley Greene), she reflects a lot of the aspects that I had on the team. I\u2019ve been telling her a lot of my standpoints and trying to make her a better midfielder and spread my knowledge through her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coeur d\u2019Alene Charter started the season 3-1, then won 9 of its last 10 games, with one tie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we were trying to figure out our midfield early on,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe were seeking those people who were willing to tell people to mark up, that\u2019s a really significant role of a holding center midfielder, to make sure they\u2019re vocalizing that you\u2019ve got this person and you\u2019ve got that person. We\u2019ve got some kids that are starting to step into that role, but it\u2019s taken a bit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coeur d\u2019Alene Charter (12-1-1), the seventh seed, opens at state against second-seeded Kimberly (18-2-0) at Meridian High on Thursday at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

During a JV match against Kellogg, Judd served as head coach as Coeur d\u2019Alene Charter defeated the Wildcats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot harder than it looks,\u201d Judd said. \u201cIt\u2019s hit or miss if people are going to listen to you or not, so you can\u2019t get into your own head if you tell someone to do something. You\u2019ve really just got to let it roll off your back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judd was named her school’s Rotary Student of the Month for October. At a luncheon honoring area students, Judd asked Smith to be in attendance as her guest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe definitely has had a huge impact on my life,\u201d Judd said. \u201cShe taught me that when hardship comes, don\u2019t focus on the hardship, but what\u2019s around it. Giving me this chance to be a student\/coach definitely showed me that, although I can\u2019t play, I can now use my skills. I\u2019m a very loud and vocal person, so I feel like I can use those skills instead of showing what I can do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a great student and really on top of things,\u201d Smith said. \u201cOne of my favorite memories was in middle school during COVID, and we maybe had half of the class here. We were talking toward the end of class and she and a buddy were talking, and I was part of the conversation, but not really. She said, \u2018I haven\u2019t had a great math teacher, but Mrs. Smith is really good.\u2019 And she looked at me and said I didn\u2019t mean that rudely, \u2018you\u2019re a great teacher. But she said that she didn\u2019t know if she\u2019d had a great math teacher, so she didn\u2019t have anything to compare that to. And I remember thinking, from Mallory, that\u2019s a compliment, and I\u2019ve got to take that one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Judd said she plans to become a neonatologist \u2014 a doctor that cares for newborn babies \u2014 when she graduates.<\/p>\n

As for soccer, she\u2019s still not sure if she\u2019ll continue playing in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like after the second time, I told myself I wasn\u2019t going to go back,\u201d Judd said. \u201cBut watching from the sideline makes me miss it a lot. Maybe I\u2019ll go back, and maybe it\u2019s a chance I\u2019m willing to take since I\u2019ve done it twice now, so what\u2019s a third.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI know she\u2019s got big aspirations, but in terms of helping her community and doing this role, especially through college, I can see her coaching someday,\u201d Smith said. \u201cShe\u2019s a great leader, especially amongst her peers and to the younger kids. I can see that happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/a> \u00a0Judd
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