ATHENS — At 14, Jackson Brooks began training with an NCAA champion. A year later, he already ranks in the all-time top 10 on the Clarke Central High School leaderboards in five track-and-field events as a freshman.
“He can do everything,” Gladiators boys track and field coach Zack Howard said. “He’s really, really, really good at a lot of things, and he’s great in some areas.”
Most high school track and field athletes specialize in one or two events. Being a true decathlete, such as Brooks, is rare.
“It was normal to me,” Brooks said. “It was like, ‘Why would I only train for one event, when I can do everything?’”
Brooks grew up watching and interacting with decathletes from the University of Georgia, where his dad, Josh Brooks, is the athletic director.
This connection has benefited the younger Brooks in his athletic career, but he’s determined to dispel any narratives that he succeeds based on a proverbial leg up.
“People assume that stuff has been given to me,” Jackson Brooks said. “I’ve had some resources, but people don’t understand what it takes to be in track. Nothing’s given to you in track.”
The Gladiators finished first at the area championships in March. The sectional meet is Saturday at Greenbrier High in Augusta, and the Class 5A championships are May 9-10 at Barron Stadium in Rome.
Credit: Noah Buice
Credit: Noah Buice
Clarke Central has not won a state championship since 2011. With Brooks racking up points in nearly every event, along with other top multiple-event athletes including Derrion Richardson and LaGracion Little, the Gladiators have the all-around talent to win in Rome.
The decathlon is one of the most grueling events in track and field, but Brooks developed the confidence and discipline to compete at a young age.
“USATF has a triathlon for 9- and 10-year-olds, and that’s where it all started,” Brooks said. “My dad was like, ‘Oh, you can throw shot (put). We haven’t thrown shot, but you run the 400, and you can learn high jump and shot.’ So that’s where it all started, and it’s been from there to the pentathlon, and then now, where I’m at decathlon, final stop.”
Former UGA decathlete and NCAA champion Kyle Garland began training Brooks in 2023 through his connection with Brooks’ dad. Early on, Garland could tell that Brooks had the maturity and determination to succeed.
“You can talk to some kids, and you can tell them to do certain things, but it’s like, are they really going to do it?” Garland said. “Jackson’s that kid that’s really going to do it. He’s extremely dedicated to doing the small things so that he can be the best.”
Brooks’ dad enjoys having Garland around and said that he has been a great influence on and off the track.
“Jackson looks up to Kyle — Kyle is his LeBron,” Josh Brooks said.
That idolization might turn into fierce competition someday. Garland is nine years older than Brooks, but given the 16-year-old’s potential, he could be competing against his current coach within the next decade.
“There may be a day where he could be in a meet with Kyle,” his dad said. “You know, how cool would that be?”
As Brooks and the Gladiators prepare for sectional and state meets, they’re getting a taste of how NCAA champions train. Garland is also an assistant volunteer coach on Howard’s staff, a position he found out about through Brooks’ dad after he started training the younger Brooks.
“I was like, ‘You know, it’s something that’ll kind of occupy my time a little bit more, and something that I think will be fun, because ultimately, I think I want to be a coach in some way, shape or form,’” Garland said.
Garland lives in nearby Jefferson and makes the drive to Athens six days per week to train with the UGA track and field team as well as to help Brooks and the Clarke Central team.
“I think this journey with Jackson has really shaped me into who I am today,” Garland said. “I’m really excited to see how it plays out for him, and, you know, hopefully at some point he is taking my numbers down. That means I’ve been doing something right as a coach.”
Brooks also plans to play wide receiver for the Gladiators next season. He sees the application of football workouts to track, and vice versa.
“The speed work and the agility and the strength, it’s only gonna benefit me,” said Brooks.
Brooks’ goal is to win an Olympic gold medal in the decathlon.
His first step will be qualifying for the 2028 Olympic trials, an event he already has marked on his mental calendar.
For now, he is focused on finishing his freshman year of high school — perhaps winning a state championship along the way.
Dylan Clearfield is a student in the University of Georgia’s undergraduate Sports Media Certificate program.
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