Brooke Pedersen a wall of defense for West Ottawa: 'You shall not pass'

As a three-sport varsity athlete for three years at West Ottawa, Brooke Pedersen knows what got her to success every season.

"I try to have the best effort out there for all things," she said.

Such a simple mantra, but something she - the youngest in a family with three older brothers - took to heart from an early age.

She had to have full effort to get her turn in the back yard or the driveway. It carried on into her career where she found success in volleyball, basketball and soccer.

Her best sport is soccer and she as the center defender is the last line of defense before the goalie - which inspires that full-effort mindset.

"Knowing there is only a goalie behind me changes how I think about things. I am more of a cautious player and I am not going to step in to someone if I am not going to get there," Pedersen said. "But that means I am giving my all on a one-on-one situation. The mindset of wanting it more than anyone else is how I got rebounds and how I beat some forwards who are faster than me on the soccer field."

Part of that is her extremely high sports IQ. As a volleyball hitter, an elite rebounder in basketball and a soccer defender, she is constantly using angles to get to the ball.

And she does it better than most athletes, something not lost on her teammates.

"It is a sense of security knowing she is back there. We call her our secret weapon. Even if the other team has a breakaway, we know she can handle it. We have full trust in her," fellow senior Jillian Garcia said. "She has some drive and determination in there. She seems like this sweet girl, but she has some thunder."

It makes goalie Rogen McLean able to focus on other aspects of the opponent.

"She is a blessing. She is very communicative and really locks it down. The whole 'D' in front of me is great," McLean said. "I have the utmost confidence in them."

And that transforms in a wall difficult to pass.

"I am not a one-person wall. But last year, I got switched to center back and it was a completely different look for me. We play a three-back system. It was definitely a big change, but I was up for the challenge," Pedersen said. "My coach told me he felt the position was made for me. I was able to figure it out last year and this year, I have a lot more confidence and I can have a little bit more leadership back there."

She showed that leadership in all three sports and embraced her different role on each team. In volleyball, she was an important offensive hitter but also a blocker. In basketball, she was an elite rebounder and defender, which translates to soccer where she is one of the top defenders in West Michigan.

Each season, Pedersen learns something she will take with her for the rest of her life.

"I think I play a different role on every team," she said. "It makes me more versatile and I am able to do different roles. That has helped me grow as a person overall."

Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.