Torrey Pines High School and Wave Volleyball Club alum Brooklyn Burns was recently honored with the San Diego Sports Association’s Alex Smith Courage in Sports Award, recognizing her endurance in life and sports after beating Hodgkin lymphoma as a senior in high school.
Cancer-free since 2022, Burns now plays volleyball at Cal Poly, where her team captured its first regular-season title since 2018 and made it to the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championships, losing in the finals.
Burns received her award at the the Salute to the Champions gala last month where the 2024 San Breitbard Hall of Fame inductees included former San Diego Padres Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez, and WNBA player Chardé Houston.
“The Alex Smith Courage in Sports Award recognizes athletes who have overcome significant personal challenges to continue playing the sport they love, just like Alex Smith did in the NFL after surviving a life-threatening leg infection,” said Annie Heilbrunn, executive director of the San Diego Sports Association. “Brooklyn demonstrated remarkable strength and resilience in the face of her cancer diagnosis, refusing to let it keep her from returning to the volleyball court. Her perseverance and strength of spirit embody the Courage in Sports Award.”
“Cancer was something I never thought I was going to go through, being an extremely healthy kid,” Burns said. “It was really hard, I won’t sugarcoat it. Knowing that I had a support system that could get me through anything life presented me was how I stayed courageous…I knew there was a light.”
Looking back, Burns considers cancer a “small blip in her life”. Growing up in Carmel Valley, her parents put her in all kinds of different sports to keep her active. There was too much running in soccer and she didn’t like the contact in basketball but volleyball was something she really loved. She started playing at Wave when she was eight years old and stayed for 10 seasons, loving the team aspect of playing with all her friends and the mentorship of her coaches who shaped her into the person and player she is today.
“Brooklyn Burns is one of the most compassionate and inspiring athletes to have come through WAVE. Not only was she a phenomenal player who competed at the highest level in club volleyball, but she was also incredibly generous and kind to the younger athletes,” said Brennan Dean, executive director of WAVE Volleyball. “Brooklyn has been a fantastic role model for all WAVE athletes, and we are immensely proud of her accomplishments and her courageous fight against cancer.”
Burns was diagnosed with cancer during her senior year of high school at Torrey Pines, her life shook up at a time when the excitement was just starting to ramp up for all that comes next.
That February of 2022 she went into urgent care after experiencing a strange onset of chest pain. After spending two and half weeks at Rady Children’s Hospital, she received the life-altering diagnosis of cancer. From February through April, she underwent two rounds of different types of chemotherapy.
“It’s hard because I’m naturally very active, it was definitely a huge pause in my world,” Burns said. It was hard for her to remember to slow down and not push, to rest and do what was best for her body.
Being immunocompromised during the pandemic, she wasn’t able to leave the house much and she wasn’t able to finish her club volleyball season with all of her friends at Wave. On some days, she went to Wave’s practices and watched through a window: “The whole team wore masks so I could be there which was just the most amazing experience,” she said. “They were a huge reason I was able to get through what I went through.”
Burns learned she was cancer-free just in time for senior prom. A moving video posted on her Instagram shows her ringing the bell at Rady’s, marking the end of her cancer treatment.
“I was so spoiled because I really did have the best staff,” Burns said. “They knew I wanted to be cured and my goal was to play volleyball again so they made sure I was on the best path possible and really advocated for my health. It was really special.”
Burns had already committed to Cal Poly in August going into her senior year and at first she was hesitant to share what was going on with her health and what it would mean for her volleyball career. It was a scary time but Cal Poly head coach Caroline Walters assured her that even if she never played volleyball again, they still wanted her in their program. It was a relief to know that she didn’t have to be so stressed about missing time or training and she could just finish up high school knowing she was going to a college program.
“It was hard, even things to this day are hard. I’m almost three years cancer free and there’s still things I’m just behind in,” Burns said. “I’m so grateful to be healthy now. Survivorship is hard and I don’t think it’s talked about a ton in the cancer community….I have a new perspective for life in general but it comes with its challenges because it took a really, really long time for my body to be where it is.”
On those days when she doesn’t feel 100 percent, when she can’t be pushed too much, she is grateful to have the support of Cal Poly’s strength and conditioning staff who have given her a lot of grace and let her go at her own pace, she said. At Cal Poly, Burns feels valued as a person before an athlete and, as a result, she has remained healthy and strong throughout college.
At Cal Poly, Burns will soon be going into her senior year, a bittersweet “year of lasts”. She is studying psychology and minoring in exercise and sports with the hopes of pursuing a career in sports psychology.
Her last volleyball season will start this fall with the setter gunning for a Big West Championship and to play in the NCAA Tournament. At Cal Poly, she shares the court with London Haberfield, a La Costa Canyon alum from Encinitas whom she has played volleyball with since she was 12 years old.
“It’s the most special thing to have a friend and teammate going into college…it was a really big comfort especially in the situation I was in,” Burns said. “I felt out of touch when I was coming back from cancer and I couldn’t imagine going through college with anyone else.”
Burns was touched when she found out she was being honored with the Alex Smith award, especially after learning more about his inspiring story. She was lucky to be able to come home to Encinitas for the weekend for the Jan. 13 event held at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla. It was an admittedly cool experience to be in the room with so many amazing athletes and she didn’t expect that room to be so full of people when it came time to accept her award and make a speech. She almost cried when she saw her head coach Walters in attendance, having flown down to San Diego to surprise her.
Making a speech was just another opportunity to express her gratitude for all the family, friends, coaches and teammates who lifted her up, believed in her ability and gave her a chance.
“I think I’m courageous because I know I have a group of people who will support me no matter what,” Burns said. “Survivorship is hard and it’s such a big change in my life and I think knowing I have people to lean on in good and bad days, no matter what, gives me the strength and courage that I need.”
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