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By: Kate Harman
How old was Alexa Brodie when she made her first appearance inside a basketball gymnasium?
Just three days old, the point guard guessed, maybe it was five.
Back then, Brodie’s father, Todd, was an assistant at Wissahickon – something he did for 15 years – and also coached summer league ball. The summer she was born, Todd’s team made it to the championship and so her mom, Karen, brought newborn Alexa along.
It was the last week of August 2001 and Brodie was already taking in the sights and sounds.
The Central Bucks South (14-2) junior quickly became acclimated to the sound of squeaky high top sneakers making quick cuts and basketballs bouncing off the rim, as she was conditioned to love the game early on by her dad and older brother - even playing in an all-boys league until middle school where Todd was at varying times the head or assistant coach.
It was those practices where Brodie first learned to take pride in her defense, as there were some hours where the squad wouldn’t even touch a ball.
“It’s embarrassing when I get beat on defense,” Brodie said. “I have so much pride in it, getting stops, especially when coaches put me on the opponent’s best scorer. I take pride that that player didn’t score 15, 20 points.
“I’m a smarter defender now,” Brodie added. “I know when to go for or anticipate a steal.”
Her coach, Beth Mattern, agrees.
“She just brings that added intensity,” Mattern said. “Her ability to create an open shot is obviously great – what people pay attention to – but her defense is actually awesome too. For as great as she can be offensively, defensively she can really shut down an opposing player as well.”
Others have noticed too.
A few weeks ago at a showcase event, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player and Germantown Academy assistant, Maggie Lucas, caught the gritty performance by Brodie that earned her Most Valuable Player honors.
“Hey Kevin,” Lucas said, motioning to get the attention of her former AAU coach, Kevin Lynch. “Who’s that point guard from South?”
“Alexa Brodie,” Lynch responded.
“That’s right,” Lucas said. “I like her.”
What’s not to like?
This season, Brodie is averaging 12 points, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds and only 1 turnover a game for the C.B. South, while playing about 28 minutes a contest – 32 if it is a tight one.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Brodie said. “I like being that player. I want to be on the court helping the team.”
And that’s exactly what she’s done during her time in a Titans uniform. As a freshman she mostly came off the bench for a senior-heavy and experience laden team – consistently putting in quality minutes – but the things she learned during the season that was the team’s first state playoff appearance proved to be invaluable.
What was more invaluable? An AAU summer session this past year where she wasn’t relied upon as the top offensive threat. Brodie says it made her more versatile and “opened up her eyes.” She took it upon herself to be the squad’s energetic leader, something that has transitioned onto the floor for C.B. South.
“Expectations don’t phase Alexa – she just goes out and plays basketball – and she just loves to play,” Mattern said. “From that respect, she just does Alexa. That is what’s so great about it. She is a great teammate, truly cares about everyone and that’s all you can ask for of her. You can’t ask her to play any way but hard.
“She was voted a captain as a sophomore by her teammates, which I think says a lot about the respect that they have for her as a player and a person,” the coach added.
Fifteen years after her mom brought her to her first basketball game, Brodie found herself on quite a different court – the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where she was vying for a spot on the U-16 National Team. It was a gym she was familiar with – she’d seen it on Twitter and Instagram, after all – with some of her favorite players posting pictures within the confines.
Brodie checked in, got her Gatorade water bottle and Team USA jersey, as one of only 133 individuals selected.
“I’m not meant to be in that gym,” she remembered thinking at the time, even more so later, when she sat second row and listened to Tamika Catchings give a talk.
But of course, she was meant to be there.
She’d only be practicing for that moment since she was three days old.
@Ka_Harman