But when the starting gun fires for the Class 3A girls hurdles races, Rockdale senior Krysten Brooks and Cameron Yoe sophomore Brook Brashear each will feel the stare of only one person - her father.
Neither athlete wants to let the men down.
“There is pressure, but he doesn’t put a lot of pressure on me,” said Brooks, who will compete for the second straight year in the 100-meter hurdles. “It’s me not wanting to disappoint him. That’s me putting pressure on myself.”
For Brooks, it’s about living up to the legacy her father, Tony, and uncles built. The trio accounts for five state gold medals in the hurdles, and Tony still holds the 3A record in the 300s from his victory in 1985.
“Competing at state two straight years is a great accomplishment for her, especially because she probably does feel some pressure,” said Tony, who played football at Texas Christian after his Rockdale career ended. “It’s kind of tough, but coming out of this family, second place isn’t good enough.”
By qualifying for state in the 300s for the second straight year, Brashear is building her own legacy under the watchful eye of her father, Robert, who coached for 27 years - the majority of them at Austin Westlake - before retiring.
“He’s always wanted me to work harder,” Brashear said. “He wants me to do things exactly the right way and push myself harder than other people.”
It hasn’t been a relationship without strains.
“Brook’s very competitive, and I’ve got to know her some along the way,” said Robert, a Cameron native. “If she has a bad race, we just stay away from each other for a while. We have a cooling-off period, then we’ll talk to each other.
“We started doing that because it wasn’t working the other way.”
About 16 miles south at Yoe’s Milam County rival, the Brookses’ conversation starts upon returning to Rockdale from meets - sometimes earlier.
“He talks to me about my races at home, and sometimes in the car on the way home,” said Brooks, who was fifth last year. “But I really listen to him and try to work on the things that he talks about.”
Added Tony: “I never want to overstep my boundaries with the coaches. But if I see a little thing wrong, like her trail leg is floating, I’ll check with her coach and try to be on the same page. But pretty much if she has a bad race, then she’ll hear about it.”
Rockdale coach Brent Hasselbach has no problem with the coaching Brooks receives at home and said his star hurdler handles it well.
“I definitely think there’s some pressure, probably a little more than she let’s on to,” Hasselbach said. “Being as good as he was, that’s all he knows.”
With both athletes, it’s a matter of the father doing what he thinks is best.
“I’ve never wanted to coach my kids. I have tried to make them competitive along the way,” Brashear’s dad said. “But I’ve tried to be very aware of burnout. We’re laying out of summer track this year and we’ll probably just train some.”
Brashear admitted she was fatigued late last summer following eighth- and ninth-grade years filled with volleyball, basketball, softball and track seasons, with summer track sandwiched in between.
“I slowed a little bit at the end of the summer,” she said. “I qualified for the AAU Olympics again, but I didn’t want to go because I was really worn out.”
The hectic schedule has helped build Brashear’s endurance for brutal races, such as the 300 hurdles.
“She has some natural endurance and toughness that it takes to run the 300s,” Yoe coach Linda Richter said. “It’s the right race for her.”
Brashear, who was fifth last year, is grateful for the lessons her father has taught, even if she still doesn’t understand the methods.
“I used to get frustrated a lot because I was like, ‘Why are you always doing this to me?’” she said. “That’s what I always asked him, ‘Why do you have to do this to me?’
“He always said, ‘You’ll understand in the long run.’ I kind of do now, but I’m not fully understanding it just yet.”
But regardless of who is giving the instructions and in what manner they’re given, both athletes share a common feeling that Brooks summed up best.
“Running hurdles is fun,” she said. “And I like winning.”
NOTES: Brooks, who also played basketball and was a cheerleader, has signed to run track at Texas-Arlington. She will compete at 12:45 p.m. Saturday. She was the runner-up at the 3A Region III meet and her season-best time of 14.79 seconds ranks third in the eight-hurdler field. . . . Brashear competes at 2:05 p.m. Her regional-winning time of 46.80 ranks seventh. . . . All four state-qualifying hurdlers from Region III came out of District 24-3A, including Caldwell’s Macy Osborn in the 100s and Taylor’s Kelsey Marek in the 300s.
