RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
It’s been a year of highs and lows for standout catcher and infielder Addison Lund, a senior at Menasha (Appleton, Wisc.) High and member of the Iowa Premier 18U National team coached by Greg Dickel.
This week, the senior who has been ranked as No. 28 overall in her class, signed with the Memphis Tigers to continue her esteemed softball career.
✍️✍️✍️ 𝓢𝓲𝓰𝓷𝓮𝓭 ✍️✍️✍️
Welcome to Tiger softball Addison!#GoTigersGo | #Team18 pic.twitter.com/8N2OzptwXn
— Memphis Softball (@MemphisSoftball) November 8, 2023
As early as 12U, Addison put herself on the national map when she was a USA Softball All-American and since then has been a USA Softball HPP Selection. This year joined the Iowa Premier where she made an immediate impression.
“Addison has been a definite upgrade to our 18U National team since her arrival,” Coach Dickel explains. “She provides versatility, with abilities to go behind the plate, play the corner and outfield as well.”
“However,” the long-time club coach continues, “her best attribute is her energy and enthusiasm for her teammates. Addison is always cheering and encouraging them and she’s been great for us.”
But 2023 also saw Addison and her family displaced from their home after a destructive fire in the summer forced the Lunds to move into an apartment—where they still are today—as renovation continues on their house.
*** Here’s an article Extra Inning Softball published in July shortly after the house fire, which caused $175,000 worth of damage.
WBAY News out of Green Bay, Wisc., produced the following segment on the fire the day after it happened this summer:
The athlete’s father, Eric, recently updated the family’s situation:
“We’re all doing OK,” he began. “We have found an apartment for the time being while we wait to hear on the restoration and rebuild of our house after the fire. As the days go by, we are realizing that we really will end up being out of our house for a year or more.”
Difficult as that situation may be, Addison looks at the bright side as she says:
“’Staying positive’ is my mantra.”
And she’s channeled her frustrations and fears into working on her game and continuing to improve her softball skills.
Here, in Addison’s own words, she talks about the experience four months ago in which she lost most of her softball memorabilia, how it’s gone for her family since then and what the future Memphis Tiger has learned from the experience…
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On July 6th, 2023, my family’s lives took a dramatic turn.
I’ll never forget that day: I was with my grandparents, catching up after a recent trip to Colorado for the Sparkler tournament when my Mom’s phone rang. Her face changed in an instant as my Dad’s voice came through.
After she hung up, she rushed us to the car, telling us our house was on fire!
Panic set in, and without thinking, I grabbed my keys and hopped into my car. My aunt suggested I ride with my Mom, thinking I wasn’t in the right state of mind to drive, but I couldn’t wait. I hit the highway, my mind racing with worry, praying that things weren’t as bad as I feared.
As I took the exit to our neighborhood, I saw the thick black smoke rising into the sky, and my worst fears were confirmed… and I couldn’t hold back the tears.
Turning onto our street, I found it blocked by police and firefighters. I pulled over, left my car running, and sprinted towards our house, losing a shoe in the process. When I got there, my dad and our neighbor were already there, and we hugged each other, tears streaming down our faces as we watched the firefighters battle the flames.
Since that day, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions for myself and my family—accepting what happened has been tough.
I had been in that house just two hours before, and it’s hard to believe things went south so quickly. The sadness has been overwhelming, too, at times. We’d lived in that house for 17 years, and it held so many memories.
In the basement, I had all my softball memorabilia, like a signed Jennie Finch poster from when I met her, along with photo albums and childhood toys.
Seeing it all in ruins was a gut-wrenching experience.
My parents lost many items of theirs as well, the house ended up being a total loss, so we will have to replace everything gradually.
I also know that I will not be able to get back in that house before I leave for college at the University of Memphis due to how long it will take to rebuild our house.
But you know what?
For the first month after the fire, my family of four and two dogs stayed in a double queen hotel room while we looked for a new place to live temporarily and, despite the adversity and the overwhelming stress at certain moments, I’ve found strength in my friends, family, and especially softball and my new teammates on Iowa Premier.
I have been able to channel the frustration into working on my skills and it has really helped me through this. My family has some big challenges ahead as we figure out what’s next for the place I grew up in, but we’re also counting our blessings.
We lost some sentimental stuff, but the most important things—like our family, our dogs, and even our little guinea pig, made it through OK.
“Staying positive” has been my mantra.
My family has an apartment for the time being and, though it’s not the same as having our house, we are safe and it’s a reminder that while stuff can be replaced, the bonds within our family are unbreakable.
It’s been tough road so far, but we’re finding the resilience to rebuild and face the future with strength and hope.
— Addison Lund