ALTON - It’s been an eventful year for Jayla Fox-Wallace, a former Alton High School scholar-athlete who became a member of Team Fredbird this season and was recently named an assistant coach for the Alton Middle School’s girls’ basketball team.
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Jayla graduated from AHS in 2019, playing basketball all four years of high school and receiving a scholar-athlete award. She also played volleyball her freshman and sophomore years and was the editor-in-chief of the AHS newspaper, The Redbird Word, in addition to being in Student Council, Spanish Club, Honors Society, and much more.
After playing basketball on a full-ride scholarship and earning her Associate’s degree from SWIC at Belleville, Jayla learned about a new job opportunity to join Team Fredbird with the St. Louis Cardinals from her grandpa, an usher at Busch Stadium. She applied in early March of this year and got the job later that same month.
Team Fredbird entertains fans at Busch Stadium and makes event appearances, but Jayla said her favorite part of the job is interacting with the children.
“My favorite part of the job is just interacting with the kids, putting smiles on their faces, getting the kids on the Jumbotron and then their parents recording them is just so cool and fun to see,” she said.
Jayla said another highlight of the job is “Ice Cream Sundays,” featuring games, prizes, and more before Cardinals baseball games.
“On Sundays, we have a day called ‘Ice Cream Sunday,’ where before the games, we give out ice cream for all the families - children and adults,” she said. “Then Team Fredbird is in Ford Plaza and we just play games and we give out a lot of cool prizes, whether it’s T-shirts, bobbleheads, coffee mugs, purses for Mom, things such as that … and that’s all before the game on Sunday for Ice Cream Sundays’ pre-game.”
In addition to being a Team Fredbird member, Jayla was also recently named an assistant coach for the Alton Middle School girls’ basketball team. She took that job earlier this fall and said it’s “one of her dream jobs.”
“I love it, this is one of my dream jobs. I’ve always had a love for basketball, and I just knew once I was done being a player, I always wanted to help younger athletes - specifically women - just enjoy the game and love the game,” Jayla said. “Once I got the job, I was excited. The kids are like sponges, they just want to absorb everything that I teach them, and I just love that they’re coachable … that’s enjoyable, to just be able to give back and put my expertise and education with the game and give it to younger athletes.”
She said not only has her past experience as a scholar-athlete made her a better coach herself, she also has a new appreciation for the advice of her former coaches.
“Being on the other side of it now, it’s just cool to see how my coaches were telling me things while I was a player, and now being a coach myself, I see what they’re saying,” Jayla said. “Whether it’s looking up while I’m dribbling, or better passes - or just being an overall respectable young lady - all of that plays a part in playing basketball, or just being an athlete in general.”
Jayla added that she’d like to thank her parents for their support and her grandpa for helping her secure both of her new jobs. Her grandpa, who also works at Alton Middle School, put in a good word for her at both locations - Jayla said “he is two-for-two when it comes to the jobs.”
To learn more about Team Fredbird, visit the MLB’s Team Fredbird webpage. For more information and a schedule for Alton Middle School girls’ basketball, visit altonmsathletics.org.
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