Meet UPB New Player Development Summer Interns: Veronica Barrot and Dylan Pegarido
By: Dylan Tehada
Both Veronica Barrot and Dylan Pegarido have been hooping for as long as they can remember. Barrot and Pegarido bring high energy and love for the game of basketball with them to the facility as they seek to make an impact on the next generation of Bay Area hoopers. They both come from impressive basketball backgrounds and will undoubtedly spread their knowledge and passion for hoops with the UPBasketball Community.
Dylan Pegarido was born and raised in Mountain View, California. His love for basketball began in second grade and has blossomed from there. At an early age he fell in love with the game attending various camps and clinics and playing AAU ball as well. He attended Mountain View High School where he primarily played football and graduated in 2023. After graduating from Mountain View High School, Pegarido worked at his local YMCA as a sports coordinator running private training lessons and other basketball programs. He was then offered an opportunity to coach his own team in the club league that played at the YMCA, which is where his current passion and desire to continue coaching basketball began.
Even though this is Pegarido’s first summer coaching for UPB, he is no stranger to the UPB community. He attended a few Adult Trainings on Sunday mornings where he worked on his game and got to know the staff at UPB. During the adult training sessions, he learned about the player development intern positions opening and jumped on the opportunity to continue being a part of the UPB community. During the adult sessions and his time as an intern, Pegarido has been blown away by the relationships that the coaches foster with the athletes and seeks to emulate the fun and informative way in which they coach.
“All the coaches know and are very familiar with the athletes. For me growing up, I never had any sort of relationship when I would go somewhere [to train] consistently and the coaches wouldn't really notice me. No one goes unnoticed here at UPB. All the coaches take the time to guide each athlete that comes through at all ages,” Pegarido said.
Veronica Barrot was born in Burlingame, California and was raised all over the Bay Area. She also began playing hoops in second grade and has fallen in love with the game ever since. She attended St. Joachim School from second grade to eighth grade in Hayward where she began to play competitive ball. She then attended Arroyo High school, where she played on the JV team during her freshman year and then on the Varsity team from her sophomore year to her senior year and was awarded Most Dedicated Player. After graduating from Arroyo High School, she continued her basketball career at University of the Southwest in New Mexico, a division 1 NAIA school.
Barrot has come a long way in her basketball career from winning most dedicated player in high school to playing at the collegiate level. Throughout her journey she has kept improving her game and embodies the commitment and hard work necessary to reach her full potential. As she enters this role as a player development intern she hopes to instill this dedication into her athletes from a young age and to remind them that the sky's the limit and there is always room to improve and grow their game.
“Don't ever stop working and staying dedicated and remember that anything is possible no matter what you set your mind to, whether it be a small goal or a big goal. Just continue to work towards those goals and make a small checklist if you have to and just slowly check off your goals, but know that there's no limits to anything we set our mind to,” Barrot said.
We are excited to witness the contributions Barrot and Pegarido will make to the UPB community and look forward to seeing how they share their knowledge and passion for basketball with all the athletes they train!
