Brooke Hankinson kicking down barriers for North Fort Myers football

Nothing intimidates North Fort Myers senior kicker Brooke Hankinson, not even playing with the boys.

“I actually like it,” Hankinson said. “It’s great. Since I came from hockey, I like to hit and stuff anyway, so it was fine. I’m good with it.”

Hankinson has been kicking for the North Fort Myers football team since a coach asked her to give it a try her freshman year.

“I’m one of the team,” Hankinson said. “They treat me like everybody else. I’m no different than anyone.”

Head Coach David Pasquale said Hankinson is everything a coach wants in an athlete.

“If every young adult that aspired to be a great athlete had her work ethic I think we’d have a community full of great young leaders,” Pasquale said.

Her don’t quit attitude motivates the guys on the team and the guys motivate her.

“They see Brooke going and they’re like, ‘Oh, no, I’m gonna get her,'” Pasquale said. “In the weight room, on days we max out, we’ve got the biggest crowds around her when she’s maxing out. It’s a lot of fun. She’s a big part of this team.”

Whenever North sends out the field goal or extra point team, Brooke takes the field.

“You get nervous a little bit, but it’s exciting when you get out there, put the block down and are ready to kick,” Hankinson said.

Brooke really doesn’t quit.

She plays receiver and corner for the flag football team, competes in track and field and she is the goalkeeper for the Red Knights’ state runner-up soccer team.

“My kicks have gotten a lot better on soccer since doing football because my leg has gotten stronger from the workouts,” Hankinson said. “The kicking is different, but it actually does help me a lot fore soccer.”

She juggles all of that and yet she doesn’t let duties of any sport interfere with another, that makes Pasquale confident when she lines up the kick.

“She’s got her blinders on,” Pasquale said. “She’s like a horse in the Kentucky Derby. She just doesn’t see what’s going on around her. It’s just her and the ball.”

Hankinson told WINK News her senior year she hopes to perform well for the football team and make another state title run with the soccer team.