Jeremy Brooks's Involvement in Athletics

Interview Questions

When did you first get started in Athletics?

I started playing soccer in 7th grade. Then, during my first year of high school, I got heavily involved with weightlifting. I wrestled at the end of my high school years, and started boxing soon after that. All of the sports I played were extremely helpful for me to learn some aspect of bettering my life. For soccer, it was the ability to run after something I wanted far after I had no wind left. For wrestling, to flow and change with the situations I'm in and tackle them with focus and discipline. For boxing, I learned that life will punch you over and over again, and all you can do to win is start punching back.

Something surprising about Athletics that people would not know.

That you are always more alive during moments of all-out sport competitiveness than nearly any other second of your life. Sometimes you look back on moments during sports and wonder exactly how you got so caught up in a game. And then you realize it was always more than a game: it was camaraderie- a club; and it was a place where you got to challenge yourself to be the best version of who you could be. The storm raged on, and you were in the moment raging with it.

What is Athletics like?

It's like you're right in the eye of the storm. Around you is a blaze of action and commotion; inside you is calmness and readiness. During practices you feel like you're getting punished for no reason. During games/matches/fights you feel like all that punishment made you tough enough to punish someone else. You feel like the world owes you a victory- like you owe one to yourself. And when that whistle blows, when that bell dings, when that final moment comes, you better hope you gave it everything you possible had.

Tell your Fans a funny or interesting story about Athletics

One time, during my junior year, I got to play varsity soccer- for 1 minute! The goalkeeper at the time had a muscle cramp and came out of the game. I went in and thought I would be playing for the remaining 10 minutes. Instead, they stretched out the other goalkeeper and put him back in within a minute. That was my junior year varsity career in its totality. I wasn't necessarily mad, but I was a little bit disappointed that I wasn't able to see more high-level action that year. I spent a lot of time watching, and started to feel like a classic bench warmer. finally, during my senior year, I was able to shine.