Birmingham’s Deshawn Banks still testing the limits of high jumping

Eric Sondheimer April 10, 2024

The Arcadia Invitational high jump competition was about to begin. Athletes were going through their warm

–

ups, stretching and practicing going over the bar.

Deshawn Banks of Birmingham

High

finally made an appearance, the last of 15 to check

–

in. He took a seat on the turf, removed his sweats and tied his shoe laces. It was as if he just got out of his car, found his way to the field and needed no preparation to compete in one of the biggest meets of the track season.

And youd be right. At this time last year, he had just completed his junior basketball season and knew nothing about high jumping. Birmingham basketball coach Nick Halic suggested to his players they join a spring sport to help with their development.

He first started playing volleyball, then changed his mind.

I chose track because I knew a couple girls on the team, Banks said.

The high jump became his event because he was close to 6 feet 4 with a vertical leap so impressive Halic said, Hes one of the highest-jumping kids Ive seen. He would do stuff in practice that youd be amazed and it was effortless.

Banks really didnt know what he was doing in the high jump. He saw his football teammate, Peyton Waters, doing it, so he copied him.

I was literally going off how Peyton was jumping and people were telling me how to do it, he said.

That was pretty much the extent of his high jump knowledge.

“My form was terrible,” he said.

Hed go on to win the City Section

high jump title

at 6-6 and tied for fifth place at the state championships at 6-4.

This season, he went a career-best 6-10 at the Redondo Union Invitational and then Saturday night won at Arcadia

by

clearing 6-9.

When coaches say “the sky is the limit in describing their athletes, it fits Banks perfectly.

I can only imagine how good hes going to be, Halic said. You never know. You could see this dude in the Olympics.

Banks is finally getting some coaching. A math teacher at Birmingham, Jonathan Wratten,

who

used to high jump in college

, and

has been giving him tips. Hes still learning and experimenting.

A couple coaches tell me I have to run up faster, he said

of his approach

. My run up is too slow and I could be jumping so much higher.

The good news is Banks discovery of having talent for the high jump is something he wants to keep

exploring and

developing. Hes put basketball on hold. He was an All-City player last season for Birmingham, which made it to the City Section Open Division semifinals.

“His gift is this track and field event,” Halic said.

It wouldn’t be the first time a basketball player switched to high jumping. Former Bishop Alemany basketball player Earnest Sears III was

doing the

high jump

ing

throughout high school and got so good he went 7 feet and ended up being a two-time Pac-12 champion for USC.

If I had been doing this for four years, I would be a lot different, Banks said.

Banks has

lots plenty

of time to keep improving. He’ll compete at Mt. SAC in two weeks, will be heavily favored to win another City title in May, then seek a state title May 24-25 in Clovis.