The Pinole Valley High School basketball season is about to start, we have a new coach and a new attitude and there are students new to the school who hope to be wearing the Blue and Gold this winter. We talked to a member of the class of 2021 to find out more.

I asked Jazreel Angulo, a freshman about what he expects,  “I’m pretty nervous for the upcoming season because this is my first year in high school” he says, “and I don’t know what it’s like to play in front of a big crowd of people. Another reason is that I have no idea what to expect from the other teams who I have never seen play before. But in contrast I have trust that whatever school we may face we’ll give our hardest to win.”

Many freshmen seem to be trying out but not everyone seems to be putting in the work, so I asked, “ How long have you been working to lead up to tryouts which are happening next week? Jazreel said “ We started conditioning early September. Conditioning was 4 days a week and open gyms were usually 2-3 times a week. Although, it wasn’t mandatory, many people went to every conditioning including me. Through the two months of conditioning I have seen change in my game.  He added, “I feel as if you really want to play for the high school team you have to work very hard because there is much competition at Pinole Valley and great talent.”

Everyone seems to be nervous and excited for this season and we have so much to get excited for. But not everyone has expectations so I asked Jazreel what his expectations were and he said, “ I expect for all 3 levels (Freshmen, JV and Varsity) to do great but this year and even if they don’t dominate to at least improve how they play. But this year I hope the Varsity team gets to bring home a banner.  . Everyone is getting ready for this season, new coaches, new players that will be full of excitement and hard work.