When the high school girls basketball season ends, it can happen abruptly.
The routine of the previous four months is over, and for seniors, it will never be the same again.
It’s not the record-setting career or even the wins and losses that have been difficult for Batavia’s Brooke Carlson to leave behind. It’s those moments behind the scenes she already misses.
“It’s been really hard since it’s over because they’re my best friends, and it’s hard not being with them every day,” Carlson said. “I think it was an amazing season, for our team especially.
“We weren’t just teammates. We were actually best friends.”
Batavia coach Kevin Jensen said he gets a similar feeling after every season.
“My family even mocks me when something is over,” Jensen said. “I don’t know what to do with myself. Some of those things are seeing people like Brooke every day. It could be something as pointless as making sure our team is dressing up for a road game or wearing team gear.
“She makes sure it’s done. If something needs to be done, she would jump in and do it.”
Carlson, the 2023-24 Beacon-News/Courier-News Girls Basketball Player of the Year, got the jump on the opposition all season long in a program-boosting run for the Bulldogs.
The Colorado State-bound senior guard led Batavia (29-6) to its first sectional title. She finished her four-year varsity career with 2,225 points, 357 assists and 374 steals, all program records.
There was more to Carlson, however, than those elite numbers.
“Brooke made sure everyone was involved and included,” Jensen said of Carlson, an all-state choice and two-time player of the year in the DuKane Conference. “She’ll put on that swagger on the court, but she’s humble.
“You can see it in the clip when she surpassed 2,000 points. We were making a big deal out of it, and her teammates had to force her to center court to get some applause.”
Carlson, who said she’s always been that way, credited her family for instilling that demeanor.
“Every time I went to someone’s house growing up, I was always the most respectful,” Carlson said. “That’s just how I grew up, and it carried over, and I think it’s a good thing to carry over.
“I feel like on the court is one thing. You can be an amazing basketball player, but it’s how you interact with people — that leaves a bigger impression than basketball.”
Junior forward Hallie Crane will be one of the players looking to carry on Carlson’s legacy next season for Batavia. She pointed out the impact Carlson made on the rest of the team.
“Looking at how good she is, she’s very good at sharing the wealth,” Crane said. “Next year, I want to give everyone equal opportunities as she’s shown me these last couple of years.”
Another thing that rubbed off on her teammates was work ethic. When the star also is the team’s hardest worker, everyone else has to try to keep up, which raises the level of performance.
“I really take pride in that because it pays off in games,” Carlson said. “It just pushes everyone to be better. It’s amazing all the hard work did pay off, especially the hours that nobody sees.”
Carlson, who also plays soccer for Batavia, is already working out on a daily basis to prepare for her next chapter at Colorado State, where she hopes to be a contributor from day one.
The lifelong friendships and support of the community will still be there, albeit from afar.
As she’s learned over the past two weeks, things change quickly.
“I feel like people are always saying that time goes by fast, and then it happens and it’s over,” Carlson said. “It will be very different, but it will be really fun.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
