Brooks a starter for UNC lacrosse
Injuries create opportunity for skilled freshman
Anterior cruciate ligament. It's a set of words a coach never wants to hear, because it's never good news.
Jenny Levy, the women's lacrosse coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has heard it four times this season.
It has decimated her team, one that, despite the injuries, has spent all season ranked in the top 10 and has jumped as high as No. 3. It has also opened a hole for one of the top women's lacrosse players to come out of Massachusetts last year.
That would be Katie Brooks.
One year after being named the Globe's Player of the Year for her work in leading Winchester to the North sectional semifinals, Brooks has spent most of the season in North Carolina's starting lineup.
That can happen when a team's top two midfielders blow out their knees -- within a week of each other.
''That's impacted our team in lots of different ways," Levy said. ''She's started every game and not had many subs. She doesn't get many breaks. . . . She's filling a role that, as a freshman, is a really difficult role to fill. It's a little bit of a daunting task as a freshman because it's assuming you know what to do on both ends" of the field.
It wasn't supposed to be that way. Freshmen were just supposed to provide depth on the team.
Not anymore.
''We had to fill those voids," said Erica LaGrow, Brooks's teammate and roommate. ''I don't think we had much of a choice."
Led by Brooks, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Week earlier this season, the freshman-filled group hasn't slid too much. They're No. 9 in the country right now.
''The coaches have said they're definitely putting more pressure on some of the younger girls on the team," Brooks said. ''I love it. I guess I didn't expect to play as much or help out as much.
''The collegiate level, it's a whole different game than in high school. You have to turn your brain on more."
It has been an adjustment. And not just on the field, though that's a big piece.
Especially when you're playing two college sports.
In eight years as the head coach of the Tar Heels, Levy has had four other athletes play multiple sports, including two who combined soccer and lacrosse, like Brooks. That's two of the best teams in their sports in the country. Not a lot of time off between training sessions. Not a lot of rest.
''There's mistakes on the field that freshmen are going to make that my upperclassmen know that they're not supposed to make," Levy said. ''There's things that only experience is going to change. We try to limit the amount of times those mistakes show up. Katie's made lots of mistakes. But so has everybody. She comes back with an understanding that it's OK and she just needs to fix it."
Still, Brooks's trust in herself waned.
Maybe it was the slip in standing. Maybe it was going away from home. Maybe a little of both.
''I didn't expect at all -- and I still don't -- to be a star or anything," Brooks said. ''I think maybe I doubted myself a little bit. Would I even be able to compete? Would I even be able to play with these girls? I think I built it up in my head that [the soccer] team is superhuman."
Twenty minutes a game during soccer season didn't entirely reassure her that she belonged. It helped, but only went so far. When she made it to lacrosse -- and found herself a starter -- the idea began to get through. Somewhat.
''You kind of peak in high school, then you're back down at the bottom," Brooks said. ''You have so much to learn. It's definitely a hard adjustment because you go from being a huge impact on your high school team -- on college teams, there isn't one person everybody looks to. So many of the players have so much talent."
Like Brooks. She has shown that much so far.
She's not the type to boast. She's more of a homebody with a retiring streak.
She's exactly the kind of girl who doesn't come with a warning label. Back in kindergarten, Brooks's teacher told her mother she was doing beautifully in class. The teacher just wasn't sure why young Katie seemed to feel responsible for the rest of the students.
Not much has changed, LaGrow said. Just the location.
And the self-doubt. That, finally, is beginning to abate.
Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 