MILAM COUNTY - There will be close to 40,000 eyes watching the University Interscholastic League State Track and Field Meet unfold Saturday afternoon at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
But when the starting gun fires for the Class 3A girls hurdles races, Rockdale senior Krysten Brooks and Cameron Yoe sophomore Brook Brashear each will feel the stare of only one person - her father.
Neither athlete wants to let the men down.
“There is pressure, but he doesn’t put a lot of pressure on me,” said Brooks, who will compete for the second straight year in the 100-meter hurdles. “It’s me not wanting to disappoint him. That’s me putting pressure on myself.”
For Brooks, it’s about living up to the legacy her father, Tony, and uncles built. The trio accounts for five state gold medals in the hurdles, and Tony still holds the 3A record in the 300s from his victory in 1985.
“Competing at state two straight years is a great accomplishment for her, especially because she probably does feel some pressure,” said Tony, who played football at Texas Christian after his Rockdale career ended. “It’s kind of tough, but coming out of this family, second place isn’t good enough.”
By qualifying for state in the 300s for the second straight year, Brashear is building her own legacy under the watchful eye of her father, Robert, who coached for 27 years - the majority of them at Austin Westlake - before retiring.
“He’s always wanted me to work harder,” Brashear said. “He wants me to do things exactly the right way and push myself harder than other people.”
It hasn’t been a relationship without strains.
“Brook’s very competitive, and I’ve got to know her some along the way,” said Robert, a Cameron native. “If she has a bad race, we just stay away from each other for a while. We have a cooling-off period, then we’ll talk to each other.
“We started doing that because it wasn’t working the other way.”
About 16 miles south at Yoe’s Milam County rival, the Brookses’ conversation starts upon returning to Rockdale from meets - sometimes earlier.
“He talks to me about my races at home, and sometimes in the car on the way home,” said Brooks, who was fifth last year. “But I really listen to him and try to work on the things that he talks about.”
Added Tony: “I never want to overstep my boundaries with the coaches. But if I see a little thing wrong, like her trail leg is floating, I’ll check with her coach and try to be on the same page. But pretty much if she has a bad race, then she’ll hear about it.”
Rockdale coach Brent Hasselbach has no problem with the coaching Brooks receives at home and said his star hurdler handles it well.
“I definitely think there’s some pressure, probably a little more than she let’s on to,” Hasselbach said. “Being as good as he was, that’s all he knows.”
With both athletes, it’s a matter of the father doing what he thinks is best.
“I’ve never wanted to coach my kids. I have tried to make them competitive along the way,” Brashear’s dad said. “But I’ve tried to be very aware of burnout. We’re laying out of summer track this year and we’ll probably just train some.”
Brashear admitted she was fatigued late last summer following eighth- and ninth-grade years filled with volleyball, basketball, softball and track seasons, with summer track sandwiched in between.
“I slowed a little bit at the end of the summer,” she said. “I qualified for the AAU Olympics again, but I didn’t want to go because I was really worn out.”
The hectic schedule has helped build Brashear’s endurance for brutal races, such as the 300 hurdles.
“She has some natural endurance and toughness that it takes to run the 300s,” Yoe coach Linda Richter said. “It’s the right race for her.”
Brashear, who was fifth last year, is grateful for the lessons her father has taught, even if she still doesn’t understand the methods.
“I used to get frustrated a lot because I was like, ‘Why are you always doing this to me?’” she said. “That’s what I always asked him, ‘Why do you have to do this to me?’
“He always said, ‘You’ll understand in the long run.’ I kind of do now, but I’m not fully understanding it just yet.”
But regardless of who is giving the instructions and in what manner they’re given, both athletes share a common feeling that Brooks summed up best.
“Running hurdles is fun,” she said. “And I like winning.”
NOTES: Brooks, who also played basketball and was a cheerleader, has signed to run track at Texas-Arlington. She will compete at 12:45 p.m. Saturday. She was the runner-up at the 3A Region III meet and her season-best time of 14.79 seconds ranks third in the eight-hurdler field. . . . Brashear competes at 2:05 p.m. Her regional-winning time of 46.80 ranks seventh. . . . All four state-qualifying hurdlers from Region III came out of District 24-3A, including Caldwell’s Macy Osborn in the 100s and Taylor’s Kelsey Marek in the 300s.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
