Jersey's Brooke Tuttle West Point Journey Involved Many To Get There

JERSEYVILLE - Multi-sport athlete/academic scholar Brooke Tuttle of Jersey made it official Monday, signing her letter of intent to the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point.

Tuttle has a .700 batting average with 14 hits in 20 at-bats so far this season for the Panthers with three RBI. She is also a basketball and softball star, a cheerleader and an exceptional student.

Brooke is the daughter of Brad and Kristine Tuttle of Jerseyville.

Brad Tuttle is the Jersey Schools superintendent. He said life for the Tuttle family is always busy. He said when the family moved to Jerseyville, Brooke and her brother, Brett, were in the middle of high school and it was a challenge, but both adapted in good fashion.

Brett is a college athlete at Rose Hulman and now Brooke is going to West Point. She was also accepted at the Air Force Academy.

Brad commended Kris for keeping the family organized with her big calendar.

Brad said setting a bar high for children is important. “We had expectations for Brooke and at times had some tough conversations, but she came through,” Brad said. He said he and Kris are extremely proud of their children and their accomplishments.

Kris has an interesting approach to family life and raising children. She is a local attorney by day, mom by night. “If you have high expectations for your kids and let them know they are going to fail sometimes, it is OK, but you need to let them know you will always be there for them. Brett helped pave the way for Brooke.”

Kris’ philosophy with the children is pretty simple: “If you put your children to bed happy and wake them up happy, that works well,” she said.

Dan Paulson, who coached her summer team in Mattoon for the past three years, said Brooke has a strong work ethic and attitude.

“She is second to none with her desire,” he said. “She came in the first week we met her with the type of school she wanted to go to and to see her achieve that is phenomenal.”

Paulson’s summer team plays across the country, which helped get Brooke noticed by West Point.

Brooke said she looks forward to the challenges West Point will bring. “It was a different experience visiting there and being surround by people like yourself with the same expectations, morals and future goals,” she said. “I have never been around more people just like me. I report July 1; I have a couple weeks once school ends to get myself prepared for the challenge. I am ready for the next challenge.”