Fairview High School senior Brooke Leininger has taken advantage of her opportunity this year.

Most wouldn’t call a serious knee injury that kept her sidelined during the entire volleyball season and probably the basketball season an opportunity. But the injury has given Leininger a chance for growth.

She enjoys her time in peer ministry through the Lutheran Lites group at Zion Lutheran Church in Fairview.

Leininger

“We help the people in school that are being picked on,” the daughter of Eric and Lynette Leininger said. “We’re supposed to be like peer leaders.”

The senior says the organization has also helped her on a personal basis. For example, despite a strong family history of being Catholic, she wasn’t sure if she believed more in the Catholic or Lutheran faith or somewhere in between.

“It helped me find out who I was as a person,” Leininger said.

She added her relationships with family and friends have improved this year.

“Good relationships with your family and friends don’t always come easy,” Leininger said. “You get what you put into it. It’s a two-way relationship.”

She is also involved in the school’s science club where she serves as president. Members work on experiments to demonstrate to younger students. A highlight of the year is traveling to the science museum in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Leininger, a member of Explore America, is looking forward to that organization’s trip to Washington, D.C., this spring. When asked if she plans to bump into current president-elect Barack Obama, “I hope so, I want to,” Leininger said.

Other activities for the 3.6 grade point average student include math club and National Honor Society.

As far as her knee, it’s on the mend. She injured it in the first quarter of Fairview’s final girls basketball game last year. After receiving the diagnosis of a bone bruise, Leininger tried to play for high school softball until there was too much pain to continue.

She then went to a different physician, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lotfi Ben-Youssef, who discovered Leininger had a torn ACL during arthroscopic surgery. She was told she couldn’t do athletic activities for 6-9 months.

“I started freaking out,” Leininger said. “I saw my mom crying, and I started crying.”

In July, she had her knee operated on by Dr. Scott in Billings.

“Volleyball was really hard for me to miss because that is the one sport I really love,” Leininger said.

Colleges were looking at her for volleyball prior to the injury, and she’s still hoping to land a scholarship or be given a chance to play.

As far as playing basketball, there’s a chance she could be given clearance to play at around tournament time.

“I’m pretty good,” she said of her health. “It all depends if my muscle mass is where it needs to be. I might be able play for tournaments, but that’s a big if.”

Her physical therapy includes running a mile at the fitness center three times a week and hitting the weights.

“I feel pretty good about it. I don’t feel any pain except if I kneel for a long time,” Leininger said. “It’s been hard not playing sports. I’ve been a rough houser my whole life.”

Even if she can’t make it back for basketball, she says her high school athletic career isn’t over.

Leininger worked to get the Sidney and Fairview school districts to agree on a three-year co-op last year. “The doctor says I can play softball for sure,” Leininger said.

editor@sidneyherald.com