Aiming for Gold

Aiming for Gold

Cinda Brooks, of Spicewood, Texas, triggers her revolver, takes aim at a paper silhouette target 25 yards away, and fires off rounds with amazing accuracy. Between target practice, the 43-year-old lieutenant game warden for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) hits the track, running several miles with her dog, Rusty.

All of the shooting and running, as well as hours of biking and swimming, are part of a weekly routine for Brooks, who’s training to defend her title as a six-time Women’s Biathlon Champion at the World Police and Fire Games, scheduled June 26 to July 5 in Quebec, Canada.

Since 1993, Brooks has entered and won at the biennial competition, where 10,000 fire and police athletes from 50 countries compete in 50 different events. In the biathlon event, Brooks’ specialty, participants must run one mile and fire 12 rounds of ammunition at a target 25 yards away, then repeat the sequence two more times.

While another first-place finish would further her reign as the games’ winningest competitor, Brooks says she doesn’t compete just to take home another gold medal. Instead, she uses her athletic success as a way to inspire and encourage others—something that comes in handy as an instructor at the Game Warden Training Academy in Austin, where she prepares the next generation of Texas game wardens.

"These accomplishments give me credibility when I teach cadets," says the slender, 5-foot, 5-inch athlete.

She’s an involved instructor, who gently encourages cadets to overcome both mental and physical challenges, whether it’s on the obstacle course or teaching cadets how to gain control over high-pressure situations.

"Every person she trains has the tools to survive incidents where one error can mean the difference in living or dying," says her supervisor, Assistant Chief Stacy Bishop. "She is passionate about fitness, both physical and mental."

Recently commissioned Game Warden Mike Mitchell, who trained under Brooks, agrees. "She is like a bolt of lighting," he says. "Her technical skills and defense strategies are awe-inspiring."

Brooks’ love of physical activity came early in life. Raised by missionary parents in Tanzania and Kenya, her family enjoyed hiking, biking and camping. "We climbed Mount Kilimanjaro when I was in sixth grade," she says. "I thought everybody did stuff like that."

Watching her parents work—her father a doctor and mother a nurse—and helping them in medical clinics instilled compassion and a can-do attitude, she says.

Brooks, who earned a master’s degree in health promotion from the University of Texas, became familiar with the TPWD when she was hired to teach a wellness program at the academy. The active outdoor lifestyle fit her perfectly, and she became a game warden in 1990.

"Now I have one foot in law enforcement and one foot in nursing, since I also teach wellness, first aid and CPR," she says.

Beyond her job and competition, Brooks also works in the community to motivate young women to "go for it—do whatever they want to do." She speaks to Girl Scout troops and conducts workshops for women through the TPWD and community groups on developing a champion mindset, which she says requires nurturing mind, body and spirit.

"I wasn’t always confident," she says. "Fear of failure kept me from telling anyone the first time I competed, but with prayer and mental focus, I’ve learned to manage fear." Now, the ability to perform under pressure is one of her greatest assets, and she strives daily to pass that confidence on to others.

"My job is to bring out the champion in others whenever I can," she says.

For Brooks, that means leading by example, something she hopes to do once again at the World Police and Fire Games.

For more information on the World Police and Fire Games, log on to www.2005wpfg.org/eng.

Beverly Burmeier is a freelance writer in Austin, Texas.

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