ST. LOUIS — On March 16th, 17 years ago, a baby was born. His name was Chris Brooks Junior.
His parents were just teenagers. They decided to make the best of a difficult situation. Brittany Winston and her husband Chris Sr. decided to throw their lives into raising their little boy.
Brittany went to school for 10 years and got three degrees. Chris Sr. was a star high school football player at Hazelwood East. He worked at Denny’s, went to class and became a high school football star. He later played at Nebraska and the NFL. However, no matter what they did, raising their son was the number one priority.
It worked out pretty well. Chris Brooks Jr. just had one of the most scintillating high school football seasons in the area at SLUH. He scored 21 touchdowns and was virtually unstoppable down the stretch for the Junior Billikens.
He also excels in the classroom. He will be attending Yale next year. He knows exactly that his parents love and dedication to him had a big role in the success he is now living.
“I was with my mom every day of the year. She is someone I could come to about anything. My dad is responsible for all my athletic career and my mom is responsible for the academics. Academics are her thing. Any time I get a B, she’s all over me. My dad would push me at all times. He would wake me up at 5:00 to make sure I was going on a run or a lifting. Without him, I wouldn’t have done it," Brooks Jr. said.
For the parents, it was a labor of love.
“We are best friends. It’s an honor being his mom. God doesn’t make any mistakes. I just enjoy being his mom. He is a great kid. He is so humble," Brittany said.
“It wasn’t that difficult. We would be going to a movie and he would be in the back seat reading a book. I would tell him it was ok to take a break," Brooks Sr. said.
Remember the name Chris Books Jr. Next year, he will play his games on Saturdays. Maybe in four years, he will be playing his games on Sunday.