Wilson Brockie (Northern Arapaho): Three-time Wyoming State Team Golf Champion At Lander Valley HS

By Dan Ninham (Oneida)

Wilson Brockie, 17, is a member of the Northern Arapaho, Eastern Shoshoni, and Gros Ventre tribes. His Indian name is Hiwoxuu meaning Elk. His parent’s are Rosalie Brockie and Travis Brockie. 

“I am a senior at Lander Valley HS, Lander, WY,” said Wilson. “I’ve played varsity golf all four years of high school. I started as a freshman at Rio Rancho HS in Albuquerque, NM. Shot a round of 75 in my first high school tournament. In New Mexico, you have to qualify for state by doing well in tournaments. I missed going to state by one stroke. After my freshman year we moved back to my home state Wyoming. I attended Lander Valley HS, mainly because they were the closest school to where I lived that had a golf team. I made varsity and helped Lander Valley HS win three consecutive state titles. I was a big factor for them winning three years in a row. I also received all-conference and all-state all three years.”

“My teammates have positively influenced me,” said Wilson. “Jaren Calkins is a year younger but he is a great golfer and student. He reminds me that there are always better people than you and that I can always improve my game. Dominic Yates is a homeschooled senior and is a very nice and kind person. I’d say we are pretty close as terms of skill set. He and I will be playing together in college at Central Wyoming College. He also reminds me that I can’t stop working on my game and presents the level of golf I need to put out.”

“Jason Black, my golf coach when I went to Rio Rancho HS was a positive influence,” said Wilson. “I could hit the ball as far or even further than him and he still beat me. He always pushed me to practice and improve my game. He was always positive and is a great coach. He always made sure we had nice equipment. He helped the mental aspect of the game for me, and he always had something for me to read so the mental aspect would be better. He would make us work out as a team in a weights period. He reminds me to stay positive even if things are at its worst.”

“Wilson was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had play for me,” said Jason Black, school golf coach at Rio Rancho HS in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. “He always showed up to the course every day with a smile and a great attitude. He also kept us on his feet with his humor. One day at practice he was chipping and then he was gone and we couldn’t find him all we could hear was laughing we look down and Wilson was at the bottom of the bunker because he had fallen in.”

“I am physically capable of manipulating the ball a certain way,” said Wilson. “I lift weights, go on bike rides, stretch, and go on hikes. When I first started, my mental game was bad. I would get mad and frustrated so easily, but now it has gotten better and I think it is the best it has ever been. I continue to learn more and make it stronger. I have a really strong faith in the Creator and it makes me believe in myself so I am confident on the course and if I only focus on me then I’ll do great. When things get stressful on the course I get really tense and my body has a mind of its own. I usually look around and realize where I am, sometimes the views of the golf course are amazing and I take it in and breathe. I breathe in through the nose and hold for about five seconds and exhale out slowly. It usually relaxes me so I can focus back to what I need to do.”

“My passion for golf started when I was three years old,” said Wilson. “My dad took me to the course to hit some balls. He said people started to stop and watch me hit because I was hitting them well. He said I was like a little machine.”

“Golf isn’t a native traditional sport but I was gifted with talent from the Creator and it has taken me places I would have never gotten from any other sport,” said Wilson. “I plan to work hard and try to go pro.”

Photo Credit: Wilson Brockie