BHS Athlete Profile: Brown Set For New Chapter

From the day she set foot in Brookfield High School (BHS), Jaclyn Brown became a recognizable figure on the sports scene.  In her first year she played varsity soccer, saw limited action on varsity in basketball and became the first freshman to make the varsity girls lacrosse team under former coach Sandy Leverance.

During that first year of high school, Jackie (as she is more commonly known) also figured out what it would take to manage sports and stay on top of her grades.  The balancing act of splitting time between athletics and academics became more natural for Brown after her freshman year, in large part because she felt she had no choice but to dedicate time to both in order for her to be truly successful.

Brown, described as a natural lacrosse player by her father Jack Brown, knew she was good in the eighth grade, but she never imagined making varsity in her first year of high school.  Following the first day of tryouts it became clear that coach Leverance was thinking of giving a tall, lanky freshman, who had a long reach to use to her advantage on the field, a chance to make the team.

"She asked me to go one-on-one with the seniors," Brown said recalling the beginning of her stellar girls lacrosse high school career.  "It was a weird thought to think of playing with my sister's friends," she said referring to her older sister, who was a senior that played field hockey and was close friends with many of the large group of seniors who made up the varsity lacrosse squad.

When the roster was posted in the locker room she found out that she would be doing just that.  "It was a really good feeling to make varsity."

The good feeling would continue throughout the season and turn into a great one.  Brown came off the bench during the year, receiving more and more minutes as the season progressed.  With the playing time came production from her and wins for the team.  She amassed 12 goals and three assists in her inaugural season — not bad for a freshman.

The crowning achievement came in the state playoffs when Brookfield completed its incredible 19-3 season by defeating Brian McMahon in thrilling fashion for the 2007 Division II state championship.  Trailing by five goals with five minutes to play, the Lady Bobcats rallied for a stunning 13-12 victory. 

Having earned the trust of her coach and teammates, Brown played the most minutes of any game she had during the season in the final.  She was the second leading scorer in the game for Brookfield, finding the back of the net twice.

"Oh my god, oh my god," is what she was thinking in the final two minutes of the game as the Lady Bobcats held on for the win.  When the buzzer sounded she had her freshman moment.  "I was so happy I tripped and fell."

Following her freshman year, Brown became a natural leader for the team, eventually being named co-captain in her junior and senior years.  The team was unable to duplicate the championship year but did put together three straight 15-win seasons.

Brown's point totals skyrocketed, as she became more of a focal point of the team.  60 goals, 25 assists as a sophomore; an astonishing 78 goals and 30 assists as a junior; and 67 goals and 18 assists to go along with 52 ground balls and 56 face-off wins as a senior.  A truly versatile player, who was a great shot-taker but never a ball hog.   

She was named to the Danbury News Times All Area Team in her final three years of high school.  She made the SWC All-Patriot Division Team as a sophomore and SWC All Conference Team as a junior and senior.  She made 2nd Team All-State in 2009 and 1st Team All-State in 2010.  She also garnered the 2010 Leadership Award in 2010 for her play in both basketball and lacrosse.

While winning was expected for her and the girls lacrosse team, that was not the case for the girls basketball team.  Her freshman year the team only won five games.  Her sophomore season, when she became a starter, the team only won six games, but a change had already begun.

Maura Keenan took over as head coach in 2008 and while the wins didn't come right away in her first season with the team, the competitiveness did.  Keenan turned a team that previously played for the sake of playing into a team that played for the sake of winning.

In her junior season, Brown, who always had played basketball more for fun, knowing she wasn't as gifted a player in that sport as she was in lacrosse, used her competitive nature to become one of the top defenders in the SWC and help lead the Lady Bobcats to a 13-8 record, giving them a berth in the SWC playoffs and State Playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

With that success came confidence, but still, no one could have foreseen the senior season her and her teammates would enjoy.  A team that was never expected to win found themselves putting together a 20-4 season and making it all the way to the Class M State Championship game for the first time in school history.

Brookfield's all-time leading point scorer Brittany Martelle and the tenacious defense put forth by Brown led the team to an unprecedented number one seed in the state tournament.  With Martelle scoring key baskets in late stages of games and Brown providing tough defense on the opposing teams top players, the Lady Bobcats won an amazing nine games by five points or less.

As a team-captain, Brown felt she needed to have one special characteristic.  Knowing her limitations on offense, she turned to defense.  Early in the season she was handed the unenviable task of shutting down one of the SWC's top scorers, Sara Kelly of Newtown.

"Everybody brings something, I know I can bring defense," she said of her approach to the game.  "I was told to shut her down.  You can't sell yourself short on defense.  I held her to one point in that game and that started it all."

Sighting team chemistry and a relaxed confidence, Brown said the team knew it could win all the close games.  "No team has ever been so close."

The Cinderella ride to the state title game was as much a thrill for the parents as it was for the players.  "We really felt part of something," Mr. Brown said, recalling all the tight games and the impressive run through the playoffs.  "It was tremendous to see how it could all come together, it was magic."

The Lady Bobcats weren't able to win a bookend state title to go along with Brown's lacrosse championship, as they came up short against long-time SWC rival Kolbe Cathedral in the final played at Mohegan Sun Arena.  That did not diminish her memories of the season or of getting the opportunity to play where the pros play.

Brown was voted Top Defensive Player in 2010 by SWC players and named to the All-Colonial Team.  These accolades are part of a legacy that she is very proud to leave behind.  Knowing her name will be on a banner hanging in the school gym and that her teams records will be forever etched into the school's history rated high on her list of accomplishments.

According to her father, her academic achievements out-weighed her athletic ones.  She is a National Honor Society Inductee and graduated as one of the top 11 students in her class.  "She did it on her own.  We never had to chase her to check her homework, it was 100 percent Jaclyn."

While the enjoyment of rooting on his daughter in exciting games was a thrill, seeing the work she did in the classroom and on three church mission trips gave him even more pride.

"I'm happy she went, even as a senior," Mr. Brown said of the most recent trip they took to an Indian Reservation in South Dakota this past July.  Having the opportunity to put smiles on kids faces who live in extreme poverty or to help re-build homes in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, as they did three years ago, "was a big part of high school," Brown said of the eye-opening experiences she had with her father.

With a dedication to academics moving to the forefront, Brown has decided against continuing to play sports as she moves on to a new chapter in her life. 

"I've done the sport thing, it was an awesome chapter.  I loved every minute of it," she said.  "Now it's time for a new chapter, time to look at things I'm interested in."

Besides the many athletic and academic awards she has received, Brown was also voted Best Dressed by her classmates.  With that in mind it might not come as a surprise to find out she will be attending NYU to study fashion and entertainment media in the heart of the fashion industry, New York City.

Relying on her humble confidence and taking with her the leadership skills she learned through sports, Brown has put herself in position to do what she wants.  No one will be surprised to see her succeed off the playing field.  Her dad may get a few more chances to root her on as well — NYU does have a club lacrosse team after all.