Valkyries point guard Julie Vanloo has become key as a translator for teammates

San Francisco Chronicle​

09-05-2025

Julie Vanloo leaned to her right while Carla Leite spoke in her ear. It was the first time that Leite, the Golden State Valkyries' 21-year-old rookie point guard, was talking to the media and she was still learning English.
Vanloo sat between Leite and Italian forward Cecilia Zandalasini and listened as Leite explained how she wanted to answer a question in French.
'She's young, she showed that she controlled her maturity and she knew she had to step up, and she already had a lot of responsibility,' Vanloo said for Leite about her performance in Tuesday's preseason game. 'And then in stressful situations, you know, she had to stay calm, this was a new situation to her.'
She paused, then added, 'I also think she did that very well.'
The 32-year-old Belgian point guard has become the Valkyries' impromptu team translator throughout training camp. With players from six countries — the U.S., France, Australia, Canada, Italy and Belgium — Vanloo's ability to speak four languages has helped bridge the gap between players and even some coaches.
The second-year WNBA player can speak Flemish, the version of Dutch spoken in Belgium, along with English, French and Italian.
The Valkyries' international flair was on display Tuesday when they fell 83-82 to the Los Angeles Sparks in the preseason opener. Along with minutes from Vanloo and Leite, Belgian center Kyara Linskens led the team with eight rebounds and French guard Migna Toure also made a brief appearance.
Vanloo is one of the Valkyries' most important facilitators on the court. She averaged 7.4 assists per game last season while starting 34 contests for the Washington Mystics. Her 30.8 assist percentage was seventh in the WNBA last season.
Off the court, she facilitates in a different way.
'For basketball, I was very, very motivated to learn languages,' Vanloo said. 'So definitely it helps to communicate with my teammates. To quickly switch, switch up in my head to speak a different language, because, let's be honest, it's not easy for the other team, if you talk French, they don't understand. So it can help.'
The Valkyries' 32-point third-quarter unit Tuesday included two Belgians in Linskens and Vanloo; Leite, who is French, and Americans Kate Martin and Laeticia Amihere.
'I think it is dope,' Amihere said of having multiple languages spoken in the locker room.
Outside of Leite, the team's other international players have varying degrees of comfort with English, something that can be especially challenging when working on plays on the court, where Vanloo can translate quickly.
The team does not employ a translator. Nakase doesn't speak French, Flemish or Italian. Some assistant coaches dabble in French, but Nakase said they are mostly relying on Vanloo.
Vanloo said that growing up, she didn't love school but enjoyed studying different languages because she knew it could one day benefit her as a basketball player, especially if she played internationally. Belgian children start learning songs in English and French at age 6, Vanloo said. When they're 12, students are drilled in both languages, she said.
'It was like six to nine hours per week,' Vanloo said. 'All our (TV) series and even our cartoons are in English. We use subtitles on French, so that's how we actually learn the accent and everything. So that's for all the kids out there, language is important. It's an advantage. I think you are rich when you know multiple languages, because it's just easy to communicate and to create a bond with people.'
She knew she wanted to play in the WNBA, where there would be players from different countries, and focused on perfecting both languages and added Italian into the mix.
That's come in handy for a Valkyries team that has the second most international players in the league, behind the New York Liberty.
'It's been really key, just the way we can connect that way,' Nakase said. 'Imagine going to another country and you're just, you have no idea (the language). When I played in Germany, I really wasn't understanding. … So it's been nice to have Julie, because she's listening, she's doing extra for a teammate.'
Vanloo is expected to be the Valkyries' starting point guard when the regular season begins. Her contributions will be more than just points and assists.
'Julie does such a great job with bringing us all together,' said rookie shooting guard Kaitlyn Chen. 'She always has so much energy, too, and she sort of just uplifts the building.'