Blue Ridge Softball Player Remembered

Brooke Deckard, 20, made a huge impression on a small town. She was one of four players killed late Friday night when a tractor-trailer collided with the bus that Deckard and 14 other members of the North Central Texas College softball team was riding home from a scrimmage.

“I know she was like a huge inspiration to everyone in Blue Ridge,” said Brandi Elmore, a member of the current Blue Ridge High School Softball Team, “She was like one of the most sweetest girls I’ve met in my entire life.” 

“Everybody loved her — it’s just hard to believe she’s actually gone,” Elmore said, “she left the biggest impression on Blue Ridge — she’s the reason everybody loves Blue Ridge.”

Jeffrey Williams served as the assistant softball coach during part of Deckard’s time with the team and coached her in other sports as well.

“Brooke Deckard was the ultimate competitor,” Williams said, “The bigger the game, the bigger she played; she just had a type of personality that was infectious.”

Deckard graduated from Blue Ridge High School in 2013 before going to play softball at NCTC in Gainesville. But, it was back in her hometown of Blue Ridge where her family, friends, teachers and coaches gathered to remember her at a special service Sunday. They all describe her as a leader.

Off the field she was the type of woman who would do the right thing even if nobody was looking, and on the field she was a true athlete, according to Williams.

“She really is a true champion in my mind,” Williams said. “You just look at her life and she was a phenomenal person.”

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