People that inspire me - Brooke Rasnick (Demo)

There are 46 weeks left in the year and once a week I will write about someone in my life that is inspiring or motivating to me.  Hopefully others will read it and gain a little bit of inspiration in their life as well.  There is no particular order to these writings, just a bunch of people I am fortunate enough to know.  So without further ado ….

Inspirational person #5 of 50 – Brooke Rasnick

Brooke Rasnick (Demo) is the second former Wichita State athlete I’ve written about already and I think that shows the quality of people that our program produces year in and year out.  Brooke is from El Dorado, Kansas, and came to WSU to be a Pole Vaulter.  She actually got here before I arrived (in 2006) and I never really coached her but I always admired her enthusiasm for being the best vaulter she could be.

Brooke got as much out of her talent as any athlete I’ve seen.  She wasn’t the fastest, or most athletic, or most naturally gifted athlete in the world but every time she lined up to compete the competition was in a for a fierce battle.  This has carried over to her current career as a track and field coach at the University of Louisville as well.

It was pretty obvious she would be a good track coach.  When I first came to WSU I started the Intersquad Meet where we draft athletes onto three different teams (Gold, Black, White) and then have a competition in December to kick off the indoor season.  That first year I recruited a couple of the upperclassmen, including Brooke, to draft from the entire team of around 120 athletes.  I knew Brooke would be a good choice, but what I didn’t know was that she would be so competitive that she would spend every waking minute (including several academic classes) strategizing how to draft her team.  Needless to say her Gold squad had a great draft and they won the first ever Intersquad Meet.  To this day she still asks me how the Gold squad does every December (they’ve won more than any other team by the way).

On her way to her current job at Louisville, she’s had short stops at the University of Oregon and my alma mater, Kent State University.  I thought that was pretty cool that she was at my former school and, obviously, she did a great job to get hired away quickly into the ACC.

More about Brooke down below but first …

I asked Brooke five questions, here are her responses …

Question 1:  What advice would you give the 15 year old version of yourself?
Brooke:  When I was 15 I was extremely competitive. I wouldn't change that at all but I'd tell myself to handle defeat differently. We'd lose a high school basketball game on Tuesday and I'd be mad and disgruntled until the next game day morning on Friday. I missed out on a lot of opportunities to build relationships with people because I was caught up in my own pity party. I think I believed that's how competitors were supposed to act. 

So I'd tell myself to take a step back after a loss, access how myself and team could move forward, and then wake up the next morning focusing more on serving others than being upset about the loss.  Real champions don't have pity parties. Get over yourself. 

Question 2:  What have you yet to accomplish that you very much want to happen?
Brooke:  Our team at Louisville to battle for ACC titles year in and year out. We've made a lot of progress since we've moved into this conference the last few years and are headed in the right direction. I want the athletes at Louisville to have the experience of battling for titles with their teammates. Our cross country teams have experienced those moments but we haven't put it together indoor or outdoor yet.  We are on our way and I'm excited for our program to get there and stay in the position. 

Question 3:  What one thing would you change about society?
Brooke:  The value of fulfilling commitments.  The individualistic mindset of living for instant happiness which leads people to not fulfill duties they've committed to really bothers me.  Not keeping your word isn't frowned upon in most realms of our society.  People are taught to do whatever makes them happy.  I'm all about living a joy filled life, but there are times where things are tough or we have committed to obligations and walking away from them isn't the answer.  When there are college students that can't even fathom this thought process it blows me away.  

Question 4:  What is your favorite non-professional thing to do?
Brooke:  I really enjoy playing golf.  It's active, can be competitive, and you still have the ability to socialize with the people you're playing with. You can also step on a golf course and not think or talk anything else for hours besides the actual golf game you're in. It's a great outlet for me.  I also don't play enough to expect much from myself on the course so I can stay pretty level headed on a bad day.  Even when Dylan Schmidt destroys me in a game it doesn't ruin the rest of my day.   

Question 5:  Who/what inspires you and why?
Brooke:  People who pursue excellence have always inspired me. My family members, teammates, friends, and coaches who always want to improve and are dedicated to becoming better at whatever realm they have passion in inspires me. 

I've been around some great people in athletics. People who are committed to achievement but not at the sacrifice of growing athletes and staff members in who they are as people. That approach inspires me and has completely shaped how I coach and interact with my athletes.  Results and athletic achievement are important and helping athletes accomplish great things is part of providing them a great experience, but I never want to be in a situation where I have to sacrifice opportunities to grow them as people for a result. Life is bigger than that.  I love being at Louisville because I whole-heartedly believe we can do both here.

Final thoughts … Why is Brooke Rasnick inspirational to me?

As an athlete and a young coach, Brooke Rasnick was one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met.  As you can tell from her answers she’s a no-nonsense and direct to the point person.  She’s the kind of person you love having on your side but probably hate to compete against.  Luckily I never had to compete against her and the Louisville/Wichita State recruiting battles aren’t too frequent.

As I watch her develop into an older and mature coach in our profession, I can’t help but always be impressed, motivated and inspired.  We don’t get to talk all the time but when our paths cross our conversations are always very stimulating and productive.  I feel very lucky I was able to establish a connection with her before she left Wichita so that our personal and professional relationship could continue to grow.  Every time I talk to her it makes me think about how I can be a better coach and how I can serve the people I’m around better on a daily basis.

I half-joked with her when she first got into coaching that she would be a head coach before me and that I wanted to stay on her good side so if I ever needed a job she could hire me someday!  Well she has quickly risen through the ranks and my half-joke is absolutely serious now.  She would be an incredible head coach someday and the athletic director that hires her will be a very smart person.

But what I admire most about Brooke is that she has an amazing ability to be totally focused, hardworking and principled while never letting her competitiveness get in the way of her amazingly large heart that cares for her athletes and the school she works for.  You hear about athletes who make their teammates around them better.  Well that’s Brooke Rasnick in all walks of life.  If I ever get to feeling lazy, I think about how hard Brooke is probably working at that moment and that I better get my stuff together immediately.  I want to make sure to impress her for when I need that job!

Brooke, in the short time I’ve known you, you’ve been an inspiration to so many people both in the track and field arena as well as off.  Thanks for being a person who I can always count on for a straight answer and an honest opinion on any topic.  I follow your career with a smile knowing you are doing a great job and positively affecting many, many young people the same way you’ve always positively affected me.