by
(Editor’s Note: NDNSPORTS welcomes contributing writer Dan Ninham (Oneida Nation) who will be contributing stories to us from the WI, MN, and MI areas, if you have sports stories that should be told please reach out to Dan.)
Haiwanowen’s means, “He Takes a Chance”, in Seneca. It is Percy Booth’s Indian name.
“He Takes a Chance” is synonymous with Percy Booth’s journey to be the best he can be on and off the field in college lacrosse. Haiwanowen’s could mean he is a risk taker but it most likely means he makes the best decision with positive opportunities.
Haiwanowen’s Percy Booth is the son of Holly, Seneca Snipe Clan, and Shannon, Onondaga Eel Clan, and lives in Onondaga, New York.
Last spring, Haiwanowen’s Percy Booth’s goal with 17 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Onondaga Community College (OCC) men’s lacrosse team a dramatic 7-6 victory over Nassau Community College (NCC) and the third straight NJCAA national championship for the Lazers. OCC avenged a lopsided 12-4 loss to NCC two months earlier and finished the season with 13 wins and 2 losses. Check out the highlights with this video clip courtesy of Lax.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D-OKPOG-uw
OCC trailed 6-5 with just 43 seconds left in regulation when OCC tied the game. This set up the heroics for Percy giving him a hat trick.
Percy received post-tournament accolades including 2019 NJCAA National Player of the Year, First Team All American and Offensive Player of the Year.
This was not the first time that Percy took a chance in the final seconds of a major game.
“He and about 10 other native young men won a national high school tournament when Percy intercepted a pass in the last few seconds and made an assist for the winning goal,” recounted Mark Burnam, Percy’s coach at IMG Academy his senior year, in the 2015 Dick’s Tournament of Champions, and the 2016 FIL U19 World Championship with the Iroquois Nationals.
After high school, Percy was offered a scholarship at NCAA DI University of Hartford.
“It didn’t work out there,” said Percy. “I realized I had to do better in school because I lost a big part of my scholarship because of my poor grades.” He transferred to OCC.
Percy continued to take chances to be college ready with academic work.
“He was one of the students I worked with one-on-one to improve SAT scores,” said Asa Shenandoah, Percy’s cousin and SAT Prep Program Director at the Onondaga Nation. “No student is thrilled about SAT work, but he came and did what I asked of him. His goal was to go away to school and play lacrosse so he is definitely willing to work for what he really wants.”
Last season Eric Miccio took over the reins of perhaps the most storied junior college lacrosse program in the country at OCC. Former Coach Chuck Wilbur won 11 of the past 13 national championships. Miccio was a national champion player in 2009 and 2010.
“Percy is a sponge when it comes to absorbing information. He is good at applying different techniques and motions that he is being taught into his game. He is so good out there and moves great for his size. He plays hard, with a purpose and he plays with total respect for the game in every way you would want someone too,’ said Miccio.
“The Onondaga Council of Chiefs supported the lacrosse teams here. We won tournaments throughout the United States and Canada and the Canadian’s Presidents Cup twice with just our own kids from within our community. Teams that win this tournament usually stack top players from other teams on it,” said Freeman “Boss” Bucktooth, one of the elite coaches and program organizers of Onondaga Nation Lacrosse and the Iroquois Nationals.
Players’ fathers often coached their sons from three years old to junior level 13 years later. “Father’s usually coached their kid’s teams, such as Percy and his father Shannon, the Thompson brothers and their father Jerome, and my son’s and me. We’ve always had father coached-kids teams here. I helped all of the fathers with our minor teams,” added Bucktooth.
“I am proud to say Percy is just one product of our rich history here at Onondaga. He is a strong left-handed shooter that can shoot the lights out on a goaltender. His college coach knew what to do in the OT game. Get the ball to Percy and let him shoot. Percy has a strong positive attitude that will carry him through what life brings him,” said Bucktooth.
