After three straight losing season, where the Bulldogs have averaged a little more than four wins, the Sobrato girls basketball team will turn to a little youthful energy in 2012.
After leading the Gunderson junior varsity squad to a 23-3 record a year ago, Erica Wallace, 25, will take over the Sobrato program from Terry Smith, who left the program after last year’s 7-17 record.
In her first year at the helm, Wallace has already set high expectations for the team that returns only five seniors. With a youthful energy and confidence, the team has latched onto Wallace’s belief.
“I made it my personal record to be .500,” she said. “So I’m going to improve that. I think they already have it in the bag. It’s jut a little bit of confidence and them believing in themselves. I think we are going to surprise a few people this year.”
Wallace has a long history with basketball. Growing up in San Jose, Wallace grew up around the sport and played competitively dating back to middle school, she said.
“I came from a neighborhood where everyone played basketball, soccer or football,” she said. “You picked it up if you wanted to play with the rest of the kids.”
Eventually, Wallace played collegiate basketball at De Anza college. But a torn Achilles tendon ended her playing days but birthed a coaching resume. In each of the past six years, Wallace coached the Gunderson J.V. team under head coach John Drake.
“It’s all I know,” she said.
Under Drake she learned that building a strong basketball team comes from confidence, she said. The more confidence, the more shots will be made.
“A little bit of compliments for teenagers at this age goes a long ways,” she said. “Once they get that confidence from a few made baskets and you give a a couple of pats on the back, you’ll see their ego grow. You see that instant result.”
Her team already feels those changes.
“I think its better this year,” Tauheedah Id-Deen said. “I’m pretty excited. Our coach, she is toughie but its a good thing for our team. The energy level is way higher than it used to be. We had energy last year but this year is way more. We are way more confident this year that we have her as a coach. We are really motivated.”
And that confidence has translated to bigger expectations for the Bulldogs.
“I think we are going to come out strong,” senior Chelsea Stencel said. “I feel pretty confident. I think Sobrato is going to be at a whole another game than everyone expects us to be at.”
Under Wallace, the Bulldogs will run a quick-strike offensive system that will play into the strengths of the squad, she said.
“We are implementing a whole different system,” Wallace said. “It’s a more of a fast-paced system. I’ve already seen some changes for the better. I would love to go undefeated but that’s every coach’s dream. But realistically, I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself.”
Already, though, the team is on its way to returning to its winning ways of four years ago.
“She is a lot tougher than some of the girls are used to,” Stencel said. “I think she knows how to motivate us. It’s not just about being winners later on. It starts now. We have to have a winning attitude … It’s all bout putting in that extra effort and being winners now.”
