Native Vision Brings Lax to Arizona
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| Emily Miller, US Lacrosse volunteer and Native Vision instructor. |
US Lacrosse launched a new initiative in 2007 designed to
reach out to the Native American community. USL volunteers assist
with Native Vision, a sport and life
skills camp sponsored jointly by the NFL (National Football League)
Players Association and the Johns Hopkins Center for American
Indian Health.
Through the efforts of US Lacrosse, lacrosse has been added to the
curriculum for this camp, which brings together young people from
Native American reservations across the country.
After debuting with the program in 2007, US Lacrosse was once
again part of the 2009 Native Vision Sports and Life Skills Camp
hosted in June by the White River Tribe in Arizona.
Emily Miller, a 2009 Arizona State graduate, chronicles her experience as an instructor.
"No words can really describe how rewarding my experience was teaching lacrosse to the children on the White River Reservation. For three days US Lacrosse gave me the opportunity to go up to the white mountains of Arizona to volunteer for the organization Native Vision. I went with the intentions of teaching lacrosse and life skills, but never did I think that in return the campers would serve as inspiration and encouragement to me in my own personal life."
-- Emily Miller
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Arrival
When we arrived to the reservation we were told that there was
going to be a welcome ceremony. All the professional athletes (aka
coaches) lined up in the hallway outside the gymnasium where all
the campers, chaperones, and volunteers were eagerly awaiting our
entrance. Then we entered one-by-one as the MC announced our names
and our backgrounds relating to the sport we would be coaching. As
I entered, there I was in front of hundreds of kids getting cheers
and a round-of-applause. I didn’t know any of these kids but
they were so excited to see me and my fellow athletes. They were on
their feet shouting and praising us because in their eyes we were
the best of the best. At that moment I was lifted up. I was on
cloud nine and was feeling like a celebrity. In some odd way I was
self actualizing the fact that, yeah, I should be proud of myself
for all the hard work and time I have investing in lacrosse. The
verbal affirmation felt so good and really got me excited to hit
the field and start coaching.
Skills and Drills
Like every other kid, skills and drills can grow to become mundane
after awhile. As part of the USL coaching group, we had to start
off with teaching the basics. We broke them into small groups and
had them rotate between stations including; catching/passing,
cradling/stick skills, shooting, and groundballs. The kids were
excited to finally pick up the sticks and learn some new skills.
I’d say after about 5 minutes I heard, "Can we just play
already". Haha they were so eager to get in an actual game and
score. The basic drills felt like they had drug on after teaching
cradling 4 times in a row but, we knew that these basics were
necessary if we wanted to progress these kids into a scrimmage
scenario.
Organized Chaos
These kids were your typical day campers; some overly excited that
they would hustle to every station, some whose parents forced them
to sign up, some who were shy, some who were athletic, and some who
were not so athletic. The dynamic of the group was quite
entertaining if you ask me. A modge-podge of organized chaos is
what we looked like. At the beginning of the skills and drills we
asked, "Who has played lacrosse before"? Several hands went up
which was a promising sign. These kids were the aspiring lacrosse
athletes who you could obviously tell enjoyed the game and better
yet had returned to Native Vision for another summer camp.
Native Vision
Native Vision is the organization that puts on these summer camps
for the Native American communities. They alternate their camps
between several different reservations throughout the United
States. They bring together partnering organizations like the NFL
players association, USL, and Nike. They promote life skills and
lessons like staying in school, seeking a higher education, making
the most of every opportunity, living a healthy lifestyle, and
being a leader. The entire tone of the camp was inspiring for
coaches and campers alike. Through sports our goals as coaches was
to reach these kids and to demonstrate to them that with hard work
and dedication they too could become a professional in their field
of choice.
Friday, June 12, 2009
High-Fives Rock!
My favorite part of camp was when we finally started breaking the
kids into teams. My team, I’ll have you know, was undefeated.
