The Vallejo High girls basketball season was tumultuous last year as the program went through two head coaches.
For players like Bryele Wallace, this upcoming sports year could be even crazier … but in a different way.
When fall sports were postponed by the California Interscholastic Federation due to the coronavirus pandemic, most activities were delayed until the 2021 calendar year. That included basketball, which normally starts in November but official practice won’t begin until March 15.
The problem? Track and field begins at roughly the same time.
Last March the CIF postponed spring sports and then ultimately canceled them in April so the track team was only able to complete three meets.
“That hurt so bad,” Wallace said. “We didn’t have track and we couldn’t even play AAU (for basketball),” she said.
Redhawks head track coach Mike Wilson admitted that playing basketball and competing in track will be difficult for many athletes.
“Unfortunately, track and field may have to take a back seat to basketball,” Wilson said. “Those are two hard sports to do at the same time. In basketball, it takes an explosive muscle and for track it’s more of an elongated muscle. For someone like Bryele, she might be able to do it since she’s a thrower. Weight lifting might affect her for basketball but could also make her stronger for rebounds.”
Wallace, 16, has been practicing basketball outside with some of her teammates during the offseason. Demetrius Nelson, the second head coach the Redhawks had last season, helps the players out when he can.
Nelson is now an assistant basketball coach at Mt. Diablo High but he has high hopes for players like Wallace.
“She continues to develop and understand her role,” Nelson said. “She’s put in lots of extra work. She’s been working on her dribbling, shooting and being more physical.”
Wallace agreed that she wants to improve in all facets of the game.
“I want to get better at everything,” she said. “I don’t want to be known for just one thing. In track, I want to get stronger and really improve my form.”
The new girls basketball coach at Vallejo High will be Brendan Harris, a teacher at the school.
Wilson said he had a number of two-sport athletes last spring, including five or six girls basketball players. He said it could have a bigger effect this season even though the school is allowing athletes to play two sports in the same season.
“We’ve had some baseball players who have also run track and we might split them up, having them do baseball three days and track two days,” he said. “They have to be in good track shape or they have a chance of pulling a muscle. In basketball, I suspect some will pick basketball since it might be the more glamorous sport.”
Nelson said it was tough on many of the basketball players going through two coaches last year but he was pleased the team came together in the Tri-County Athletic League Stone Division playoffs, beating Hercules 57-56 in a thriller.
“In a sense, the girls felt they lost their family (during the coaching change),” Nelson said. “They say that a team that lays together, stays together and they were all really close. I have to give them credit though — they managed to stay together and reach their goal of making the (TCAL) playoffs.”
Like all her classmates, Wallace continues distance learning at home.
“It’s hard because I’m not really a visual learner; I like 1-on-1 attention, but it’s OK,” she said. “I’d much rather be at school though.”
She has siblings that are 3 and 4 years old when she is trying to study.
“I’m have my own room but I try to help with my family too,” Wallace said. “I’m trying to be a sister too.”
Wallace said her classmates generally feel the same about eventually coming back to the school.
“We all talk about it all the time,” she said. “It’s pretty crazy. We used to say that we didn’t want to be in school. I guess we got our wish.”
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October 20, 2020 at 05:44AM
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Vallejo High’s Bryele Wallace will try to navigate two sports in 2021 - Vallejo Times-Herald
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