What does bobsled and skeleton racing have in common with football?
A 25-year-old woman named Brooklyn Holton.
Not only is Holton the Monroe School District's first-ever female football coach, she's also a professional football player. Holton plays full-contact football for the Everett Reign, a Women's Football Alliance (WFA) team based out of Everett.
And now, due to a chance encounter in July with a member of the men's Olympic bobsled racing team, she has initiated a plan to spend the next four years focused on a strict training regimen that will hopefully lead her to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Bobsled and skeleton racing are two separate Olympic events. Bobsled racing is done in teams of either two or four, with both a driver and a brakeman. Bobsleds are more contained; occupants sit up while riding in the bobsled, with their legs stretched out in front of them. Skeleton racing has been described as "your childhood sled in overdrive.GÇ¥ Skeleton sleds are flat and open, with the rider laying on her stomach, positioned in a headfirst direction.
Speeds in bobsled racing range from 70 to 85 miles per hour, while speeds in skeleton racing range from 50 to 65 miles per hour.
How did Holton go from playing professional football to being an Olympic hopeful?
Being in the right place at the right time was helpful, as was being extremely athletically inclined.
Holton grew up in Arlington. After graduating from Arlington High School in 2007 she attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, where she double-majored in business management and kinesiology. Athletically-minded since she was very young, Holton earned a college scholarship for her accomplishments in track.
In college she did heptathlon events, which include 100-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, 200-meter, javelin, shot-put and 800-meter.
Also an avid snowboarder, Holton has been hitting the slopes for around 10 years, which may be one of the reasons why bobsled and skeleton racing appeal to her. She didn't go out of her way to seek bobsled and skeleton racing, rather, the sport found her during a trip to Lake Placid, N.Y. in July.
Lake Placid happens to be home to one of two bobsled and skeleton tracks in the United States. The second track is located in Park City, Utah. While at Lake Placid, Holton was approached by one of the men on the Olympic bobsled team who gave her information on an upcoming combine for women athletes to see if they could potentially qualify for the women's bobsled team.
The combine was a competitive event in which Holton demonstrated her abilities in a series of power moves including things like running, jumping and throwing. She passed the combine with flying colors and decided, based on her petite body size, to stick with skeleton racing.
"I'm on the extremely small side for bobsled,GÇ¥ said Holton. "So they recruited me for the skeleton.GÇ¥
But a couple of weeks after the combine she was invited to come to the Park City, Utah track in November to learn how to be a bobsled brake-woman. Holton traveled to Park City on Friday, Nov. 7, and will stay through November 17.
Then in January, she'll travel back to Lake Placid for training specifically in skeleton racing.
"That's going to be a technical driving school where they teach me everything about how to do the skeleton,GÇ¥ said Holton. "That will be a big indicator of my capabilities and where I'm at.GÇ¥
Not one to back down from a challenge, Holton is well aware that mastering a new sport will take a lot of hard work on her part.
"There's no guarantee just because you pass the combine that you'll be in the Olympics,GÇ¥ said Holton. "Over the next four years I'll be learning the technique, learning how to drive, and, obviously, training.GÇ¥
For now, Holton will stay focused on training and honing her skills as often as possible. One of the tricky things about bobsled and skeleton racing is that one needs to travel to either New York or Utah in order to get to a track.
In the meantime, she has football to get her by.
Billy Russo is the head coach for both the Everett Reign and the Monroe School District's 8th grade football team. Russo became acquainted with Holton when she started playing for the Everett Reign in 2012 and eventually approached her about applying for the assistant coach position in Monroe.
"She brings a fresh and new approach to the game for the players, and gets them excited about playing as a team and becoming better athletes,GÇ¥ said Russo. "She's definitely a players' coach and an inspiration for many young athletes, both male and female.GÇ¥
"Being the first woman football coach in the history of Monroe school football is an amazing accomplishment,GÇ¥ he continued. "She brings an energy that's contagious and the players just feed off that. They look forward to having her on the field and feel comfortable asking her questions about technique and plays.GÇ¥
Although she will still play for the Everett Reign, Holton has had to put her coaching career on hold while she focuses on her bobsled and skeleton training. She recently moved to Peshastin, which is located 10 miles east of Leavenworth, and is starting a new job with the city of Wenatchee.
She loved the experience she had coaching for the Monroe School District, in part because the job allowed her the opportunity to apply different aspects of her athletic background along with both of her college degrees.
"Surprisingly my business management degree has given me a lot because within that we learned so much about communication and negotiation,GÇ¥ said Holton. "We learned about how to manage people, how to lead a group and how to instruct a project. All of those things are invaluable to me when I'm coaching.GÇ¥
Holton wants people to know that anybody can successfully accomplish their athletic goals. It just takes hard work, dedication and a whole lot of gumption.
"I went to Arlington High School! I've had my heart broken GÇô I'm not invincible GÇô I'm not something that you're not,GÇ¥ said Holton. "That's been a huge point that I want to get across.GÇ¥
Holton will work continuously over the next four years to fundraise to help support her Olympic endeavors. So far, she was been overwhelmed by the amount of encouragement that she has received from family, friends and even acquaintances.
"I have experienced an extremely humbling amount of support,GÇ¥ said Holton.
Anybody interested in following Holton's progress is welcome to follow her on Instagram, which can be found by searching for BROOKLYNHOLTON. To learn more about the Everett Reign Football Team, please visit http://www.everettreign.com/. If you would like to learn how to make a donation or contribute to Brooklyn's Olympic journey, please send her an email at brooklynholton@gmail.com.
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