By Gwen Pingree and Tyler Shevelson
Between community college and Division 1, only 7 percent of high school athletes make it to the collegiate level. This year, Albany High School has produced many who will be taking the next step in their athletic careers. The athletes we chose to highlight are seniors Sisseline Lovejoy, Imani West, Michael Richards, and Deron Lyons.
Sisseline Lovejoy started playing basketball at age 11 when her physical therapist introduced her to the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program. Lovejoy says, “I picked basketball because that’s what my brother played when I was little, and I was like, I wanna do that too, then it just stuck.” When she was younger, some of her older teammates went to play wheelchair basketball in college, which inspired her. Lovejoy’s favorite part of basketball is the community and the connections she has made through playing. She also says, “It gives me an outlet and a place to be strong, including my disability.” Lovejoy is looking forward to the resources that the University of Arizona has to offer, such as better gym equipment, more frequent practices, athletic trainers who can give more specific workouts, and just a generally bigger structure and resources. When choosing which school to continue her athletic career at, she says the biggest factor was “the girls at Arizona were so welcoming and kind when I visited.” There was an instant connection to the wildcats.
The Cougars’ star middle, Imani West, is committed to play volleyball at Occidental College. West has always had the goal of playing in college since 6th grade, when she was forced to play volleyball but ended up loving it. When asked about her favorite part of volleyball, West says, “I like the team aspect and how fast-paced the game is.” Throughout her high school career, she has dealt with several ankle injuries, which momentarily stopped her progression. Despite those setbacks, she ended up still committing to play in college. West chose to play at Occidental because she really liked both the location and the education at the school. West says, “I am excited to play volleyball every day and meet a new group and community.”
Albany High School varsity baseball player, Michael Richards, has committed to play baseball for the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. When asked what made him commit to play with the Sagehens, Richards responds, “They put a lot of money into athletics, the coaches are awesome, they wanted me there, and the facilities were very nice.” Baseball can’t be played forever, and when asked what he likes about this school apart from baseball, Richards responds, “It’s academic, at one point baseball will be over, but I’ll have a good degree from a good school.” Getting recruited in any sport is very difficult, but when asked what made the recruiting process hard for him, Richards says, “Baseball is different from a lot of sports. A coach can watch you, and you’ll get three at-bats maybe, and one day you might not perform in those three at-bats. But that might not reflect who you really are as a player.”
Our next athlete is the starting guard for the Albany High School varsity boys basketball team, Deron Lyons. Lyons has committed to play basketball for the Contra Costa Comets. When asked what set Contra Costa apart from other colleges, Lyons responds, “I know some people on the team already, from previous basketball seasons. So that helps. Also, I’m playing with my teammate, Pasha.” Players go through significant challenges to get to the college level. When asked what his biggest challenge was with high school athletics, Lyons responds, “[I was] always the smallest on the court, so I had to be tougher, and get stronger in the weight room.” Lyons has made a big jump in his basketball career, deciding to play in college. When asked where he sees himself in college sports over the next few years, Lyons responds, “The goal is to go up to D1 and try to play in March Madness.”
