Columbus’ Brittany Floyd thrives in basketball-to-track transition

Columbus point guard Brittany Floyd’s day following a state championship was just a little bit different than the rest of her teammates.

Most Columbus players likely stayed up celebrating after the dramatic overtime victory over Carver on March 10, but Floyd wasn’t one of them. After scoring 11 points in the win, Floyd rested, woke up early and headed across the state line to compete for Columbus track in the Auburn Early Bird Invitational.

Not only did Floyd go the meet just hours after Columbus’ first girls basketball title, but she thrived. She came in first in the long jump and the triple jump, adding to what had already been a very productive 24 hours for the senior.

Even after playing four quarters and an extra session to decide the championship, Floyd had no hesitation about competing with the track team. She also downplayed the quick transition, saying it’s something she’s gotten better at handling in her four years.

“I was really excited about track season coming up,” Floyd said. “I figured after my last game of basketball, I would just go out and run track. I’m really a morning person, so it wasn’t that bad for me.”

Her track coach, Bobby Peters, saw the feat differently.

“It was unbelievable,” Peters said. “Brittany is the epitome of dedication.

“She won the long and triple (jump) at the Auburn Early Bird Invitational, which consisted of 38 teams. She showed up, jumped, took home two first places and then went home and probably slept for the rest of the afternoon and the night.”

Floyd went from playing a basketball game Friday night to jumping at a track meet Saturday morning, but the track preparation didn’t begin in those hours in between.

Floyd realized after her sophomore season she needed to begin training for track during basketball season, which is a tactic she used her junior year and again this year. In the mornings, she would go to a gym downtown before hurrying off to school. After basketball practice, she’d leave the gym and head to the track, where she routinely ran and jumped.

Even as the Lady Devils got closer to winning it all, Floyd kept working. The result was the near-seamless change of sports than took much more time and sweat than onlookers could see.

Floyd’s efforts to gear up for her final high school track season come as no surprise to Peters. He recalled seeing Floyd hard at work during the summer, when he was busy with the Blue Devils football team.

While Peters spent time coaching offensive linemen, Floyd was sprinting with a parachute attached to her back, pushing herself months before even indoor track meets began.

“Her dedication beyond in-season is more of a passion,” Peters said. “She’s really been sacrificing and suffering for the betterment of her team.”

Again, Floyd remained modest about the whole undertaking.

“It’s really not that hard of a transition because I do a lot of running in basketball,” Floyd said. “I think track is more like the base of all sports. It comes easy for me.”

Judging by her latest performances, that seems to be the case.

Floyd helped Columbus’ girls finish first in the team’s meet at Harris County March 20. She finished first in the 800-meter run, the long jump and the triple jump. She also was one of the four girls on Columbus’ 4x400 relay team that also walked away winners.

By the meet’s end, Floyd tallied 22.50 points to finish first among the female competitors, with 8.5 more points than second place.

Floyd said it was a good meet for herself and the team, but she knows plenty of work lies ahead. She added she wants to get her times down and her distances in the jumps up, a desire Peters knows keeps driving Floyd.

Peters explained that along with basketball, the rainy weather in Columbus has hindered Floyd’s preparations. Peters said the team being forced inside several times has been far from ideal for a jumper such as Floyd, who is much better off getting her repetitions done outdoors.

Still, Floyd insists she can do better.

“She wants her numbers where they were last year,” Peters said. “She thinks her (personal record) from last year is where she’s coming in this year after playing a state championship game. She was upset with the fact she felt she could have gone farther (in her jumps). That will come.”

Floyd, who will run track at UAB, said she sets personal goals for herself each meet, hoping to make incremental gains that will add up throughout the season. As far as the big picture, she aspires to score points at state in the long jump, triple jump and 800 and help Columbus place at the state level.

Floyd took on switching from basketball to track in stride and wasted no time in making things happen for the Columbus track team. Through her proven work ethic and determination, Floyd came out as a champion in one sport and appears on track to do something special in the other.

“It was a tedious but exciting turnover,” Floyd said. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Columbus’ Brittany Floyd thrives in basketball-to-track transition."