Coach Wallace waits for court time

Coach Pierre Wallace started his current position as the Girls’ Basketball coach in 2018. First, he worked with junior varsity (JV) players and gradually moved on to Varsity players, but he’d been coaching before that.

“I was coach at Alhambra High School when I was 19-years old, and also coached AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) for my step-son’s team,” he said. He also has two daughters, Winter and Autumn.

When he started coaching, he was working as a campus monitor at Armijo, but this year he became a police officer for the city of Concord. Before he was a campus monitor, though, he had also worked as a chef and had jobs in a DNA lab, at Sonoma Raceway and in construction, but coaching has been an important part of his journey.

“I became a coach because I always wanted to help people… and have a big impact in their lives, just like when I was growing up,” he said. “I had great mentors!”

While COVID-19 has been a challenge for everyone, it has had a strong impact on Coach Wallace. “It’s very sad that were going through this,” he said. “It’s not just my season. Because school and learning matter most to me, I want my team to have the best education they can have so I can say, ‘Yes, you’ll be ready for the real world when you get older’,” he said.

Coaching is important to him, and he would want it to be meaningful to others. For those who are interested in pursuing it as a career or a hobby, he would encourage them not to rush into it. “Finish school, and find out what you really want to do in life,” he said. “Then, focus on coaching and giving back to the community.”