by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Ada McCormack-Marks is an enrolled member of the Coeur D’Alene Tribe. She is from Lapwai, Idaho located on the Nez Perce Reservation and currently lives there.
“While in high school I lettered all four years on varsity in basketball, softball and volleyball,” said Ada. “I was a first team selection in both my junior and senior year, and won a State Championship in 2002. I made a very rare five-point play in the overtime game. I went to state my freshman and sophomore year in softball and still hold the record for most doubles in a state tournament.
“I went to United Tribes Technical College on a full athletic scholarship but only played one year due to health reasons,” said Ada.
“I started coaching sports in 2006 as I was hired to be the varsity head coach for the volleyball program and it started my career in coaching,” said Ada. “I have been the coach at Lapwai HS for the last 13 years. In between that time I started coaching my daughters AAU team Rip City Nation since she was a first grader in 2012/2013, then as my other two daughters got older I added another team and was coaching two AAU teams and traveling the Northwest area to big AAU events.”
“Last season as a full time AAU coach both of my sixth and eighth grade teams won a few big tournaments to end out the years for most of my players as it would be their last year to play full year AAU. They won the Adidas President’s Tournament in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. My younger team won that tournament back to back, and my seventh grade team won the Nike Gym Rats 2020 in Portland, OR. Other teams won the Washington State Middle School Championship, Best in the West in Yakima, WA, Basketball Against Alcohol and Drugs also known as B.A.A.D. in Mission, OR, and Play in Your Moccasins in Lapwai, ID. They also played in Las Vegas, NV in the West Coast Championship where my sixth grade team placed second in their division, and my older group was invited to play in the Jr. NBA Regional Tournament in Beaverton, OR where they took home the Silver Championship,” added Ada.
“I also coach the high school softball team which started back up in 2017 after it stopped having a team in 2009,” said Ada. “The program was doing very well and progressing every season. Last season was the first time I ever seen a ‘triple play’ happen with a high school team and was very excited and surprised that my team did this to get out of a tough inning. This would have been my fourth year coaching this season.”
“This last year was my first year as the head coach of the basketball program and the team went 25-1 with only loss from a school who is not in a small school classification,” said Ada. “They went on to be the League, District and State Champions this season. They were also nominated for Team of the Year for the State of Idaho end of the year awards along with myself being nominated for Coach of the Year.”
“This year I was named ‘Coach of the Year’ in our division for the season which is voted on by all coaches in the state,” added Ada.
“My family has a lot to do with how I see and value my life,” said Ada. “I grew up sitting on the bench watching my Grandma, mom and other family members play basketball and softball all over the country. As my siblings and I grew older we followed the same path of playing on the Indian basketball circuit. Sports in our life taught me a lot with the way you play and treat teammates and opponents. All I have ever known in the off-season is to train to get better, travel all summer and that’s the same thing I do with my girls. I am glad to follow the same path or similar path to what my Grandparents and mom paved for us.”
“You will go far if you always give full effort and have a good attitude through everything,” said Ada. “There is always going to be certain things that you might think you couldn’t get through but by staying positive and never giving into the negative you will persevere.”
“Growing up I always looked up to my older sister Jaci McCormack and wanted to be just like her and play like her,” said Ada. “She showed me that even coming from a small community you can still go out into the big world and make a difference. She continues to make a difference in a lot of communities and goes to lots of reservations to do her talks and camps.”
“My other big influence as a coach was my grandpa Joe ‘Esky’ McCormack,” said Ada. “Growing up he was the one that brought the men’s team ‘Nez Perce Nation’ around the Indian circuit to play and I got to watch him coach and win lots of big name tournaments. I learned a lot about being poised and showing sportsmanship. It was him that made me want to be a coach of every sport I could and learn from others and also help others when they needed. Being a coach for him was helping young men get the experience to play with the best and making memories along the way. If it wasn’t for him putting sports in my family’s lives I don’t know where my family would be or how different we would live our lives. He supported me in my coaching career up until he passed and I was very grateful that I had someone like him to look up to not only as a grandparent but as a mentor.”
“I have known Ada since I was a baby,” said current athlete Lauren Gould. “She was a teacher at the Nez Perce Tribe Early Childhood Development Program. I first began playing basketball when I was six years old, we would play co-ed here in Lapwai and also at the Umatilla Reservation. Ada was our coach. I liked playing in those tournaments, and they were my first experience with loud gyms, loud Grandmas and overtime craziness. We were so little looking back at those pictures. Ada was young too!”
“My mom always says I can hear Ada’s voice no matter where or how loud it is around me. Those young co-ed games and others taught us how to dig down deep, trust each other and trust Ada to lead us. She rarely takes time-outs, I think that has made us tougher,” added Lauren.
“Ada has taught us the fundamentals of basketball, from free throws, to man defense, adjusting to the press, blocking out, taking care of the ball and seeing the court,” said Lauren.
“When Ada’s Grandfather passed away, both of our Rip City teams, us older girls and the younger girls presented their families with a signed and encased basketball in honor of the late Esky McCormack,” said Lauren. “From that point on, we became Rip City Nation, in honor of our Nez Perce Nation relatives and her Grandfather, Esky!”
“NATION! We would say ‘Nation’ at the beginning of every tip-off huddle,” added Lauren.
“Being successful means a lot to me because when I coach I put everything I have into it with time and my own money,” said Ada. “When we hit our goals it makes me feel like I have done my job as a coach. Not only winning is how I define as my success. I define my success on the life lessons that I teach during the seasons and the girls taking those and using them in their lives to help them be successful and be good people in this crazy world.”
“My advice to student athletes and coaches would be to just be yourself and stay focused on your goal, there will be obstacles that will make you doubt yourself but don’t be afraid to fail keep trying until you get the result you want,” added Ada.
“Trying to get some things situated for girls to check out individual camps, team camps, team tournaments, summer league and waiting to hear back from our Athletic Director when the kids can get back into the gym again,” said Ada.
“I got into coaching my old high school to give back to my community for the good they brought me,” said Ada.
Photo Credit: IdahoSports.com
