Calvary's Brookshire sets standard as a U.S. Marine
Jimmy Watson
(EDITOR'S NOTE: An odd year for Louisiana high school athletics, when spring sports went uncompleted, has altered The Times Best of Preps selection process. Today we look at three candidates who likely would have battled for the Ambassador of the Year Award.)
It isn't often someone enters the Marine Corps while setting an example for other Marine poolees to follow. But most people aren't Kailey Brookshire.
The recent Calvary Baptist graduate is something special in the weight room, the classroom and on any field of endeavor she chooses to enter. She's won state titles, national titles and silver medals at World Championships all while keeping a couple of Lady Cavs' athletic programs from dissipating.
Because of COVID-19, Brookshire didn't get an opportunity to compete for another state and national title in her favorite sport. But she joins Benton cheerleader Jillian Maxwell and Benton archer Abby Rutledge as young people who would have been in the running for Times Best of Preps Ambassador of the year had we had a full season to include spring sports. If you know of others who should have been considered, please send an email to jwatson@shreveporttimes.com.
"I may personally never witness another Kailey Brookshire again," said Calvary powerlifting coach Daniel Vanderberg said. "Kailey was the most competitive athlete I've ever coached. Most thought she was more talented, but she wasn't the most natural athlete. Her secret was she was the hardest worker in the room -- male or female. Her drive to win was her niche."
Rutledge has earned national acclaim as an archer beginning from an early age through the National Archery in Schools Program. She is taking her skill and dedication to Texas A&M to compete on an archery scholarship, a rarity for a Louisiana graduate.
Rutledge won the LHSAA Allstate Sugar Bowl Scholarship, the Bossier Women's Commission LEAD award and is an Elks Student of the Month scholarship recipient. She was the ALAS 3D high school state champion in 2017, which came with a $1,250 scholarship. Rutledge was the 2018 Bullseye state champion
In 2020, she won the S3DA Vegas Invitational recurve division (male and female). At the 2020 Vegas Shoot she placed seventh in the Championship Young Adult Recurve Division, but she was the highest placing female in that division. In the 2020 JOAD indoor nationals she placed eighth nationally in the recurve Junior women.
Maxwell is a former Miss Louisiana High School America winner and the 2018 Times Best of Preps Ambassador Award winner. Over the past four years, she has attended numerous regional events always representing northwest Louisiana with aplomb. She will attend Ole Miss this fall and major in broadcast journalism with hopes of becoming an ESPN sideline reporter.
The NCA All-American Cheerleader earned a 3.93 GPA at Benton and was No. 4 in her graduating class. She was the Benton Carnival Queen and a Krewe of Gemini princess. The 2020 Miss Benton High School was the president of the Interact Club.
Brookshire eschewed the opportunity to attend college on an athletic or academic scholarship, although she had plenty of opportunities, because she wanted to realize her lifelong dream of becoming immersed in the essence of being a Marine.
"Since I was younger I've always wanted to help others and I've already been a part of a team," Brookshire told The Times. "The Marine Corps has a family bond with the saying of 'Once a Marine Always a Marine' and Semper fi, which means 'Always Faithful.' I feel it will fit me and benefit me in many ways for the rest of my life."
Brookshire was the 2019 Times Best of Preps Ambassador Award recipient and will doubtless carry on representing northwest Louisiana as she prepares to head off to parts unknown while representing her hometown. She left a lasting impression on plenty of folks in her wake including Calvary soccer coach Adam Hester.
2019 Best of Preps: Calvary's Brookshire collects Ambassador Award
"I find myself all the time thinking how fortunate we are as a school to have her and her family at Calvary. Kailey, with her mom Angela, kept those girls' cross country and track programs alive," Hester said. "To have coached her in two sports was so cool. We butted heads sometimes, and she was her biggest critic. That's how the great ones usually are. She also knew that we loved and respected one another. I joked with her not long ago that in order to replace her, I'd probably have to get in a lab and build something. That competitive spirit and desire to be great doesn't grow on trees these days."
Brookshire's spirit says a lot about what she'll remember most about her Cavalier days. She said her favorite, as well as her worst, memory was trying to drop 10 pounds in a short period of time to get to 103 pounds and win her second national title.
"It was a hard and grueling process, but it showed me I am tougher than I ever imagined," she said.
Brookshire fasted for three days and didn't drink any fluids for 12 hours. She sat in a sauna for 30 minutes then exited for five minutes, repeating the process for about five hours.
"I also got hot showers and ran around in my sauna suit," she said.
The work paid off with another notch in her rather lengthy resume. While she competed in a number of sports, Brookshire said it was powerlifting that helped her grow both as a person and as an athlete.
Kailey Brookshire file
Favorite country visited: Costa Rica.
Greatest fear: "Disappointing the people I love"
Best thing about Calvary: "From a young age I was taught about God"
Favorite workout music: 2000's Rock
Favorite movie: Forest Gump
Pet peeve: When people are hypocritical
Go-to phone app: Tik-tok.
Favorite pet: "My dog Miller"
The feisty teenager was the only female enlisting in the Marines during the May 20 ceremony at the Shreveport Military Entrance Processing Station. The ceremony inside was muted.
"Due to Covid-19, my family and friends were not able to come inside to watch me swear in. That didn't stop then from waiting for me in the parking lot and watching the live steam on Facebook," she said. "I also had to wear a mask for the majority of my time I spent there."
It won't be long before she reports to the Marine Training Depot in Paris Island, South Carolina.
"I'm ready to start my life and I'm very hopeful that the Marine Corps is going to be for me," she said. "So, I plan to stay in till I retire and then go into some sort of law enforcement or EMT/Fire Department."
What Brookshire leaves behind her is a work ethic that her coaches would like to replicate.
"The last year I had to tell myself to soak it in and enjoy the journey before all great stories come to an end," Vanderberg said. "I have twin girls myself. Hopefully they will take some nuggets from Kailey's stories and apply to their life."
Twitter: @JimmyWatson6