Thirteen years is a lot of time to dedicate to a sport, but for Brooks Gerrity, senior, these thirteen years built up his passion and skill for basketball.

“I started playing as soon as I could walk,” Gerrity said. “My dad coached me and then I played for the junior Mustangs.”

Gerrity said his dad has been the one pushing him to improve and gives him plenty of pointers.

Gerrity plays guard for the varsity basketball team. He said his role is to facilitate the floor and scoring points. He favorite shot is three pointers.

“All the guys look to me because I have a lot of experience,” Gerrity said. “In the beginning, we were bad, but now we are playing really well. I’m very optimistic for the rest of the season.”

As of Friday, Feb. 14, the varsity team is 10 and 10. Gerrity said they are currently the third seed in districts, but anyone can win districts.

Throughout his basketball career, Gerrity had a major setback during eighth grade when he broke his left collar bone snowboarding.

“It set me back, but I was still able to practice shooting with my right arm,” Gerrity said. “It took me out of my whole eighth grade season.”

After going back to his regular regimen of practicing at least four or five times a week, Gerrity made the junior varsity team freshman year, then played on varsity for the next three years.

His hard work and dedication has paid off as Gerrity plans to play basketball for a division two college. Possible colleges include Central Methodist University, Bellarmine University and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.