LINDALE — Brooke Everest moved to Lindale in the seventh grade from Colorado.
“I didn’t particularly like coming here,” she said. “It was not my choice to come to Texas, for sure, but it was amazing. I fell in love with the people, the place and the town, and I’ve just enjoyed the past six years I’ve been here.”
During her time at Lindale, Everest starred in soccer, basketball and track and field.
Now, with graduation looming, Everest is getting set to make another big move as she signed to play soccer at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.
“I was just researching school’s that had physician assistant programs, and that one stuck out,” Everest said. “It’s one of the top in the country, so I went up there for a visit after I got in contact with the coach, and I just loved the atmosphere, the team and the campus. It was just so fun and welcoming, and that’s what I’m looking for if I’m going that far away from home.”
Despite basketball and soccer seasons overlapping, Everest did what she could to excel in both sports.
As a senior in basketball, Everest averaged 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.0 steals per game. For her career, she scored 993 points and had 377 steals.
“It was hard, but it was helpful that basketball was morning practices,” Everest said. “I would go to morning practice for basketball and when soccer season stated, I would go to a couple of soccer practices after school. And I also played club soccer year round.”
Even though Everest was a standout basketball player, soccer was her passion.
“I’ve been playing it for so long, and it’s the first sports I ever fell in love with, and I’m still in love with it. It’s my favorite thing to do,” Everest said.
Getting to sign to play soccer at the collegiate level was a bright spot in a tough year for Everest and her family. Everest’s brother, Brayden, passed away on Feb. 28. Brooke has another brother, Bryce, and their parents are Stephen and Krissy Everest.
“It brought everything into perspective,” she said. “This has always been my escape, my happy place. So taking that into consideration, this is what I wanted to do. It’s been my goal for a long time, and after this year, it’s become more prominent that this is what I want to keep doing for as long as I can. And then make as big of an impact on every else’s life that I meet, too.”
Everest’s coaches stated exactly that, that her impact goes beyond the playing surfaces.
“I’m lucky that I got to coach Brooke,” Lindale girls soccer coach Cody Bray said. “She’s an exceptional person on top of being an exceptional athlete and exceptional student. She’s a one-in-a-million type of person. She’s the ultimate competitor, super talented, super intelligent, just the total package.”
“I can’t say enough good things about Brooke,” Lindale girls basketball coach Daniel Devisscher said. “Clarkson is getting an amazing athlete. She is fearless and brings a fighting warrior spirit. No matter the obstacle, she doesn’t let it stop her.”
Corey Rose, who is the head women’s soccer coach of the highly successful Tyler Junior College Apache Ladies, coached Everest in club soccer with FC Dallas and was in attendance at her signing ceremony.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m proud of you,” Rose said. “I wish we could’ve gotten you at Tyler Junior College. Clarkson is going to get a great player. If it doesn’t work out, you’ve always got a place back here at Tyler Junior College.”
