From BMX to Golf, You’ll Get the Best Out of Hudson White Every Time by Joe Githens

World class athletes don’t come around a lot, but Irish freshman BMX biker Hudson White is one of them. When you think of world class athletes, they typically stick to the one sport and don’t go out of their comfort zone to try something new. But White is the opposite. White wants to connect with classmates and play sports with them, so he finds other sports for that. Going into his freshman year, White joined the O’Dea golf team to try something new and ended up falling in love with the sport.

As a kid, White always found the thrill and excitement in BMX, and he had a natural talent for it. White has competed on a national level on the U.S. junior team and was the number 1 ranked biker as early as age 5.

“I didn’t think I’d be in such a high position that young with the pressure so high every time I race,” White said.

As a 15-year-old, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a pro. You have to be 16 to become a pro, and he already has the talent for it. As a freshman in high school, he already has sponsorships and is growing more and more famous in the sport.

White found golf in the fall of his freshman year. Even as a freshman, teammates said he is one of the most positive kids and a key part to the team chemistry.

Senior golf captain, Zach Frankenberg says, “Hudson is someone you love to have on the team because he’s always asking how to become a better player and he has such a positive attitude even when things aren’t going his way.”

Like BMX, athletes face a lot of adversity in golf. White was one of the more mature players on the team while only a freshman. A lot of this can be attributed to his success and experience in biking.

JV golf coach, John O’Neill, had nothing but good things to say about White. What surprised him most was how dedicated he was to improve his golf game, even while being such a highly rated BMX biker.

O’Neill said, “Hudson works so hard at practice and always asks for help from upperclassman. You don’t get a lot of freshmen that have the confidence to ask for help, especially from seniors.”

Since the golf season has concluded, White has shifted his focus to his BMX career. He will be traveling to many different places around the country to race and continue to put his name out there. Being in the spotlight is not a new position for White’s family. He is cousins with highly recruited UW pitcher, Max Debiec, who graduated from O’Dea last year. Though they chose different paths, White and Debiec are two prestigious athletes in the family and representing O’Dea on a national level.

The O’Dea community does a great job of recognizing athletes who compete in a sports that are played at the high school level, but the school is rich with talent in areas that aren't WIAA affiliated, and White is a perfect example. White will continue to broaden his endeavors while at O'Dea and will keep playing new sports, but the world will always know him because of his BMX abilities.