GARDEN PLAIN – Hailey Brack is in the early stage of her two-year term as a member of KSHSAA’s Student Advisory Team.
 
But the Garden Plain junior has quickly embraced its mission as a sounding board for proposals affecting students and providing input to KSHSAA’s various boards and staff on association issues.
 
“I like it because KSHSAA gets to hear from the student perspective,” said Brack, the Capitol Federal® True Blue® Student of the Week. “In my case, I feel like I’m helping students and athletes in (Class) 3A talk about how we feel about some of the rules and hopefully better it.”
 
Brack’s involvement as one of two 3A members on the 12-student, state-wide group is an extension of her wide-spread participation at Garden Plain High School. Brack, the daughter of Owls athletic director Cory Brack and his wife, Kelsey, a teacher in the school district, is a class secretary, student council vice president and communication officer for the school’s Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) chapter.
 
“I’m very outgoing,” Brack said. “Whatever I can do, I try.”
 
And even when she’s restricted, Brack doesn’t let it stop her.
 
A three-sport athlete, Brack’s sophomore basketball season was halted when she landed awkwardly on a layup in a junior varsity game, tearing an anterior cruciate ligament. The surgery and ensuing rehab sidelined her last spring for track and field, where she was a Class 2A medalist in the shot put as a freshman.
 
“It was very emotional because track is what I like and what I’m passionate about,” Brack said. “Taking me out of that, I just felt left out.”
 
Brack’s response to the adversity did not go unnoticed.
 
She attended practices and meets in a managerial-type role, shagging equipment for throwers and recording times for coaches. She offered encouragement for Garden Plain competitors, including her older brother, Brady, a shot put and discus thrower.
 
“Not once did anyone hear her complain,” Garden Plain principal Kody Kasselman said. “She stayed involved in every way she could. She supported her teammates and continued to show up every day.
 
“I think that speaks volumes to her high character.”
 
Brack has returned to competition as an outside hitter for the Owls’ JV volleyball team. The injury has forced her to make adjustments, which she views positively.
 
“I’m doing my warmups differently and approaching volleyball in a different way,” Brack said. “It’s really helped my mindset to think about it differently.
 
“I’m definitely focusing on a two-foot landing. One leg is how did it in basketball and talking with my (physical therapist), one leg is how it’s going to get you every time.”
 
Brack, who started attending Garden Plain schools in fourth grade, said she and her fellow students benefit from the support of a tight-knit community. She enjoys organizing homecoming festivities and pep rallies as a student council member, and said KAY events like a craft fair and blood drive are well attended.
 
“Being a part of that and having the whole school come together is very cool,” Brack said. “When your whole community show up for things like they do here, it makes the kids excited. It makes us happy when we play. They’re always showing up to fundraisers and giving back to our school, so it’s a really great place.”
 
Brack, whose favorite classroom subject is English, further connected with her school and community last school year as a reporter for the Renwick Review, a student news site serving the Renwick school district. She wrote stories about Garden Plain athletics and topics around town.
 
“I enjoyed it,” Brack said. “Going out and talking to people and getting information for my stories was my favorite part. Just hearing what they had to say and then trying to put it down in words was really interesting.”
 
Brack’s inquisitive nature led her to pursue the position on KSHSAA’s advisory team. An early project for this year’s group is planning a one-day student summit in November at KSHSAA’s administrative offices in Topeka, where the advisory team will lead discussions with other students on association rules, classification topics and sportsmanship along with athletics and activities roundtables.
 
“We’re having people come in and we’ll talk to them about what KSHSAA does and the good parts about it so there’s not such a negative thought when you think about KSHSAA,” Brack said.
 
Kasselman said Brack’s personality traits make her a good fit for leadership roles.
 
“My favorite quality of Hailey is that she is selfless,” Kasselman said. “She is polite, personable and kind. Hailey is a great representative of Garden Plain High School. She has and continues to make us proud.”