The recruiting process of a high school athlete is a lot more difficult than you think. Current senior guard at Heritage High School took the time to explain not only how she got interested in basketball, but a behind scenes look at the recruiting process.
Katie Brooks is just one of several players to have been recruited to play college ball from Heritage. She explained that her love for the game developed when she was three years old in a situation where her brother and mom were shooting. She whined until she got a chance to shoot the basketball as well. When asked how over the years she has seen herself improve both on the court and as an individual she responded with "playing AAU ball with older people developed her skills" and as individual "leading the team as a sophomore helped her mature quickly."
 
 All that hard work has now paid off as now she has signed to continue playing at the University of Maryland of Baltimore County when asked what that process was like she said "awful" then went to explain about the phone calls that a recruit receives from various coaches asking for visits. Tough decisions to be made though being only allowed five official visits. The attraction that Katie had to UMBC was a love for the coaching staff as well as the style of playing that her ability matches their tempo. She explained that her relationship with her current coach at the high school is very tight since she is a senior leader and they have a special bond by communicating on the phone and talking after practices about the team and game plans. The future coaching staff she felt resembled that kind of relationship giving the fact that she is a guard and the UMBC coach is very close with his guards since the offense philosophy starts with that particular position.
 
The success of a basketball team also relies on the chemistry that a team has with each other as teammates at Heritage she talked about they are close spending the night at each other's house and hangout with each other doing various activities. When talking about how to build a relationship with her future teammates at the University of Maryland Baltimore County she explained that living with them will help develop the chemistry, practicing a lot will further a bond and then hanging out in the city of Baltimore will draw them closer as time goes on.  
When asked who she looked to as role models her response "My brother Ben really started my career by playing one on one competition with me and always was taller and rough on me."  
As for future goals Katie would like to stay around sports and shared several options she would be interested in they were being a physical therapist or an athletic trainer while later in life either becoming an assistant coach or possibly become head coach on the high school level.