Brouwer commits to D1 St. Thomas
A decision to follow in his father’s cleatsteps has turned out to be a great choice for Braeden Brouwer.
The Grade 12 student at West Niagara started running at the club level in the summer heading into his Grade 10 year and last September, he joined the Thorold Elite Track Club and started focusing on hurdles.
“My dad was a good hurdler so I knew that I would be good at it too. He did well at OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations championships) two times without any real training,” the 17-year-old Grimsby resident. “He encouraged me to do it because he knew I would be good at it.”
Brouwer won three bronze medals in the 2023 season in hurdles at the major championships: the senior boys 110-metre hurdles at OFSAA; the Athletics Ontario U18 Outdoor Championships; and, the Legion Youth National Championships in Sherbrooke, Que.
The 2023 Thorold Elite boys track and Field MVP parlayed those results into a track scholarship at NCAA Division 1 St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn.
He realized hurdles would be his ticket to a scholarship after placing third at OFSAA this past spring.
“I didn’t have the best indoor season and then over the course of a few weeks after my first meet in May everything clicked and I started doing well in hurdles,” he said. “I have always been fast but I picked up the hurdles quickly.”
Brouwer connected with St. Thomas after the school sent him a direct message on Instagram out of nowhere.
“I thought at first that it might be some smaller school like NAIA or something. I researched them, I realized it was actually a pretty good school and then I started talking to them.”
He was sold on St. Thomas after visiting school at the end of September
“It is a medium-sized school and they have a lot of super cool sports facilities. And I am doing computer engineering and they are building a huge, new engineering building and they have a really good engineering program. They also have a bunch of great school resources too.”
What clinched the deal for Brouwer was talking to the head of the computer engineering program.
“He was telling me about all the resources they could provide for me and stuff and all the opportunities.”
He has specific goals in mind for academics and athletics.
“I want to graduate and I want to go to the NCAA Division 1 regionals for track and field. That would be cool to make it to that and compete with the best.”
He can’t wait to get started.
“I am looking forward to training with a bunch of really good athletes and coaches who will push me and getting the best training I can get.”
Before he arrives at St. Thomas, Brouwer has some unfinished business to take care of first.
“I want to win provincials, nationals and OFSAA. That is the goal. I am not losing again.”
He knows it won’t be easy.
“I have to keep training super hard and work harder than everyone else.”
Judging by his training at Thorold Elite, that won’t be a problem.
“Braeden is a great athlete and he is always, always at practice. He puts in the work each day. He sprints, hurdles, and does weight training two or three times a week with an all-important rest day,” Thorold Elite coach Steven Fife said. “That is the kind of full-time commitment that it takes to become this calibre of an athlete. He spends time daily working on mobility and flexibility and those are some of the little things that make a big difference but not every athlete is willing to do those things. He does.”
Fife is looking forward to what comes next in Brouwer’s running career.
“We are very excited to see Braeden continue onto the next chapter of his journey in track and field and to continue pursuing excellence as an athlete at a facility and an environment that will provide him everything necessary to succeed at a great level.”
