Jayden Wallace ‘25 is a beloved and skilled Dragon athlete at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech), as captain of the boys volleyball team and a boys water polo player. Though the water polo season ended in California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) play during the fall season, Wallace continues to play on the volleyball team during the spring season. Wallace works to be a better player as seen through his many accomplishments, some examples include being 2024 volleyball offensive player of the year, 2023 volleyball MVP and 2024 water polo MVP. Despite the end of the 2024-2025 school year coming around the corner, Wallace continues to encourage his volleyball team and hopefully gain entrance to CIF play.
While Wallace was not very interested in sports at a young age, he started his journey with water polo in middle school. Volleyball, however, didn’t interest him until spring of his freshman year at Foothill Tech. “I didn’t really play that much. My parents had always liked volleyball, but they never played, so that’s kind of what got me into it initially.” After his introduction to the sport he started playing competitively in club volleyball whilst still dedicating his time to water polo. “[My parents have] been super supportive throughout all my four years, like paying for club volleyball and coming to games and just being there, being there for me, so I’d like to credit them with my success.”
Even though Wallce loves his sports, he loves the connections he’s made through them even more. “I love the volleyball community, and I have met some of my best friends through volleyball. I feel like the bond you build with someone through sports means it’s stronger than meeting someone in a casual setting. Going through the ups and downs really strengthens our bond.” Wallace is definitely a loved individual, especially in volleyball where he mentors his team as both Captain and setter. One of his best friends, Elijah Haigh ‘25, commented on Jayden, saying, “Jayden as a person is a super chill guy, and a really good person, he always helps everyone when they ask; and as a player he’s a hard worker and a great setter.”
Wallace is an incredibly skilled player who has had many mentors in his past. James Sokoloski, team Captain of the 2024 season and now on the Virginia Tech team, is one of these people for Wallace. “ I learned so much about setting from him, I worked a lot with him between my sophomore and junior year, and I credit him with my improvement. I often still call or text him still whenever I have questions about my technique and how to lead the team.”
The second person Wallace sees as a mentor in his life is Foothill Tech alumni, and now boys volleyball assistant coach Marcus Valencia. “He was a senior when I was a freshman and is now our assistant coach, and he played one year of club at San Marcos state. He just has so much energy and is great at pumping us up as a team, as well as having a lot of volleyball knowledge. When our team starts to lose our energy I can count on Marcus to bring us back.”
Academically, Wallace takes multiple AP classes and has to work hard to balance his studying and homework with practices and games. “It gets kind of hard sometimes because sports take so much time. For home games, I’m there from like 3:30 to 9 [p.m.], so it’s a big time commitment, but I feel like that there is time for both school and sports.” Wallace dedicates a lot of his time to the sport, however in his free time he likes hanging out with friends and playing beach volleyball.
After Wallace graduates from Foothill Tech he hopes to be going to college at a local UC or state school. “I would like to play club at some level in college, maybe not if it takes a couple of years for me to make the team and that’s okay. I just want to continue playing somewhere.”
