Jayden Brown is this week’s Walborsky, Bradley and Fleming Student Athlete of the Week

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) -Jayden Brown has been playing softball since she can remember but it’s not because diamonds are a girls best friend. In fact, it’s kind of the opposite. ”It was not girly I feel like.” Brown says “I feel like it wasn’t girly. Getting down and like getting dirty and everything about it has just like made me love it and the people around it as well.” This year Brown is one of two senior leaders on the team, meaning she has a bigger platform to set the example. She says she uses that platform to spread her key to success throughout the team. ”I think that’s the biggest thing for me, it’s putting God first. Because if you don’t put Him first, everything’s not going to go well. That’s how you succeed. And then always interacting with each other and getting to know each other.”

“She’s a great leader.” says Arnold head softball coach Rick Green “She’s not blessed with lots and lots of raw talent, but she’s blessed with a lot of stuff right up here.”That stuff up there would be called her brains. As in she’s got the smarts, the drive and a 3.9 GPA to prove it. “Once you show her grades, I mean you’re getting a great student.” says coach Green “So a college is not going to be wasting any money on Jayden Brown.” “If I don’t do well in school, I can’t play softball.” Brown says “So I feel like for me to go to college then I have to have good grades and I feel like that’s just the number one aspect of being able to succeed in general.” Brown doesn’t have her college plans set in stone quite yet but she does know what environment she wants to settle in and what culture she wants to grow through “I’ve been talking to a few college coaches right now but I’m not exactly sure but I know I want to go to a Christian college, that’s my biggest thing.” She’s also hoping those talks turn into scholarships, and through the 3 games Brown has played, she’s hitting .400 while leading the team in stolen bases, so she could be prime to sign in the near future, looking for more than just a roster spot. “I just love it. I love the people surrounded by it. And one if you go to college for it, you get to meet so many amazing people and coaches and you’re already around that hemisphere of people.”

Jayden is hoping to go into some sort of Christian ministry beyond college. Newschannel 7′s Student Athlete of the Week is sponsored by Walborsky, Bradley and Fleming.