Man, when that Wallace State High School Basketball Tournament schedule popped up in my email last week, I felt totally lost. My niece was playing, and all it said was “Games Start Friday!” Like, what? No times, no channels, nothing. Typical school communication, right? Needed to figure out how to actually watch the thing without driving two states over.
The Confusing Starting Point
First thing I did? Called my sister. Straight to voicemail. Left a panicked message: “Where’s Allie playing? When? How do I SEE IT?” No callback for hours. So much for that plan. Jumped onto the high school athletics website. You’d think they’d put the schedule front and center, right? Nope. Scrolled past endless photos of trophy cases and announcements about the chess club bake sale. Finally found a tiny link buried at the bottom called “Winter Events.” Clicked it. Boom. Pdf document. Downloaded it. Opened it. Wallace State tourney schedule, Friday through Sunday. But still… specific gym locations? Broadcast info? Zip. Zero. Nada. Felt like playing detective.
Playing Detective Mode Activated
Okay, needed a new tactic. Remembered my nephew talking about watching school volleyball games on his phone. Dug through my contacts, found his number (bless group chats), and rang him up. “Hey kiddo, Wallace tourney – how do I watch?” “Oh yeah,” he mumbled, probably playing Roblox, “Try the NFHS Network, I think? Or maybe the school’s app… not sure?” Not exactly a confident answer, but it was a lead. Searched “Wallace High NFHS Network.” Got lucky. Their team page popped up! Got super excited… until I saw the subscription price. Monthly fee just for one tournament weekend? Felt kinda steep. But hey, sister finally called back: “Allie plays Friday 4 PM Central, Saturday maybe 10 AM, Sunday TBD… depends if they win! And yeah, they said NFHS or maybe the local channel?” More confusion. “Local channel” could be anything.
Time for Plan C. Downloaded the official Wallace School District app. Took forever to find the sports section. Hidden under “News & Events” > “Athletics” > somewhere. Found it. Bingo! They had a link labeled “Tournament Livestream Hub”. Clicked it, held my breath… and it opened YouTube! Specifically, the school’s own YouTube channel, streaming multiple courts live! No login, no fee, just pure live basketball action. Couldn’t believe my luck!
What Actually Worked (Spoiler Alert)
So, after all that scrambling, here’s the deal on how to watch the Wallace State tourney without losing your mind:
- The School YouTube Channel: Easiest by far. Found the stream live right on their channel, decent quality, totally free. Kept it bookmarked on my iPad. Best option confirmed.
- NFHS Network: Works, sure, but paying that monthly sub just for this felt silly when YouTube was free. Maybe if you follow the team constantly? Not worth it just for a weekend tourney.
- “Local Channel”: Total crapshoot. Never did figure out which local station they meant. Radio maybe? Passed. Digital age, people!
Friday 4 PM Central hit. Clicked my bookmark. Boom! Crystal clear stream of Court 2, announcer sounded like he swallowed a microphone but who cares, saw Allie nail a three-pointer! Pure gold. Shared the YouTube link with my whole extended family group chat instantly. They all thanked me later. Felt like a tech wizard.
Overall lesson? Forget the confusing PDFs and vague emails. Skip the paid subscriptions unless you’re a hardcore fan. Go straight to the school’s official app or social media, find their YouTube channel link. Saves time, saves money, saves sanity. Watching high school hoops shouldn’t be harder than the game itself!