What started as a summer pastime for Brooke Kimmes led to history being made under the bold lights at John Burch Park on Friday, October 7th. In front of packed bleachers and sidelines for the homecoming duel against Lake City, Brooke became the first ever female athlete to score a point for Cannon Falls, but what’s even more striking is the diversity and abundance of activities this lady puts herself in. Her fame inducing kick has led to people realizing that this just may be a girl that can do it all.

Full of hopeful anticipation, her male teammates and coaches watched from the sidelines. The always calm Brooke lined up the kick and skimmed it in just high enough, right through the middle of the posts. As the refs extended their arms in the air to signal the kick was good, the hopeful anticipation burst into an uproar of excitement. Coaches leapt into the air and threw fists pumps, headsets going haywire, while players surrounded her in a herd to celebrate. History-maker Brooke just beamed and giggled at all the hype, not used to the spotlight, then went back to practicing behind the team as if nothing spectacular had happened. When asked how she felt after the kick went in she replied with one simple word full of relief, “Grateful!” She explained the difference between games and practices, where she practices kicks almost non-stop. To her it boils down to the fact that the increased eyes on her during the games results in more pressure. Topping that, this specific night was homecoming. Brooke mentioned, “Homecoming definitely made it more memorable.”      

Brooke is a three sport athlete (dance, football, and tennis) condensed in two seasons instead of spread out into the normal: fall, winter, spring. To add to the chaos, she is a Lantern, math league and speech team member. This year she also committed herself to participating in a pageant, swapping out muddy cleats and a sweat stained jersey for high heels and a formal dress. She has had some draining days where she’d have football practice followed by tennis practice, or later in the season now, football practice then dance. One specific day was recalled where football practice concluded and Brooke immediately shed her shoulder pads, snatched up a camera, and ran to the tennis courts to capture some action shots of her team for the school newspaper.

Success in sports has been abundant for Brooke with the football and tennis team both making it all the way to section finals. With a wide variety of sports experience, Brooke has an educated perspective on what makes football special. The magic felt by many at that football field is due to the connection the sport creates among the team according to Brooke. Don’t be fooled though, this connection only comes through hard work and dedication, starting all the way back in the beginning of August with scalding heat and two-a-day practices. Being one of the four dance captains this year, and a passionate dancer all her life, Brooke was prepared for the grueling practices. In her opinion, the difficulty level of a dance practiced compared to a football practice are relatively equal. As mentioned above, Brooke kicks for the majority of most practices, so her high-kick background meant her leg can handle all the reps without getting tired. Her coaches were quite impressed by this. What is even more impressionable to the coaches is Brooke’s sheer courage in the face of taking a beating while doing something different than the “norm”. Cannon Falls coach and teacher, Mr. Lindow, emphasized what this young lady brought to the football team this season: “Whenever you have a great student-and she is like, the best-on a team, the team gets better.” Some must wonder if quitting had ever crossed Brooke’s mind. She responded honestly, “At the start it was like ‘… here we go’ but quitting was never a thought.”