Kerr-Brown Becoming a Leader for Duke Wrestling

DURHAM, N.C.-A quiet, shy and unassuming 18-year old put himself to the ultimate test and stepped out of his comfort zone this summer and quickly realized that it might be just where he belongs. Immanuel Kerr-Brown, a redshirt freshman for the Duke wrestling team, spent four days this summer at the United States Olympic Training Center collaborating and learning how to become a better leader in and out of the athletics arena.

Nominated by head coach Clar Anderson, Kerr-Brown partook in the FLAME, Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere, program with other minority athletes from around the country, including a wrestler from NC State. They talked about how to prepare for their future after sports, got advice from Olympians who have succeeded on the biggest stages and learned about what it takes to be a leader.

"When I was contacted about nominating a wrestler for this leadership training opportunity at the Olympic Training Center, I immediately thought of Immanuel," Anderson said. "Immanuel has demonstrated himself as a team leader and one of the hardest working student-athletes on the Duke wrestling team. IKB is an amazing young man. He is studying mechanical engineering and has aspirations to get a certificate in aerospace engineering. These endeavors are very challenging by themselves, but add the demands of training and competing at the Division I level is truly a feat in itself."

Kerr-Brown, known by his peers as one of the hardest workers on the team and an outstanding example to mimic, is not necessarily a vocal leader and often is quite reserved in everything he does. The native of Rome, Ga., leads by example on the mat, in the weight room and in the classroom. He is an engineering major in Duke's demanding Pratt School of Engineering and is one of the most well-liked individuals by everyone involved with the program.

His strength and dedication in the weight room is outstanding and strength and conditioning coach Alayne Rusnak doesn't have enough adjectives to describe Kerr-Brown and what he brings to the program. He has improved his strength this year by nearly 25 percent, an incredible jump in a single year. Kerr-Brown once held a plank, a core exercise where he holds his weight on his elbows and toes, for 10 minutes before Rusnak put a 45-pound weight on his back. And even then he lasted four more minutes.

In the classroom, Kerr-Brown is equally as dedicated and the team's Academic Coordinator, Khary McGhee, understands exactly why Anderson picked him to be a part of this program.

"It's amazing to see the consistency of character and work ethic in our student-athletes. The kids I see busting their tail and utilizing every resource possible to get the best grades they can get are almost always the same kids coaches will praise for their work ethic," McGhee said. "So it was no shock at all to hear that coaches and teammates alike are sometimes in awe of Immanuel during workouts. As an engineering student here at Duke, he is taking on some of the toughest classes we offer here. And he faces that challenge head on, doing whatever it takes to excel in the classroom. Immanuel is the kid you'd want every student-athlete to be."

So it's obvious that Kerr-Brown has the work ethic and overall ability to succeed. Add in outstanding leadership capabilities and he has all the tools to shine. Being a leader involves everything from stepping up to make a decision, being the first one at practice every day and holding a teammate accountable. Most of all a leader can't be afraid to take the reins and run with them.

"One of the big things we talked about was not being afraid to be bold," Kerr-Brown said. "That's one of the things that is kind of important in a leader. You can't be afraid to step on some toes every once in a while and you can't be afraid to take a risk and go outside of your comfort zone. That was the biggest thing for me. I don't like talking in front of people and that's one big thing I'm trying to work on. "

Despite his self-proclamations that he is shy and doesn't like to speak in front of people, Kerr-Brown was pleasantly surprised when one of his fellow conference attendees told him that she would never believe he was shy. And with that right there the seed was planted that he was and will be a leader.

Perhaps the strongest lesson for him came from Vonetta Flowers, the first African-American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. A track star in college, she missed qualifying for the Olympics in track and field, but a new opportunity presented itself when the United States was looking for sprinters to be on the women's bobsled team. She decided to pursue this chance and made history by winning the gold medal.

"[She demonstrated that] what I want or what I think I want might not be the actual direction I'm going to take so I need to keep my mind open for every opportunity there is."

Now back on campus, Kerr-Brown has become an active member of SAAC, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and participated in a summer leadership retreat with fellow Duke student-athletes. He is heading volunteer efforts for the wrestling team and showing every day that he will be a leader that people look to this season and for seasons to come.

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Kerr-Brown Becoming a Leader for Duke Wrestling

Players Mentioned

Immanuel Kerr-Brown

Duke information

Kerr-Brown Becoming a Leader for Duke Wrestling

Players Mentioned

Immanuel Kerr-Brown

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Duke information