The BILA Wave

By Jeremy Ulysses 

The 2022-2023 season for the Wingate Generals of Brooklyn was deemed as a success by most, despite the shortcomings. The overall grit and passion of the team led the Boys Varsity to go 9-9, and make the PSAL playoffs for the first time since 2016. All of these accolades and achievements are only a start, as players aspire to build a legacy.  

Good Today For A Better Tomorrow 

      To start off, ever since Coach Baker was hired as the head coach for the Generals Basketball team in 2021, he has undeniably flipped the agenda for the program. The team with consecutive years below .500, change needed to occur. The 2022-2023 team was the epitome for this success, as they brought an energy that has not been seen by most in the Wingate Community. Senior Hasani Thomas of the Generals voices his thoughts on this growth “ The progression is everything we planned since day one. Coach Baker has always said that Rome wasn’t built in a day and he’s 100% right. Nobody was going to hand us our goals we accomplished, we had to work for it. As much as we completed in our three year rebuild there’s still so much we have to work for and we won’t stop till we achieve it.” This mindset will only be a beneficiary to the team, as this leadership from the seniors last year ignited the fire for their success.

Behind the Camera

      Without the media team, the overall perception of the generals wouldn’t be what it is. Photographers such as Rachel, Stanicia John, and others help capture essential moments throughout the teams, and without them the memories wouldn’t be recalled the same. Rachael was interviewed, and gave us some insight on her experience behind the camera. As this is her second year in capturing moments for the Generals, she reminisced on the 22-23 season and voiced how it contributed to her career in photography “I would describe 22-23 sports season is amazing, at first it was nerve racking being new to photography and all but I knew I was gonna do something great and I love it. I got to meet new people and expand on my craft.” Last season was only a start, as she also shared her aspirations for this upcoming season “As a photographer my goal is to capture the essence of the team with a visual story. I’m aiming to make memorable moments and capture the moments of teamwork and resilience and also the highs and lows. I’m aiming for personal growth too. I intend to improve my skills and experiment with new techniques and learn from each game and shoot. I want to build relationships with the coaching staff and players and that can also lead me to better opportunities and deeper understanding of the sport.” Without Rachael’s efforts, the Generals will not have received the same level of  publicity that they were deserving of.

Voices of The Gate

   Without supporters and fans, sports would hold no relevance. Despite supporters of teams oftenly being overlooked, the Wingate community is embraced and reciprocates that energy towards their teams. We asked BILA worker Jesse Rose to describe this last season in a word, which resulted in a bittersweet response: “Emotional. Man, they made their first playoff appearance in the history being in a higher division, I looked at them boys like my little brothers, they still are and will always be my little brothers, I see them grow, smile when they won, cry when they lost, I was there with them every step of the way and will continue to be every step of the way in their future endeavors.”

Onto the next

    Last season was undeniably a success, but the Generals aren’t satisfied with just that. These aspirations from the community show the passionate desire for more, and to build a brand that’ll change the narrative for this team. Now just sit back and watch, you will not be disappointed.