By Katie Norman

Photo by Chris Hammond Basketball is just one aspect of Jenine Browne’s very full life on campus.

The basketball courts are the second home of Sea-Hawks’ star, Jenine Browne. After a stellar year of basketball, she has dominated sports media coverage across the province. And the accolades are well-deserved. Her list of on-court accomplishments include three Canadian scoring titles, three national all-star selection, two provincial athlete of the year awards, and the list goes on.

Despite the attention focused on her ability to score double-digit points like clockwork, fans know little about the woman behind the shiny burgundy shorts and jersey. The Gazette sat down recently to get the scoop on the extracurricular and academic life behind the Sea-Hawks top gun.

Hailing from St. Bride’s, a rural community on the Cape Shore, north of Cape St. Mary’s, much of Ms. Browne’s youth was spend with a basketball in hand. “I’ve been playing since I was four or five. It’s been a long time.” She’s been a star on the court since high school. “When I was in high school I had a lot of people recruiting me, trying to get me to go to university. I knew that it would be a big step. I knew then if I kept practicing I would be a part of the team and help a team out.”

With many offers from Canadian and American universities what made her choose Memorial? She reveals a decision that more and more Newfoundlanders are making. A choice to remain at home and study at Memorial, a place that is a part of the province’s history and provides a quality education. Ms. Browne said she wanted to be a part of that history. “I’ve been watching the basketball games here since I was really young. When I was young I always wanted to play with the Sea-Hawks. Seeing see all those names, seeing that there is so much hype about them, I wanted to be a Sea-Hawk. It just all came through.”

The real estate slogan “location, location, location” seemed to be a major factor in her decision as well. “I started thinking about all the other universities but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to play here at home with all the fans and where my family can see me every weekend.”

Ms. Browne has proudly chosen Memorial, a fact she shows when she travels with her team. “When you go away you’re representing your school and that’s important.”

Currently in her fourth year of kinesiology, Ms. Browne has had success not only in tournaments but also in the classroom. Interestingly, her success on the courts has enabled her to succeed in other areas of life. Studies have shown that people involved in sports perform better in the classroom. She is definitely one of the studies that confirmed this hypothesis.

Photo by Chris Hammond Jenine Browne helped lead Memorial to the AUS championships at the Field House in 2003.

“There is so much discipline [in basketball]. You have to listen to your coach and everything is set out for you.” Basketball, she says, provides her with teamwork skills and confidence that have allowed her to succeed at Memorial. With any luck these skills will remain with her until her graduation next April and when she pursues her goal of studying physiotherapy.

While basketball may give her transferable skills, there is still the issue of fitting everything into one day. Like a motivational speaker on time management, Ms. Browne revealed her formula. “It’s a lot of time management. Every day is planned out. This is when I am going to study, this is when I am going to work out.”

The formula has to be flexible as well. The amount of time hitting the books instead of the courts varies from day to day. “It depends on if I have tests or assignments. Usually with basketball it’s mainly two to three hours in the gym practicing, then another couple of hours working out and then more time with mental training.”

Ms. Browne leads a basketball-dominated life. In fact she could not imagine her university career without the Sea-Hawks. “I think it would be a whole lot different. I don’t really know what I would be involved with because basketball has been my life forever. I think it would be a lot different. I’m not sure if I’d spend more time with academics because basketball takes out time to spend socializing and partying.” In fact she said that if she wasn’t on a varsity team she would probably replace that activity with a recreational basketball league.

That said, she does take time out of her busy schedule to give something back to the community. “With the Sea-Hawks you do what’s called a reading program. We go to different community centres. Two or three of us will go from my team and a couple from different varsity teams to read to the children. It is very important because the children spend so much time [following varsity sports], they know who we are, and they always watch the games.” She also makes appearances at summer camps for young athletes that Memorial sponsors.

For Ms. Browne, the next year will be focussed on her final season with Memorial basketball. After the disappointment of losing the Atlantic championship this spring, she wants to reclaim that crown and take aim at the national title.

Beyond that, what does the future hold besides physiotherapy? “I think I’m going to try a professional league in some countries. I’m going to try that for a few years and if I don’t like it I can always do back to academics.” And what about if she had more time to devote to other activities on campus? “I have no spare time to think about. If I did I’d take some time to try something new.”