Alyssa Gonzalez, joined the basketball team in sophomore year and she is now a senior.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
What started your love for basketball?
Second grade. I had a coach named Mr. John, and I was watching my sister play, and he said to get on the court. I was the youngest one on the basketball court?
Do you want to do this professionally?
Not at the moment, no, I just like the high school experience of being on the team and the discipline of the team.
If you could change one thing that you did in your season, what would it be?
Taking it seriously. I was too focused on just playing for fun because we lost a coach. There were barely any girls, so no one took it that seriously. I didn’t feel like we had a team at all. And that’s a regret.
If you had the opportunity to make the school team better, what would be your first step?
My first step would be to have everyone come together and not be enemies on the same team, and have the same support as boys.
Do you feel like the love for high school girls basketball is dying out?
Yes, I do. I feel like the support, the love, the coaching, a bunch of it is dead already.
Do you feel like there is an even or level playing field between the girls and boys basketball at Pace?
No, I feel like everyone thinks, you know, girls basketball is kind of boring. And since we have limited players, it wasn’t like a show to watch. Also I feel like the boys are more competitive. I feel like everyone shows up for the boys but not the girls.
Do you feel that here at Pace the students show up more for the boys?
I feel like the boys’ coaches and their team, like, kind of represent their team in a better format than girls. We didn’t put posters up or anything, like some students wouldn’t know we have a game. But the boys, they go all out for their games and announce it.
Do you feel that if you had the same support/coaches as the boys’ basketball team you feel like you have performed better as a team?
Yeah, we would have more discipline and it would have brought us more together than separate and motivated us.
Do you think that they should get rid of the girls’ basketball team for next year?
I feel like if they don’t have girls that want to join, they should. But I feel like until they know that there’s no type of girls that want to join, they shouldn’t just limit it. I feel like some girls want to do it, but I feel like they were scared because of all the drama that happened on the basketball team.
