Play Our Game
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Brooklin Ingram playing her game in Alumni Gym.
Brooklin Ingram glances momentarily at the fluorescent lights on the scoreboard in the corner of the gymnasium. Behind the protective metal cage, the red light bulbs flash as the game clock trickles down to zero. A wave of emotion–excitement, relief, joy–begins pouring through her mind as she dribbles the ball over center court. This is the moment she has trained for–the moment she and her teammates have visualized the past four months. Brooklin looks around at her teammates and her coaches as the buzzer sounds, and the Lady Mavericks win the 2022 Virginia State Basketball Championship.
Brooklin Ingram’s journey to MSA and to leading the Lady Mavericks to victory in the 2022 State Championship is one full of valuable lessons. As a senior captain of the team, she has a mature and philosophical understanding of the game. She sees connections between life and sports that most young people don’t recognize until they are much older.
Brooklin grew up hearing stories from her father about his glory days playing basketball. This instilled in her an interest in a game that was deeply meaningful to someone she admired. Brooklin reflected: “I started playing basketball because of my dad. I always enjoyed listening to his stories about ‘back in the day,’ when he played basketball.” Her prowess on the court today suggests that Brooklin is a natural player who has been sinking three-pointers her entire career. Like many great athletes, the sport was not always easy for her. “Basketball was difficult for me as a kid. I would always play with the boys who didn’t cut me any slack. But, I didn’t let that discourage me. I fell in love with hearing the net slap after I shot the ball and hearing the crowd cheer when I made a good play.” It was these small nuances that slowly fostered Brooklin’s love of the game and sent her searching for the best path to achieve her potential in sports and academics.
She found her path in the summer of 2021 when she learned about Miller School’s basketball program from Coach James Braxton. Brooklin recalled: “I started to do my own research about Miller, and I fell in love with the small community and the vision that MSA has for its students.” After talking with Coach Braxton about the culture of the team and the school, Brooklin wanted to be part of the program. Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, Brooklin packed her bags and enrolled at MSA as a seven-day boarding student and began a new journey as a Lady Maverick.
“I fell in love with the small community and the vision that MSA has for its students”
Since arriving on the Hill, Brooklin has had a positive impact in the classroom and in the dorm. Wayland Hall Dorm Director, Dettey Audette, commented: “Brooklin is a quiet leader who brings positivity to the dorm, fostering a respectful community, and embracing the traditions of living at Miller.” On the court, she is a natural leader who controls the game as a starting guard. Coach Braxton remarked: “Brooklin is one of the hardest working players to come through our program. Her athleticism allows her to play multiple positions and lead the team by setting a good example.”
For Brooklin, the mindset and skills she has learned playing basketball have given her additional tools for life off the court. Brooklin explained: “Basketball has taught me so many life lessons. The one that has impacted my life the most on and off the court is mental toughness. In basketball, there is so much adversity that I have faced throughout my years of playing. Like during the recruiting process, being denied by teams because they didn’t believe in me, or even facing tough opponents on the court. These experiences with adversity have shaped my mental toughness for the better. I now use adversity to my advantage. My mental toughness is and will always be a work in progress, but basketball has taught me how to endure tough situations by believing in myself no matter what.”
This grit and belief in herself has led to success after success for Brooklin. In addition to leading the team to a state title, she caught the attention of Glenville State University in West Virginia and recently signed to play for the school next season. Currently, her plan is to major in Biology with a minor in Chemistry with the hopes of attending medical school after graduating.
As the 2023 season approaches playoffs and graduation is within sight, Brooklin is philosophical about what basketball at MSA has taught her. For Brooklin, the most valuable lesson she has learned is one that her mentor and coach, James Braxton, instills in all his athletes: “Play Our Game.”
Brooklin explains: “In basketball language this means that you shouldn’t let your opponent fluster you. Just because they’re full-court pressing you doesn’t mean we have to speed up and play wild. In regular life, ‘play our game’ means to take life a step at a time. Don’t let the pressure of life cause you to perform badly. Take things one day at a time and perform to the best of your ability in everything you do.”
“In regular life, ‘play our game’ means to take life a step at a time. Don’t let the pressure of life cause you to perform badly. Take things one day at a time and perform to the best of your ability in everything you do.”
With this mindset, Brooklin Ingram will continue to be a leader on and off the court at MSA and beyond.
