Coach Jason Wallace: Hard Work is the Price

Hard work is not punishment. Hard work is the price of admission for the opportunity to be successful.

If you are looking for advice on what hard work looks like, Coach Jason Wallace would be a great guy to talk too. Growing up, he struggled in school, but athletics came easy. It was not until he decided to attend North Greenville University, an NAIA program in South Carolina, when he was truly tested athletically. From the second he stepped foot on campus, Coach Wallace made it his personal goal to be a walk-on for the basketball team. After meeting Coach Conrad, the Head Coach at the university, and talking with his High School coach, Coach Fisher, they both told him the same thing, 

You can make the team. If you just work hard.

Over the next few months, Coach Wallace pushed himself to limits he never envisioned he could get to. What made him so motivated? He knew he could do it. Not in a cocky way, but Coach Wallace knew that he was better than some of the players who had scholarships. Through having an overwhelming amount of support from the coaching staff and his teammates, Coach Wallace was able to make the team. Later on, even earning a scholarship. This is what hard work is all about. 

Today’s All In Takeaways are around the importance of mastering the fundamentals and “getting beat up (on the court)” through hard work. 

All In Takeaway #1: Mastering the Fundamentals through Hard Work

For a lot of coaches, the only thing they want to do is teach the plays. Meanwhile there are kids who do not know how to dribble, set screens, and play good solid team defense.

Coach Wallace is a big believer in first, mastering the fundamentals. Oftentimes, players will try to get too fancy in their workouts before they are great at the basics. When Coach Wallace was training to try out for the college team, he knew that he was not going to get a lot of shots in his first year. Thus, he spent time mastering the fundamentals so that he could provide instant value, the second he stepped foot on the court. 

All In Takeaway #2: Getting Beat Up (on the court) is Good! 

Growing up in Philadelphia, basketball was huge. During most of his free time as a kid, Coach Wallace would go to the park to play basketball. Almost every time, there would be a pick-up game there. Coach Wallace would join these games to improve his skills and oftentimes would get “beat up” on the court through getting outplayed. As a kid, this was the best experience he could have as it pushed him to get better and better. Eventually, he was the guy that the people wanted on their pickup team. Coaches, have your players play against competition that is much better than them. This will help them develop their skills. 

His Coaching Journey (so far)…

In 2004, Coach Wallace got into training while he was still in the Navy. He would work with a lot of teams, helping teach the basics of how to play the game. In 2011, he got out of the military and started coaching travel basketball along with being an assistant on the high school level. Throughout the entire time, he was hoping to be a head coach at some point. To improve his chances, he went back to school to finish his degree.

Now, Coach Wallace is the Head Coach for the Coastal Elite Pirates, one of the many teams a part of the East Coast Basketball League. He is also the Phys Ed Teacher at Palmetto Middle School. In his first year coaching, the Bulldogs went from winless to undefeated. Going into his second year for both of these teams, it will be exciting to see how Coach Wallace is able to help bring his team success. Go Pirates! Go Bulldogs!

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