by By Dan Ninham
Amya Gourneau, 16, is a sophomore basketball player at Turtle Mountain Community HS in Belcourt, ND. She also competes for the AAU team FBC Real Phenom.
She is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
“I grew up in the gym watching my older brother play basketball,” said Amya. “It was a natural desire for me to want to do the same.”
“I’ve played several sports including soccer and softball but my main sport and first love is basketball,” said Amya.
“I first made the high school basketball team when I was in seventh grade while I lived in the Minneapolis,” said Amya. “I started varsity as a freshman and was selected to the all WDA Team my sophomore year.”
“I try to make decisions on and off the court that honor my ancestors or past generations while at the same time considering how my decisions will impact future generations,” said Amya. “I also believe that it’s important to be respectful and to walk in humility.”
“My brother influences me most as an athlete,” said Amya. “He sets high expectations for me and is always quick to correct me, but with the exception of my mom, I know he’s my biggest fan.”
“Both my dad and my step-dad have been incredible mentors for me,” said Amya. “My step-dad was my trainer and AAU coach in MN. He not only trained me on speed and agility but he also taught me about good character and integrity. After moving back to the rez for my high school years, I now have the honor of having my dad as my high school basketball coach. He pushes me to always do my best and encourages me to be a leader.”
“Amya is a very humble athlete,” said Kobe Gourneau, Amya’s brother. “Humble to a fault even. Doesn’t always believe she’s as good as she really is. She deals with adversity really well too.”
“As a family we are hard critics on her and keep it real and she hears us and understands there is more work to put in. She could be told that she’s the best around, yet she won’t think that and she’ll just continue to improve herself,” added Kobe.
Amya’s accomplishments include:
- 1st team All-Western Dakota Athletic (WDA) Conference player
- 3rd in scoring in the WDA conference and 5th in the state of ND in the top-Class A division
- Team MVP, Most Points, Most Assists, Most Rebounds & Best FT percentage Awards
- Two-time varsity letter winner in basketball (as a freshman and sophomore)
- One time varsity letter winner in basketball at Park Center High School in Minneapolis, MN (as an 8th grader) in the top Class AAAA division
“I’m the head coach at Turtle Mountain Community High School (TMCHS) in Belcourt, ND,” said David Gourneau, Amya’s dad. “We compete in the top division in the state of North Dakota. We have an enrollment close to 500 students at our high school. We compete against other schools in our state that have enrollments between 1,500-2,000 students in their high school systems.”
“Amya transferred to TMCHS from Park Center High School in Minneapolis, MN, her freshmen year when I became an assistant coach. I took over the head coaching position this past season,” added David.
“With the global pandemic, we didn’t know if we were going to have a season or not, but we were able to play, with some stipulations from the school and our tribe,” said David. “We needed to test twice a week for COVID-19. If you didn’t get tested, you were unable to participate in practice or games. We had a mask mandate for all practices and all bus rides to away games. We did have to quarantine for two weeks within our season. With all our setbacks, our girls’ team kept moving forward and won some games in the WDA conference and made the playoffs.”
“Amya has been training with me, and other basketball trainers her whole life,” said David. “She’s very coachable, has a great work ethic, willingness to compete against the best and always wants to get better with her physical and mental skills of the game. She’s busy in the off-season travelling to AAU tournaments across the country in the Nike Tournament of Champions, Adidas Gauntlet and the H.O.O.P.S. (All-Indian) League series. I know she has plans to play at the next level. We will be doing a lot of work from now until that happens.”
“Amya is mentally tough for her age especially playing high school basketball in the seventh grade,” said Anessa Brittain, Amya’s first coach and AAU coach. “She is a very coachable player and is passionate about the game and she is determined to work hard and get better. She has a great sense of awareness on the floor and I have had so much fun coaching her and watching her growth and development. She has a skill set that not many have and she has a great basketball future ahead of her.”
“I have been both Amya’s basketball trainer since she was little and also her coach for her fourth and fifth grade AAU basketball team,” said step-dad Roger Ross. “The code we live by is ‘Make adjustment, No excuses’. As a trainer, one of the most challenging things when training your athlete is to apply what they learn in the training session into game situations and I have been fortunate to see that with Amya.”
“At first when she was real young, training her was difficult because I had to get her out of her comfort zone when applying what she learned in the training session into the game. At the beginning of each training session I would tell her that she has permission to fail, in her mind that meant go hard no matter what and don’t worry about making a mistake,” added Roger.
“For a while we were doing 5:00 am workouts,” said Roger. “Amya is not a morning person but if she wanted me to train her she knew she needed to get up at 5:00 am and get to work. With getting up that early I had to remind her that there can’t be a negative atmosphere = negative attitude = negative performance. We both agree that we will be positive no matter what. That was a fight at the beginning but the results of that commitment has paid dividends in her game.”
“Amya knows that development and learning never stops but she also knows that hard work and commitment is going to be the key in her development process,” added Roger.
“At first when the pandemic was really bad and facilities were shut down, I would do workouts at home,” said Amya. “My step-dad would put me and my brother through some workouts in our sand volleyball court in our back yard. Now that facilities have reopened, I am doing training with my brother at the Wellness Center where he works.”
“I’ve been both an ‘urban’ and ‘rez. Native and now I don’t consider myself either,” said Amya. “Although I moved back to my reservation in north central ND, I have also maintained relationships with coaches, friends, and family in the twin cities. I still play for a Minneapolis-based AAU team and my parents travel eight hours one way at least twice a month for tournaments and trainings. I also attend team trainings with my local high school team.”
“Relationships are everything and I couldn’t be doing what I am doing if I didn’t have the relationships I have with people who protect me, support me, and encourage me both on and off the rez,” added Amya.
“Amya is an amazing young lady,” said mom Anna Ross. “She is respectful and an extremely hard worker. She helps take care of her great-grandparents. She’s an awesome big sister and is also a 4.0 student.”
“This is all on top of playing multiple school sports and AAU basketball,” added Anna.
“We moved to Minneapolis when Amya was finishing up kindergarten,” said Anna. “At that time she was my little pageant princess. Like seriously, she was Little Miss North Dakota.”
“I will never forget her first day of school in MN,” said Anna. “All the little kids were sitting in the hall when I walked her in and they were all whispering about the ‘new girl’. Instead of getting nervous or scared, Amya squeezed in between the group, sat down, and said ‘yup, I’m new and my name is Amya!’ I was so proud of her.”
“She tries to be the best at everything she does including being a good big sister,” said Anna. “Her little sister Ariah thinks Amya hung the moon and stars. Even though Amya sometimes finds it difficult to balance school, friends, and sports she will set aside time to do a little spa time with her little sister or she will pull out the paints for some art time.”
“She does school all day then training and practice not usually getting home until 7 or 8 every night,” said Anna. “Despite her busy schedule she still comes home and helps out with chores and makes sure she never misses an opportunity to go in grandma and Papa’s room to tell them goodnight.”
“That is the way she approaches challenges. She meets them head on confidently and just does her best,” added Anna.
Photo Credit: Dave Decoteau Jr.
