In the final days of volleyball season, most of the team is looking forward to the off season but freshman outside hitter Geralynn Byers-Veal gearing up to transition into her second varsity sport. 

“The transition from volleyball to basketball has been pretty good so far,” Byers-Veal said. “The basketball season only started a few days ago for me but so far the team is wonderful. My body is still trying to get in shape but besides that it has been good.”

Byers-Veal was a major asset for the volleyball team as she helped them reach the 6A-DI Region IV final. She won District 26-6A Newcomer of the Year and ended the year with a kill percentage of 35%.

Now that volleyball season is over, Byers-Veal is off to the basketball court. She not only has a quick turnaround from one sport to the other, there are also high expectations of her because she is just a freshman starting on the No. 1 team in Texas per the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Byers-Veal has a plethora of offers from schools including Florida State, University of Oklahoma, University of Houston and more.

Byers-Veal has proved herself as a dual sport athlete through her hard work and good attitude and continues to impress. She next plays with the varsity girls basketball team against No. 2-ranked Brennan this Friday at home.

“Geralynn is impactful in any setting she is in,” head girls basketball coach Vickie Benson said. “She has an energy that is contagious and people want to be around her. That is no different on the court.” 

Byers-Veal started playing volleyball when she was only 12 years old and she quickly discovered her talent on the net. Coming in as a freshman this year, Byers-Veal stood out on the court this volleyball season.

“At first I was really terrified going into varsity volleyball as a freshman,” Byers-Veal said. “But once I made the team and saw how loving and supportive the girls were, it became really fun.” 

Along with her hitting abilities that did so much for the team, she was also able to block at the net with ease and serve with intent throughout each game. 

“It felt really good being a big part of the team but also I felt a little bit of pressure,” Byers-Veal said. “I kept a good mindset by just forgetting about the mistakes and moving on to the next thing.”

Byers-Veal not only was an asset athletically to the team, she also kept a good and light attitude which helped in bringing the team morale up. 

“G was always a good teammate because she always brought a smile to the court and was always open to new information,” senior teammate Chloe Kelly said. “She used her athleticism to play the sport at a higher level and kept improving.” 

Byers-Veal started playing basketball in second grade and quickly found love for the game. She continued through middle school, getting to showcase her abilities to high school coaches. Now she is moving up to her first season with varsity basketball. 

“Geralynn has been in the Westlake gym many times for us to know what team she belongs on. I was able to see her in middle school workouts and games prior to her time at Westlake,” Benson said. “The last 2 summers, we have had our 8th graders do summer workouts with our high school teams, so I was able to see Geralynn for 2 straight summers and Geralynn played in a Varsity showcase for TABC in June.”

Byers-Veal has already been proving herself in the little time she’s been with varsity basketball. The athlete has not only proved herself as being an asset to the team, she has also shown her resilience and ability to adapt to quick changes.

“She impacts the game with a high basketball IQ, special skill sets and she is having fun,” Benson said.“She clearly belongs on Varsity,” Benson said. “It did not take long to know that.”  

As the basketball season continues on, the ambitious freshman has big goals for what she and the team can accomplish. 

I am looking forward to hopefully going undefeated in districts,” Byers-Veal said. “ Also going as far as we can in the playoffs.”