Science Hill High School

Meagan Aldridge

Megan Aldridge

Megan Aldridge earned 14 letters playing sports at Science Hill. but it was the letter she wrote her grandfather, Duard, in elementary school that will stand the test of time. Duard, a Science Hill Hall of Famer who coached at Science Hill, adored his athletic granddaughter. “He’d pick her up in that ole truck … and Megan so appreciates anything that’s done for her,” says Megan’s grandmother, Pat. “She wrote him a letter -- I believe it was called ‘My Hero’ when she was in the fourth grade. They put it in the casket with him when he was buried.” Duard’s untimely death in February of ’96 helped ingrain a seize-the-moment sense in young Megan. She scored her first varsity goal in soccer in the eighth grade. “That’s one of my favorite memories at Science Hill,” she said. Unfortunately, her most vivid memory came when she tore an ACL her senior basketball season – the biggest blow in a painful journey. “I don’t know how many times her nose has been broken,” Pat said. “She’s tough as nails, but she’s tough and sweet. You rarely get that combination.” The knee injury ended a prep career that included three All-Conference teams in soccer, two in basketball and one in softball. She was also FCA president. However, it didn’t keep her down. Megan went on to set the career home run record at Milligan College, Duard’s alma mater, and was the Appalachian Athletic Conference Player of the Year and NAIA Region XII Player of the Year in 2007.  “For her strength and size, she probably has the quickest hands I’ve ever seen," Milligan coach Wes Holly said. Holly played basketball for Duard at Unaka during his freshman and sophomore season in the early 1960s. Megan's father, Jeff, now an assistant principal at Science Hill, was an assistant baseball coach at Milligan under Doug Jennett when Holly started coaching there. "The Aldridge's go back a long way with me," Holly said, "and Megan has done a tremendous job carrying on her family heritage.” Indeed, she now coaches soccer and is an assistant softball coach at Science Hill.  “I was always kind of embedded in Science Hill athletics – from my granddaddy to my dad to me,” she said. “We’re a Science Hill family. I’ve just always felt like there was no other place for me to be.” Megan has also been an assistant in basketball. “Whenever I go in that gym, memories of tearing my ACL come flooding back,” Megan said. “It was Jan. 14, 2003. It tore me up inside to be on crutches and not able to play. “But even though it was so devastating, it really taught me a lot about not taking things for granted. You play every game like it’s your last.” Michael Smelser, Aldridge’s soccer coach, says she always did. “I’ve always been a big fan of multi-sport athletes like Megan,” he said. “They’re always so competitive. It makes your job so much easier when you get competitive, coachable athletes like Megan.”