Dripping Springs forward Ally Beck had a breakout sophomore season for the Lady Tigers basketball team as a key contributor in their 2019 playoff run.
Entering her junior year, Beck is focusing on improving her all-around game and taking on a larger leadership role for the Lady Tigers.
“Since I’ve been on varsity the longest, I’m definitely going to be taking a leadership role, but more as a lead by example since I’m not the oldest,” said Beck. “I’m excited for that.”
Beck started playing basketball when she was four years old in a YMCA league. Her family then moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Dripping Springs when she was in kindergarten. While the move was drastic – going from a big city to a smaller town – basketball remained the constant throughout her childhood. By the fourth grade, Beck began taking the sport more seriously as she got personal training from Austin Youth Basketball.
“I really just played throughout my entire life and began to love it around like sixth or seventh grade,” Beck said about her love for the game. “That’s really when it took off.”
Work ethic and repetition in practice has guided Beck to where she is now, and she credits both of her parents for the position she is in today. Beck cited her father, Michael Beck, for his love for basketball and his drive to push her to do better as a big factor in her development.
Abby also said her mother, Jennifer, was an equally key role model. Ally said her mother’s work ethic in running over 50 marathons was an inspiration for her to keep improving and working hard in practice.
After playing limited minutes on varsity during her freshman season, Beck stepped into a starting role at the small forward position last year and exploded onto the scene averaging 9.2 points per game and shooting 36% from beyond the arc with 76 three-pointers. Heading into the upcoming season she is focusing on becoming more of an all-around offensive weapon.
“Specifically, I’ve been trying to become more of a scorer, instead of just like a three-point shooter,” She said. “I used to just be a three-point shooter, but now I want to be an all-around scorer and also improve my defense.”
This summer Beck has been hard at work improving her shot, in addition to being able to finish at the rim. A faster release point has been a focus for her, and endless repetitions on the “shooting-gun”, a machine that passes back the ball after the shot, is helping her improve her shooting stroke. As for defense, she is working on improving her quickness and anticipation skills.
Another way to improve her game is watching more game film, which is something she picked up this summer. Beck believes studying more film will take her game to the next level.
For the upcoming season Beck has a goal to double her points from 9.2 to around 20 per game. In addition to becoming a more complete offensive player, Beck also wants to become more of a vocal leader on the court for her teammates.
“I’ve been focusing on game film and stuff, just to see how the pros do it,” Beck said. “I just went to a PGC camp and they really taught us how to watch game film in a more strategic way.”
