MEAD, Wash. – The normal excitement of a new basketball season at Mt. Spokane High School is tempered by concern for one of its own.
Brody Three Stars, a fiercely competitive presence on the court, is in the hospital following a recent crash. For teammates who are used to seeing him push the pace, lighten the mood and give everything in practice, his absence is felt daily.
“I’ve known Brody for a long time, he’s always been competitive, he’s been a fighter,” Jaceten Reijonen said.
Whether players are running lines, shooting layups or practicing free throws, Brody remains on their minds.
“He’s always been there to lighten the mood during practice and without him here we all keep him in the back of our mind,” Reijonen said. “I feel like we compete on a higher level, we want to do well this season so that we can have him in our hearts with us and do something great for him.”
Energy remains high at practice as players push each other, learn to play as one and carry Brody’s fight into everything they do.
“It makes me want to give my very best to these guys, to get better so that they can make their community and make Brody proud,” Head Coach David Wagenblast said.
Brody’s crash has impacted Wagenblast’s approach to this season.
“I think one of my key words this year is gratitude,” Wagenblast said. “You can choose how you handle adversity, we can choose to be really sad about it and go into a shell, or we can be grateful for what we have.
For the Wildcats, the love of the game has become a love for their teammate and his battle to recover.
“I know he was super excited for the season too, I feel like it gives us another reason to play really hard for him,” Rock Franklin said. “And fight for him because he’s fighting for himself too.”
Mt. Spokane hosts Lake City on Wednesday December 3 at 7 p.m. for their first game of the season and they’re playing for a meaning bigger than basketball.
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