Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé 2022 graduate Brooke Sanford is in her third season of college volleyball and on track for a degree in elementary education.
Sanford spent her first two seasons playing and studying at Edmonds College in Lynnwood, Washington, and then transferred to four-year Regis University in Denver to continue her studies.
“I decided last year that I wanted to do elementary ed, but I have always kind of known that I wanted to help people and that I liked kids so it just made sense,” Sanford said. “I feel like being able to teach kids, and do what I can to make them good people, is how I can make a difference and help others. All of my elementary school teachers here in Juneau (at Gastineau Elementary) were so amazing and influential in my life, but my kindergarten and first grade teacher Rene Walker is someone who I want to be for other kids, she was just so amazing and truly had an impact on my life then and now.”
2022 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé graduate Brooke Sanford (5) is a junior on the Regis University Rangers volleyball team in Denver, Colorado. (Photo courtesy Regis University)
Like most student-athletes stepping up to a bigger challenge, there were obstacles to overcome playing for the Tritons in the Northern Region of the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).
“The hardest transition sportswise from high school to my first season at Edmonds was just the overall level of play and understanding of the game,” Sanford said. “All of my teammates at Edmonds had the opportunity to play a lot more volleyball than I had growing up. They all played club volleyball growing up, which we don’t have here in Juneau, so they were all able to play volleyball and practice and grow as players all year around. I knew going to play at Edmonds that I would be at a sort of disadvantage because of my lack of experience, but I was definitely excited for the challenge.”
“My coach at Edmonds would always say that the amount of information I was getting and skills that I was learning in such a short amount of time was like a firehose of knowledge turned on full blast coming right at me. And I would definitely agree with that. I grew a lot during that first season not only in the physical skills and techniques but actually having the opportunity to learn about the game and the sort of ‘bigger picture.’ So just playing sort of catch up in a way during my first season was definitely challenging and a huge step up from high school where I kind of thought I knew it all.”
She faced challenges with her studies, too.
“Education-wise, both of my years at Edmonds were a challenge,” she said. “Pretty much all the classes offered there are still online after COVID and that was hard for me to adjust to. Online classes just never really worked for me, so only going to class twice a week was not what I needed. Besides that, college life overall was great, and being in a new place and meeting new people was so much fun, and a new experience I had never had before.”
2022 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé graduate Brooke Sanford (5) serves during a Regis University Rangers home volleyball match this season in Denver, Colorado. (Regis photo courtesy Makayla Salter)
Sanford’s adjustment from year one to year two was like night and day.
“My second season at Edmonds was a total 180 from my first,” she said. “I was able to use everything that I learned over my first season and the off-season and help lead my team to the NWAC super regionals (sweet 16). My three other teammates in my class and I were pushed hard by our coach to set an example for the freshmen and create our own team culture. I was voted as a captain by my team at the start of the season and continued to grow and learn, and my team was able to finish second in our region before losing in the sweet 16. I ended my second season with more than twice as many kills as my first (244) and 77 total blocks and was North Region First-Team. My second year of classes was just like the first, which was a bit of a struggle for me again, but after the second year I had figured out what I wanted to major in at my next school and I graduated in June with my general associate’s degree.”
Although her educational path was decided, Sanford wasn’t sure about continuing to play volleyball at another level up from community college.
“After my second season at Edmonds, I was pretty on the fence about whether I wanted to keep playing or not,” she said. “I was torn between continuing to play volleyball and being a student-athlete and going to a big school to get the ‘real college experience.’ I was approached by lots of different schools across the country and had several phone calls with coaches but none of the schools seemed like they would be a good fit. I was pretty picky because I didn’t want to pick a school just because I wanted to keep playing volleyball. I didn’t want to spend my last two years of college at a school where I was unhappy and didn’t like the location or the education.”
“When the assistant coach at Regis, Ashley Petak, emailed me in April (2024) I had a good feeling about Regis. Colorado was a state that I knew I would enjoy, and their volleyball program was very successful and had won the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) the year prior. After a phone call with Ashley, she offered for me to come on an official visit to Regis to see the campus and area and meet and practice with the team. A week after the phone call I went on my visit and the week after that I verbally committed. The campus, the program, the coaches (Joel List and Ashley Petak), and most of all the girls on the team had such an amazing atmosphere and culture that you just can’t help but want to be a part of (it). The school had a great program for my major, and I knew that I would be able to learn and grow so much in that environment not only as a student and an athlete, but as a person.”
2022 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé graduate Brooke Sanford (5) reacts with teammates during a Regis University Rangers home volleyball match this season in Denver, Colorado. (Regis photo courtesy Makayla Salter)
At Edmonds, Sanford received a scholarship for four of her six quarters there from the volleyball program. At Regis they had already given away their scholarships for the volleyball program, but Sanford received a significant scholarship from the actual school and was given work-study.
“I can work for the school and be paid for it,” Sanford said. “I was also able to find much cheaper housing at Regis and lived off campus, which was far less expensive than living on campus at Edmonds. I would say I didn’t feel much financial burden at either school mostly because of the support of my coaches, the athletic department and the school.”
Regis head coach Joel List said Sanford has brought maturity to the team as a transfer.
“We recruited her to fill in a middle blocker roll,” List said. “She has experience on the pins and this spring we are going to explore that a little. When we were able to work with her one-on-one, I saw a lot of improvement with her arm swing and her one-footed attacks and we look to improve that even more this spring. I was impressed with her serve from day one and that is how she was finding her way on the court this fall.”
List said Sanford was a “silent leader, and she does it by example. Because of this she fit in very well, sometimes when we get junior transfers they may be very vocal and push themselves into a leadership role but Brooke fit in very nicely and never ruffled any feathers. She has really good things to say to her teammates and I can tell she cares a lot for others…Brooke is so fun to have as part of the team, her teammates love her and her personality continues to come out the longer she is here. Her loyalty and work ethic have been great addition for our team.”
Regis University volleyball has led the country in blocks for NCAA Division II teams the past two seasons and pride themselves on defense.
List said, “Regis Volleyball tries to develop empowered, resourceful and strong female leaders that thrive as teammates in competition and do it with integrity and composure…I always tell our team that I will push them in practice all week, and then on Friday and Saturday I can relax and let them play knowing they are prepared for our opponents. What people see is a great team and teammates, what they don’t see is all the work they do on the court, weight room, training room, classroom and in the community.”
Now with her major decided and graduation from Regis on track for 2026, Sanford thinks she is likely going to stay in Colorado and teach there for a few years.
“After graduating from the education program at Regis I will be certified to teach in the state of Colorado,” she said. “And after that I want to go and teach overseas. I will either get my master’s before I teach overseas or complete it online while I am teaching overseas.”
Sanford said she misses the small town environment of Juneau “and knowing someone everywhere you go. I have been coming back and working during the summers and definitely plan on doing that for a while longer. I really enjoy being able to come back and catch up with everyone and see my family, of course.”
Her advice for athletes and students looking to continue their sport and education is to find a balance.
“Being a student-athlete is a lot of work and takes up a lot of time and it is difficult at times,” she said. “But being able to find a balance that works for you between school, team commitments and your personal life is extremely important and will make you more successful in everything that you do. On my team at Regis, we focus on filling our love buckets, so finding something that fills your love bucket whether it’s time with friends and family, going outside or just doing nothing for a day is something that I have learned and think everyone should try to prioritize.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
