Brooklyn Shell
Coeur d’Alene High School
A senior at Coeur d’Alene High school, Brooklyn Shell runs both cross country and track and has been on the varsity track team since her freshman year.
“My events for track are mainly the 1600 and 3200, and occasionally the 800,” said Brooklyn, who joined cross country her sophomore year and has qualified for state in both track and cross country each year that she has participated.
Although Brooklyn has been very successful at her chosen sports, it has not come without challenges.
“The biggest challenge has been the discovery of my muscle imbalance. It was a struggle through my junior year to work through the instability and pain when I ran and throughout my everyday activities,” said Brooklyn. She adds that it was a constant concern to avoid severe injury while trying to carefully balance her training, health and rehabilitation without losing what she had gained throughout the season. “With the help of constant physical therapy and the difficult choices to remove myself from certain races, I have been able to heal and continue my running. Through all of this my family, coaches and teammates helped me on and off the course. They would always check in to see how I was doing, keep motivating me and keep my spirits up. I am better than ever and on my way to start my best season yet!”
Her coach, Cathy Compton, said Brooklyn is a wonderful person who is very deserving of the Athlete of the Month recognition.
“She's a very committed athlete and a team leader,” said Compton.
Brooklyn plans to attend college, and while running track and cross country at the collegiate level, she will pursue a degree in either marine science or marine veterinary science.
“I have wanted to work with marine animals ever since I was very little and want to help animal health and/or habitat in some way,” she said.
Brooklyn shares that one of the things she enjoys most about cross country and track is the team unity and being able to use the gift that God blessed her with.
“It’s nice to get that time that I’ve been wanting, because that is a chance to see all of my hard work come into action, but it’s even better knowing that I have the most amazing opportunity to just run with my team and use my gift that I have received,” said Brooklyn. “My team makes running so much better. When it is a hard day at practice or a hard race, I know no matter what my team will always be there for me.”
Being part of a team and having the influence of her coaches has taught Brooklyn many lessons that she will carry with her throughout her life. One of the most profound, she said, is to never give up.
“At times, running is not always nice and easy. In running sometimes you feel like you can't keep going. Instead of quitting, you have to push yourself to the next level. By pushing yourself, you achieve what you want,” said Brooklyn. “This not only applies to running but in everyday life. There will always be obstacles in our way. Just like in running, we can decide to quit when it gets hard or keep pushing and achieve the goals that we are striving for.”