'I'm thankful that I'm even on the court': Meet Athlete of the Week Brook McIntyre

MOGADORE — On Senior Night, Brook McIntyre walked down the center of the court, flanked by her parents.

Walked, not limped.

She stared directly forward as her teammates cheered the two-time Portage Trail Conference Player of the Year.

There was no time for further emotion, McIntyre explained. It was time to play.

That was a turn no one could have anticipated after the senior broke her fibula in Mogadore's first game. The doctor originally told McIntyre her season was over.

Instead, the Record-Courier Athlete of the Week came back and led the Wildcats in scoring on Senior Night, making all six of her fourth-quarter free throws to clinch a win over Southeast last Wednesday. The senior added 15 points in an overtime loss Saturday at Crestwood and 18 Monday in a victory at Windham.

This season has been far from what she envisioned, but McIntyre — who reached the 1,000-point mark as a junior — is simply grateful for the chance to play.

"Thinking that I was never going to play again, it was very emotional because I am playing and I feel [like] myself again," McIntyre said of Senior Night. "At the beginning of the year, all the goals I had set out, obviously I'm nowhere near them, but I'm making the best out of it. I'm thankful that I'm even on the court."

Brook McIntyre's journey back from a broken fibula

Before this season, McIntyre had never experienced a major injury. Even so, she knew her injury in Mogadore's opener against Springfield was serious right away.

"When I stepped on the girl's foot, I heard it snap," McIntyre said. "Right when it happened, I knew that I broke it."

The doctor's prognosis was far from optimistic — she was likely out for the season.

"I was very devastated and heartbroken when that happened," McIntyre said. "I was very upset, but I had that motivation to prove that doctor wrong and get back as fast as I could."

Ritch saw McIntyre's motivation up close, as the senior worked hard to keep her form sharp, even when she was still in a boot.

"She doesn't ever sit still," Ritch said. "Even in her boot, she was shooting. The only time she wasn't in the gym was when she was on crutches."

McIntyre was no less fastidious when it came to her actual rehab, working away at the bands and other exercises that would allow her to heal as quickly as possible.

"Her and the Tompkins twins are the most religious children I have ever, ever seen for a high school student [to] follow a regiment of physical therapy." Ritch said. "I mean, they will eat healthy. They will do what they're told. They will go to the extreme of healthiness. It's wild."

Per McIntyre, a different kind of religious commitment also played a role.

"Of course, in the back of my mind, I was, like, 'I'm not going to get back,' but I also had hope in myself and I'm very religious and I always prayed to God," McIntyre said. "I'm like, 'Please God, this is a really rough patch, but please give me this chance to come back,' and I would just stay strong with my faith, and that carried me through it."

Returning to the floor

With an injury like McIntyre's, it's more complicated than playing and not playing.

McIntyre said she struggled in her return to the court against Warren JFK Jan. 17.

"I was not myself," McIntyre said. "It was just getting over that hump and then Mineral Ridge (Jan. 22) is when I finally felt like my old self. I could move around and run and play defense. I just felt a lot better."

Ritch said she saw another jump in Mogadore's win over Southeast two days later.

"She had some really nice moves at Mineral Ridge, too, that were more her old self, but she [was] just a little afraid," Ritch said after the Wildcats' win over the Pirates. "Like this is the first night she's ever attacked the basket like that."

"My ankle is still not 100 percent, but I do feel like myself in my heart and my head," McIntyre added. "My ankle not so much, but I play through it because it's honestly mental, too."

Every game, McIntyre said, she feels a little bit better.

Every game, she feels a little more like herself.

And every game, McIntyre knows, is a privilege.

"All we want to do is just work hard," McIntyre said. "That's all I'm worried about. I could care less about points nowadays because I'm just thankful to be playing — just playing hard, shooting when I can, just being thankful that we're playing all together."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Athlete of the Week Brook McIntyre of Mogadore girls basketball