Spotlight on: Callie Brownson

By Jasmine Rogers

This profile was written in 2012.

Today the spotlight is on Callie Brownson, one of our team captains this season. This defensive back plays a key role in our defense and recorded two deflected passes in our last game against Pittsburgh.

Brownson, the Mount Vernon High School softball coach and a diehard New York Yankees fan, is in her third year with the D.C. Divas. When she’s not spending time coaching softball or playing football, Brownson can be found hitting the books at George Mason University, where she is in her senior year studying sports management and international economics.

Spotlight on: Callie Brownson

What is your biggest accomplishment in sports?
Winning the district championship in softball my senior year of high school.

How did you get started playing football?
I used to watch college football with my dad every Saturday in the fall, and I just always wanted to play. My dad had heard about the Divas, so I went and tried out.

What was your biggest adjustment to football?
The contact, but I was excited for it.

What is your favorite football memory/moment?
My rookie season I was a backup quarterback, and I threw my first touchdown pass in our playoff game against Atlanta.

What is your biggest challenge, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Juggling family life, football life, coaching, work, and school. I’m the kind of person who likes to give 100 percent in all I do, so it can be exhausting.

What was the best advice you were ever given?
Hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard.

Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
“Nobody can go back and make a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
My dad…he raised my brother and me by himself and gave up a lot of his own personal life to ensure my brother and I had the best life we could have. He’s been my number one fan in everything I’ve done.

What does it mean to be selected by your teammates as team captain?
It’s an honor, one which I take very seriously. This team comes with a lot of history and tradition and a legacy that speaks for itself.

Looking back, what advice do you wish someone would have given you about football?
Have a short term memory. Mistakes are bound to happen, but the player you are is defined by how you fix those mistakes.

About Callie Brownson

Name: Callie Brownson
Age: 22
Hometown: Mount Vernon, VA
Educational Background: Student at George Mason University (sport management major, international economics minor), varsity softball coach at Mount Vernon High School
Years playing football: 3
Sports participated in: Softball, track, baseball, basketball
Total years in sports: 18