Meet our Seniors: Brody Carlson

Brody Carlson is a natural athlete who enjoys whatever sport he happens to be playing at any given time.

Right now it happens to be football in March.

"It's freezing in this weather," he said, remarking on one of the adjustments high school athletes have made during the pandemic, with shortened seasons starting late in the academic year, and out of order.

Brody is the quarterback for the Mule football team. In two weeks he'll be playing shortstop for the baseball team, and in late April, he'll be firing shots from the three point line for the basketball team.

He's thinking about adding a fourth sport this year.

"I really got into golf this last summer, because it was about all we could do with covid-19," Brody said. "I was working at the market, and I bought myself a nice set of clubs. Before football started, I was playing five times a week."

He's spent most of his time at Skyline Golf Course in Cathlamet, but last weekend, he and a friend played a couple rounds at a course in Longview.

Marc Niemeyer, who has been a teacher and has coached him in every sport, is his favorite educator.

"He is probably one of my biggest role models," Brody said. "I feel like everything we do, he always has a life lesson behind it. Everything he does, he takes pride in being successful and being a great father."

Brody enjoys his classes, including the more challenging ones he's been taking at Lower Columbia College through their Running Start program.

"I like everything but math," he laughed.

He wasn't sure where he wanted to go after high school, so he decided to get a jump on it. He will be one class shy of an AA degree when he graduates from Wahkiakum High School this spring.

In October, he will join his brother and friends at Northwest Lineman School in Idaho. After that, he plans to return to school for a degree in business.

As for high school, there are a few things that will always stay with him. The first is the moment his twin brother, Beau, suffered a life threatening brain injury during a Mule football game. The second will forever be the first time Beau stepped up to home plate, following the injury, and hit a home run for the Mule baseball team.

The third? When the basketball team made it to the state tournament.

Brody is the son of Leihanna and Brad Carlson.