Woodside's Brown Plays the Silent Beast

Having just submitted an article on some Phoebus (Hampton, VA) high school soccer players who have succeeded each other as the valedictorian or salutatorian of their class, I got to thinking about some other athletes I have covered this school year who will also be graduating next month. Here's a piece from the Newport News Town Square section of the Daily Press on Shaheem Brown from Woodside High. It was published in early March. We met at the Peninsula District wrestling championships and the most striking thing to me was Brown's tranquility. He was very quiet. On the phone weeks later, the personality came out a bit more. Good kid..and I wish him well in the future.

In a sport known for its fierceness and physicality, Woodside’s Shaheem Brown possesses an uncommon aura of silence. At the Peninsula District championship last month, a first glimpse of Brown found the senior in the bleachers at Phoebus High School, headphones on, in total silence.
In this case, he was getting ready for a semifinal match. However, a later meeting presented a relatively soft-spoken young man who chooses his words carefully.

When asked about his penchant for appearing to be quiet, yet intense, Brown’s answer was well constructed, and humorous.

“Everybody at school asks me all the time if I’m mad. But if you get me in a conversation, I won’t stop.”

Brown did note his change in appearance during competition.

“When it comes time for a match, I’m getting ready. Basically, I am thinking that I know what I have to do.”

This quiet intensity has made Brown one of the more accomplished grapplers in the Peninsula District. Last year, he was the district champion at the 171-pound division. In the recently completed season, Brown moved up the 182-pound class and found a tough opponent for the Peninsula final in the form of Hampton’s Chris Lee., who entered the match undefeated at 9-0. The match was close at 3-2 after the first period, but a pair of takedowns in the second gave Lee an 8-4 advantage, and he held the momentum for a 10-5 decision.

Brown went on to win two matches at the Eastern region meet, only to eventually fall in the double elimination competition. Still, his final season record was an impressive 21-7, giving him a 35-12 mark for the final two years with the Wolverines.

But his start with the sport started three years ago at another school. While attending Bruton as a ninth grader, Brown’s older brother Shamar had decided to try out for wrestling. Looking for an ally in the sport, he recruited Shaheem to try out.

So, your brother and you got to wrestle together for a few years?

“Well no,” said Brown. “He only wrestled one year. Broke his hand.”

Woodside wrestling coach Doug Camp has his own recollections of meeting Brown.

“Since the first time that he walked into our mat room he has stood out from the rest as a natural leader. Since taking over the wrestling program he is my first District Champion. Personally, his drive to become better at wrestling or whatever he puts his mind to is always evident. Watching this young man grow these past three seasons has been a pleasure, I know he's going to go far in life.”

Even after losing his brother as a teammate, the younger brother stuck it out and wrestled for all four years of high school. There might be an opportunity to extend his season as preliminary talks are in place to begin a Peninsula vs. Bay Rivers wrestling tournament at the conclusion of each season. While the intention is to begin this event soon, parts of the talks have included an attempt to start the meet this year.

Would Brown be interested in perhaps wrestling against Andrew Junio of Tabb?

‘I probably would not,” answered Brown, again wasting no time in getting to the point, but speaking of the match itself, not the opposition. But his reasoning makes perfect sense. “I messed up my leg after regionals. Actually, it had bothered me all season, but I must have done something else to it that day.”

But his career on the mat may not be over. Brown’s plans, to no surprise, are well defined. His outlook on wrestling mirrors the choices he is currently making in life.

“I like having competition. I am always trying to get better.” Quiet, but driven.

His choice of colleges has narrowed to the University of Maryland or the Florida Institute of Technology. A future stint with the Air National Guard waits. There may still be time for wrestling.

“I may go on to club wrestling. But, if I go to Maryland, I might try to make the team as a walk-on.”

With the dedication and preparation that he puts into every other aspect of his life, there is every reason to believe that if any wrestler could walk-on and compete for a nationally recognized program, it could be the quiet, determined young man from Woodside.