King/Drew junior Brooklyn Walker is a highly motivated athlete who pours her talents and leadership skills into the girl’s volleyball and softball teams.
Her efforts would take both teams to the playoffs during her junior year. In girl’s volleyball, the Golden Eagles had a 10-6-1 overall record; they came in second in the Coliseum League with a 9-3 record.
“Volleyball, it’s such a fast-paced sport, you have to move all the time or you’re gonna get left behind,” Walker said. “When I transitioned to softball, that hustle mentality was already there, I didn’t have to learn it … I was already a hustler.”
Walker is the captain of the girl’s volleyball team. Playing volleyball helped her be more vocal; it also built her toughness.
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“I had a coach this year who was extremely hard on me for volleyball,” she said. “Overall I think that built up a thicker skin than I had last year.”
The softball team had an 11-17 overall record and a 6-4 Coliseum League record. She aided both teams in reaching the second round of the CIF Division II City Section playoffs. This past season was the first full season Walker played in softball.
As a sophomore, she joined the team during the playoffs. Although she did not play much, she learned the importance of remaining optimistic and competitive. She noted how that helped as the Golden Eagles secured an 8-6 victory over Mendez in the first round of the playoffs.
“I saw the pressure that they had and I saw how they handled it and I took the good and the bad from that,” Walker said. “I realized that remaining calm and keeping a positive attitude, that really got me through [that] game.”
For Walker, being able to handle the rigors of being both a student and an athlete is “the highest award.” She admires anyone who can motivate themselves to do their best in both fields.
“Neither is easy and they’re both demanding,” she said. “For my team specifically, discipline and determination is our biggest motto.”
As the oldest of nine, Walker is a natural leader. All students who want to compete on the softball team are required to submit an essay so softball head coach Chay Robinson can get a background of the players. Walker talked about her relationship with her siblings and how sports have helped with her social life, mentality, and academics.
“I talked about being the oldest and how that experience in being pressured to be the leader,” she said. “This team helped me grow so much.”
A favorite class for Walker is her emergency medicine class. While in that class, she learned neonatal CPR and how the body works as well as other topics.
“I realized how hard two minutes is, how long two minutes feel when you’re beating a chest of a baby,” Walker said. “As an athlete, you don’t understand everything that’s going on with you.”
Walker is considering having a career in pediatric psychiatry or labor and delivery. She strives to be an advocate for African American women and women of color in healthcare.
