Sports Are in Her Genes

Bailee Tally laces up during practice.
Photographer Melissa Chandler

Bailee Tally seized sports early on

The intensity of the game, and the feeling of going on a run with her teammates is how Bailee Tally got her passion for sports.  

The speed of the game is what motivates Tally. It constantly has her thinking and keeps her on her toes. When the game gets exciting or the team goes on a run that really gets her fired up.

Tally started playing basketball when she was 5 years old. Since then she hasn’t looked back.

She began shooting hoops at the YMCA with her brother and sisters. It has always been something that her family has done together. All of her siblings, her mother and father played sports; everything from basketball, softball, gymnastics, and track to motocross. Tally has been surrounded by sports her entire life.

“The YMCA is where my family has always played sports, so I started playing basketball there too,” said Tally.

Tally had a couple of influences along the way: her sisters Chandler McElmurry, Delanie Tally and her cousin Britney Knotts. Her sister Delanie plays volleyball and softball at the College of the Siskiyous; her sister Chandler played sports in high school. Tally’s cousin Britney played college basketball for the Chemeketa Storm and the Mt. Hood Saints.

Tally has played softball since she was 5 years old and volleyball since she was 7. She continued to play basketball, softball, and volleyball until her senior year of high school; where she played all three sports that year.

“I played softball because my family played softball,” said Tally. “My parents put me on a T-ball team when I was five-years-old and I continued to play.”

Tally played all three sports congruently because they were in different seasons.

“I had enough time and it was something that I enjoyed and loved to do,” said Tally.

Being a team player defines Tally, because she loves being around people. It also demonstrates her devotion to building relationships with her teammates.

To her, a basketball team is more than a bunch of people on a court. They have to work cohesively. To do that they have to form a relationship, and a friendship. Tally explained her team is more than teammates, they are family.

“I have a very close relationship with my team,” said Tally. “We get along really well and there is no drama on the team. It is like I have nine more sisters now.”

The team practiced every day for two hours. It looked like grueling work, but it was necessary to become a better team. Tally didn’t make a fuss, she took all the advice with a grain of salt and trucked on.

“Our coach makes sure that every practice is like a game and that we learn from our mistakes in practice as we would in a game,” said Tally.

While on the court, Tally takes her position as guard seriously. Basketball is more important than just the game itself.

“Basketball to me is like my job,” said Tally. “But a job that I love to do and would do it every day.”

It isn’t just about shooting hoops, scoring the big points, or winning the game for Tally. For her, it’s a way of life.

“I enjoy that in basketball [we] learn about the game, but [we] also learn life lessons while playing the game; how to be a team, what it takes to be a team, a leader, and to trust one another,” said Tally.