Steinbrenner senior drawn to very different pastimes
By Kyle LoJacono
Jessica Brewer is a paradox.
The senior spends at least 12 hours each week building her speed and perfecting her form in the long jump, triple jump and 4×100-meter relay, the events she competes in with the Steinbrenner track and field team.
“I love the track meets because I don’t have to think about what I look like, and it’s really just relaxed,” Brewer said. “I like being able to just not wear makeup and go run.”
The mindset is completely opposite from the way Brewer spends much of the rest of her time — modeling.
“I’m such a girly girl,” Brewer said. “I love my makeup, my clothes, my shoes, everything.”
She goes in for photo shoots for Bealls that appear in the company’s print advertising a few times each month, sometimes for an hour and sometimes for the entire day.
Brewer said she enjoys both track and modeling for what they offer on their own, but also because they are very different and require completely opposing mindsets.
“I like having the opposite feel of track and modeling,” Brewer said. “For track, you have to be very determined, and modeling is very fun and relaxed.
“For track, I do have to get myself mentally ready to compete,” Brewer continued. “Running and jumping, you have to think about all the little things that they tell you at practice and put them into your event. … Modeling, that’s like my safe haven where I can just relax and let loose. A lot of people are stressed out when they do it, but it’s just very relaxing to me.”
Brewer began modeling at age 5 after her mother Lynn had professional photos taken of her. She began working with Bealls when she turned 7.
“That was my first job,” Brewer said. “I was the size 10 model, and now I’m the junior model and getting into the misses.”
Brewer took to track much later.
Her first sport was gymnastics, which she picked up when she was 3 or 4 years old. She won vault and all-around Level 5 state championships at age 11.
Brewer continued with gymnastics for 11 years, but gave up the sport when she entered high school.
“I was going through some mental blocks on the balance beams,” Brewer said. “I was going through a big growth spurt, and I was having some problems on the uneven bars. I just thought I should try cheerleading because I still loved tumbling.”
The 5-foot-7 Brewer was on the first Warriors cheerleading team when the school opened in 2009 and helped the squad finish as the Class 2A medium division state runner-up in 2012 and place third in 2A larger division in February.
Brewer was also on the inaugural Steinbrenner track team.
“My mom (Lynn) was always a runner,” Brewer said. “She would run half marathons all the time, and I was never really into it. She just told me I should try it.”
Warriors track coach Ladd Baldwin said Brewer’s enthusiasm and ability helped the squad grow into one that has claimed district championships the last two years while finishing as a regional runner-up last season.
“Sometimes you have to work to get kids involved with track and give them a little bit of time to adapt and commit to it,” Baldwin said. “Jessica has committed to it since the beginning. She’s shown a lot of excitement. Even when she’s doing cheerleading she’ll come by and say like, ‘Two more weeks until track.’ She’s excited for the track, which makes it nice for me as a coach. … I feel there’s always this positive energy with her.”
Brewer tried several events, including the hurdles, 400, 800 and even the pole vault before finding her way to the jumps and 4×100 full-time as a junior. She said the long and triple felt very familiar from her days as a gymnast.
“The vault was my best event, and I think that’s why I’ve gone to the long and triple jump because of the runway,” Brewer said. “I just felt really comfortable on the runway, and I liked the actual jumping because it’s different from just running.”
Brewer won a district championship in the long jump last year and reached the 3A state meet.
A right Achilles tendon injury suffered in the Charles Johnson Invitational early this year has limited her jumping this year, but Brewer said she doesn’t plan on letting that stop her as the season’s final meets approach.
“It’s something that I’ve had to baby, and now I just have to get over it and give it my all because it’s my senior year,” Brewer said.
She plans to attend the University of Florida as a predental major. She has no immediate plans to compete with the Gators in track or cheerleading, but Brewer said she doesn’t want to give either of the two, or modeling, up while in college.
Brewer and the Warriors will compete at the Class 3A-District 8 meet at Gaither April 17, followed by regionals at Leto April 24 and states at the University of North Florida May 3.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
