by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Team sport athletes will continue to grow, mature, and develop game situation experience by putting in the quality time to be better.
Jacob Christjohn is Oneida and Ojibwe. He is a 6’0, freshman forward on the basketball team at Cudahy High School, WI.
“My mom, Lori Best, is Chippewa from Bad River WI and my dad, Tom Christjohn, is Oneida,” said Jacob.
“My core values keep me humble and very respectful as an athlete and this is how I am towards opponents and with teammates and coaches,” said Jacob.
“My dad, Tom Christjohn pushed me to be the best, and influenced and inspired me,” said Jacob.
“Jake has a high basketball IQ, is a team player, and loves the game,” said dad Tom Christjohn. “ He would love to play professionally, is a natural in any sport he tries, never quits, and he is quiet and shy until he turns on that switch then it’s go time.”
Mom Lori Best commented on her son Jacob’s leadership: “I see his leadership on the court for every team he has ever played for. He truly believes in team spirit. Over the years there have been players who don’t get as much play time as he does and when those players are put into the game Jacob ensures to pass them the ball or sets them up for a shot. When that player makes the shot he immediately runs over to them and pats them on the back and exclaims, ‘Good Shot!’ He is often giving his teammates high-fives on the court or on the bench. When he is taken out of the game, you can see him stand-up for his teammates successful shots, plays, or coming out of the game.”
“Off the court Jacob still has this same leadership. He will bring in groceries, take out garbage, and bring up the laundry baskets without being asked. When his nieces or his godson are around they come up to him and give him a big hug. He plays with them and laughs with them without ever having to be told to,” added Lori.
“Jacob is a member of the Youth in Motion Gym in South Milwaukee,” said Lori. “The staff knows him and often state what a ‘good kid’ he his and look out for him as he often gets into basketball games with older boys and sometimes men.”
“He went to Cudahy High School because he knew several of the boys who played basketball with him through the recreation department and here he is on Varsity not playing with one of them boys. But the whole school knows who he is and the leader he is, its funny when he is playing ball at CHS the students in the crowd cheer, ‘He’s a freshman’ when he makes a basket or play. I love the support they show him!,” added Lori.
“Coach Martin Guiterrez-Mato coached me on an AAU team, Checkmate, and he showed me how to be patient, use technical advice and add confidence in my game,” said Jacob.
“I remember a tournament game we were playing in a few years back when Jacob was in seventh grade playing up against 9th/10th graders,” recalled Coach Martin. “We were losing pretty much the whole game. And the thing about this game that stands out in my mind is Jacob’s effort. He never quit. Diving on floor for loose balls, taking charges, just doing anything he could to spark the team. When I saw the game was out of reach and I subbed him out he had tears running down his face. I went to him and thanked him. I said to him, ‘I can see that you’re giving me everything you got out there. There are going to be games like this where nothing goes right. We learn more from our losses than we do our wins.’ In that moment I saw how passionate he was about this sport and for a kid to be playing against boys much older than him giving that much of himself to win made me thankful that I had the opportunity to be apart of Jacobs journey as a basketball player, even if it’s for a short time, because I know he’s going to end up playing college ball somewhere if he continues to work and grow the way he has been.”
“Jake is a coaches dream. He is the type of kid who is a natural lead by example type of player. He’s got a very bright future in any sport he chooses. I knew he was special when I began to question if I was good enough myself as a coach. I wondered if I was the right person to get him to the next level of basketball. He’s one of the most grounded, humble kids I ever been around. That’s just not common with a kid who has the talent that Jake has. I wish I had 10 Jacobs on my team,” added Coach Martin.
“Coach Joe Rosolek coached me for three years on a recreation summer basketball league,” said Jacob. “He taught me how to be a leader and encouraged me to make moves.”
“Coming into high school I excelled as a runner for the cross-country team that I ran often on the varsity team,” said Jacob. “My coach believed in my skills. I did win the Woodland Conference Junior Varsity Championship for 2019-2020 in Cross Country with a time of 17:45 for 3.1 mile. It made me eligible for the CC Nationals that were held in Madison, WI this past December through USA Track and Field. Having such a great year in cross-country prepared me physically for basketball. During try-outs, it was decided I would become the only freshman on the varsity boy’s basketball team. This is the first year Cudahy High School has done this. Playing with older more experienced players, I felt the pressure to play hard. But my teammates accepted me and we’re learning to work together.”
“During cross-country season I accomplished being the JV Cross Country Woodland Conference Champion,” said Jacob. “I believe an even bigger accomplishment is making the varsity boys basketball team as freshman. Another accomplishment is maintaining A’s in classes while being in sports and adjusting to high school.”
“The best advice I can give others would be to make school your first priority,” said Jacob. “When you learn to manage time to get work done both at school and at home or to learn to work with other classmates during school projects or in the classroom these characteristics roll over into sports, like being a leader and being a respectful person.”
Photo Credit: Lori Best
I’ve seen Jacob play and he is a player. Great court presence and vision. Was very impressed and even more so when I saw he was a freshman. I’ve coached basketball for more than 20 years and I see his special talent.
WOW! This is an excellent article, Dan! My heart is beaming with pure happiness for this young man. I had the honor of spending plenty of instructional time in the classroom with Jacob during his middle school years at Indian Community School. He definitely demonstrated great leadership skills, and in fact, he was the very first student to stand up and recite one of our oldest speeches, the Kanehelatuksla at our 2017 Social Dance, Shout out to his Phenomenal Oneida language teacher, Dr. Renee Pfaller! Jacob influenced his peers to do their very best by his daily actions, every teachers dream! Yaw^ko, Dan Ninham for sharing Jacob’s successes!