We also came back from a 3 point deficit in our first game. The
reason for our comeback victory?….. HIGH FIVES! We were, Team
Terminator, a rather masculine name for a team mostly comprised of
9 and 10 year old girls. Whatever, we were Team Terminator and we
relished in the fact that we were playing teams with lame names
like Team Bacon, or the Tigers. LAME! Team Terminator had every
intention of starting off with a bang, and then…. We actually
started playing. Things didn’t start off as planned. In a
matter of maybe 5 minutes Team Lame Name scored three quick goals
on us. Our team started losing interest and it was obvious that
already they had defeat written across their faces. We needed a
goal and we needed one fast. FINALLY Team Terminator put a point on
the board. "That’s what I am talking about", I shouted. "Give
me a high-five"!! As I gave the shooter a high-five, I felt the
need to line up Team Terminator and insisted that everyone held out
their hands so I could run by and give everyone a high-five. The
girl who scored ran down the row of her teammates and made sure to
high-five everyone in line. Whoa! Who knew high-fives rocked that
much?!? The kids immediately began to perk-up and from that moment
on, high-fives would become Team Terminator’s secret weapon.
These kids loved giving and receiving high-fives. In fact, our
team’s main goal was to score so that the shooter could run
down the line of fellow players and get high-fived. I found myself
jumping and cheering and high-fiving like it was a NCAA
championship game! I was inspired, the kids were inspired, and Team
Terminator would become the group of kids that I would spend most
of my time with for the rest of camp.
Team Terminator
Through Team Terminator I was able to grow close to several
campers. After our scrimmages we went to lunch and I was lucky
enough to sit with several of the young girls from that team. We
waited in the lunch line together, ate our meals together, and
spent some time just chatting about family and school. One girl,
Aliyah, gave me a tour of the school. As we went throughout the
facility she would show me where basketball was and volleyball and
track etc. etc. As we passed by every sport location she would
demonstrate the sport. For instance, on the basketball courts she
would shoot a free-throw, and in the volleyball facility, she would
start serving. Aliyah was very athletic and you could tell she has
played many sports. I asked her, "You are so good at sports, why
did you choose lacrosse"? She responded, "Because all of the other
sports are too easy". I laughed and she just smiled. Aliyah taught
me a lot throughout camp. She really made me want to be a better
role-model and really got me to thinking about how blessed I truly
am.
Mr. Inspirational
After lunch we were given some time to chat with the kids and talk
about lacrosse and what it means to us. We also were able to touch
on how we got to where we are now, some of the struggles we faced,
and we were able to instill those life lessons that Native Vision
is based on. Neal Powless, a former professional MLL player spoke
to the kids about the history of lacrosse. He told the kids that it
was a Native sport and that he too was a Native. He was able to
relate to the kids and tell them pretty much, if I can do it, you
can too. He touched on higher education and how important it is. He
also mentioned some of the struggles he has faced in getting to
where he is now. Neal was able to give these kids hope. He also
inspired me as a younger player/coach. We were able to get the
wheels spinning in the campers heads and you could tell that some
of them really took to what we were saying. I don’t know the
impact I will have on these kids, and I never will. The great part
about volunteering for Native Vision is that it’s a 100%
guarantee that I made a difference.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I Hate Goodbyes
The last day we were able to work with the kids for only about 1.5
hours and then we had to get back on the bus and head home. The
coaches celebrated lacrosse with the kids by participating in a
mixed scrimmage, players and coaches. The kids really enjoyed
ganging up on us and challenging us with their new skills that they
had learned the past few days. Like any other coach, we get
addicted to seeing our kids progress and get better over time.
Watching these kids cradle, pass, catch, dodge, and score was
rewarding beyond belief. To watch high-fives, cheering, and smiling
just reassured me that what we came to do here on the reservation
was beyond teaching those lacrosse basics. It was about giving
these kids hope and something to be proud of. We were there to
reach those kids and to build them up and give them the love and
verbal affirmation they needed. When were done playing, we gave all
the kids a new stick and ball to take home to keep practicing. We
awarded some of the top players who worked hard throughout the
entire camp and who deserved some special credit.
All in All
Overall like I said before, it is hard to describe the rewards
derived from this experience. I went with the intention of teaching
and encouraging the kids, but I feel like I was the one who came
out encouraged the most. The campers reminded me of how lacrosse
has impacted my life and that even just throwing the ball around
for fun can bring great rewards. Being on the reservation made me
realize again how blessed I am and how fortunate even having the
opportunity to participate in sports is something should not be
taken for granted. I would without a doubt love to continue to
volunteer for Native Vision and fingers crossed that I will be able
to see the same kids next year.
