Daniel Brocke: One Of Hall’s Own Making It Big
Shooting hoops may be a past time for many but for one of Hall’s own it’s become bigger than a hobby. Who better than Daniel Brocke a graduate of the class of 2017 making a come up into a D1 college basketball team and not just any school but the University of Connecticut, close to home. .
Daniel Brocke was a great level headed leader of the West Hartford Hall Warriors basketball team. Playing D1 was a big goal of his but it wasn’t looking like a realistic goal in his senior season at Hall High. Regardless of what others thought Brocke’s hard work and dedication helped him achieve his ultimate goal .
Brocke started off as a shy teammate and according to his Coach Bryan Moretti, “he evolved from not speaking.. To being vocal.” Brocke was outspoken since his personality was more timid at first, but he learned to grow and morphed into an outgoing leader.
Moretti sensed since the moment he touched the court that he had the potential to play D1 and says “I believed in him more then he believed in himself.” As a coach, Moretti is really proud no matter what, he says “Even though he’s not playing a lot.. He is the leader of the bench.”
“Daniel Brocke was a very good teammate,” Maxwell Boyd [a senior at Hall] stated. “He was consistent in everything he did” explaining to us that Brocke indeed was a very hard worker even saying, “He was a quiet leader that would lead by example.” Brocke shared the court with Boyd for his [Brocke] senior season and Maxwell says that Brocke is the reason that he is the player and leader that he is today. “Brocke was the type of teammate that would push everyone in the gym to get better and that is what I pride myself on today,” Boyd said.
When asked about Brocke going D1 Boyd commented, “I’m proud of him… he worked his butt off to get where he’s at today,” and because of this hard work he’s become a true inspiration for many people at Hall High.
When talking to Brocke we asked him how it was playing for the UCONN basketball team, “ A surreal experience. While it’s fun, there’s also a lot of work that goes into it that a lot of people don’t see. Overall, it’s an amazing opportunity and experience”, Brocke stated. We also asked him if there is any advice that he would give to a kid that is trying to do the same thing as him what would it be? Brocke said that he would tell the kid that he has to work and accept the role that he is given and do whatever he can to help the team, “No matter what”.
Brocke defied the odds and continues to show a lot of people that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, and you are willing to work hard. Many people would have never imagined Brocke would’ve been able to make a D1 team for basketball, but Brocke showed and proved a lot of people wrong. He continues to do so. He is the definition of hard work pays off.
*Update:December 5th, 2018 Brocke scored his first points as a player of UCONN*
