by Picture caption from left: Artley Skenandore, ONHS Athletic Director, Jaisah Yelihwanolu Lee, ONHS Head Volleyball Coach, and Yelihwakanyehs Rodriguez, ONHS Assistant Volleyball Coach
By Dan Ninham
Aspiring high school coaches have an advantage when they are on a college team. They see the team worldview of the coaching staff and seeing firsthand how to do the right things right. Oftentimes, a mentorship occurs throughout their tenure and is valuable.
Jaisah Yelihwanolu Lee, 24, is the head varsity volleyball coach at Oneida Nation High School in WI.
“I am Bear Clan and I am from the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin,” said Jaisah.
“The start of my coaching career began as the assistant coach for Team Wisconsin in the 2017 19U North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) women’s volleyball team,” said Jaisah. “I was the head coach for the 2020 19U NAIG Team Wisconsin women’s volleyball team but unfortunately the NAIG games were postponed due to COVID-19.
“I had no intentions of coaching until after I graduated from my master’s program,” said Jaisah. “However, Artley Skenandore, Athletic Director at Oneida Nation High School, asked if I would be willing to volunteer for the alternate season for high school volleyball and I agreed.”
“I have been on a volleyball court since I was 12 years old,” said Jaisah. “I played volleyball at Pulaski High School as a libero earning all-conference honors during my time there. I transitioned playing at the college level for St. Norbert College.”
“One of my accomplishments I believe was going through the phases of a college athlete and growing as a teammate,” said Jaisah. “One thing I really worked with my teammates was not saying the word ‘hate.’ I always told them they could not truly hate something, and we worked on changing the word ‘hate’ to ‘dislike’. Even if that was a minor change it was something very impactful, they still use in their lives.”
“My goal was not to get ‘player of the year’ or earn ‘first or second team all-conference’,” said Jaisah. “My goal was to be there for my teammates on and off the court.”
“This is my most important accomplishment as a player because we focus too much on individual goals. For me it was seeing my growth as a player and leader during my four years and being a good teammate. My growth as a player started when I was a freshman. I was on the sideline most of my freshman year and this taught me how to be a better teammate and see the game from a new perspective. Starting my sophomore year, I was a three-rotation player meaning I was on the court for three of the six rotations. I continued to build as a player and a teammate,” added Jaisah.
“When junior and senior year came, I was the starting libero,” said Jaisah. “At the end of my time as St. Norbert College I earned player of the week a couple times, three-time MWC Academic All-Conference honors, All-Tournament Honors at Oshkosh, and was team MVP at the end of the season.”
“Although these are some of my main athletic accomplishments, my biggest one like I said before was my growth as an athlete, teammate, and leader,” added Jaisah.
“There are three tribal core values that help define who I am as a new coach,” said Jaisah. “The first one is Kahletsyalusla and is having that heartfelt encouragement. I practice that in my coaching by continuously pushing my athletes to be the best they can be. Encouragement is very important to me as a coach when my athletes are struggling in games. Furthermore, I emphasized the team to encourage one another in practice and games.”
“Secondly, the next tribal core value is Kanolukhwasla which is having that compassion for one another,” said Jaisah. “This is one of the most important parts as being a coach. As a coach I really try to be compassionate towards my athletes because they are student athletes in a pandemic and are struggling with school, family, and social issues.”
“Lastly, the next tribal core values is Ka?nikuhli·yo which is having that good spirit and good mind. Every day in practice and game days, I always did my best to make sure my energy was encouraging for the girls and checked in with them. Practicing this mindset is important because as coaches we set the tone for practice and game days so it’s important to always have that good mind and spirit.”
“My coaches at St. Norbert College positively influenced me,” said Jaisah. “Head coach BJ Bryant and assistant coach Michael Voigt. I did not really realize how much of an impact they had until I started coaching. As a college athlete I did not understand some of the decisions both of them made but looking back I know they cared about us succeeding on and off the court.”
“One of the things I really valued was how much of an emphasis B.J. put on having us fill out check in sheets before practice,” said Jaisah. “These sheets had columns where we as athletes filled out on a scale with 1 being less stress and 10 being the most stressed. The categories were the following: social, family, volleyball, physical, school, emotional, etc. I implemented this with my team, and it was super helpful for my girls to physically write down what they were feeling and being able to leave that on a piece of paper and focus on playing volleyball.”
“More importantly, BJ placed an emphasis on teamwork, discipline, execution, and doing the little things right. This has contributed to the coaching framework I engaged in this season as a new coach as many of our athletes were learning new skills and some were first time players. I communicated with my players how important it was to be disciplined in base, how important first contact was, and executing in crucial moments. Often, I would be in practice and I would end up saying, “omg I sound just like BJ”. It is funny to think about now and reflect on because it reminds me how important the coach and athlete relationship is,” added Jaisah.
“As I reflect back on my time as a SNC volleyball player, B.J. is a coach dedicated to the success and wellbeing of his athletes in the classroom and on the court,” said Jaisah.
“Mike was the assistant coach all four years while I was at St. Norbert,” said Jaisah. “One of the most important lessons he taught me was to have fun and check in with my teammates. This helped me become a better teammate. Mike was always having fun with players, creating handshakes, and you would often hear him shouting from the sideline. Mike is a very enthusiastic person who taught me how important energy can be on the court.”
“My favorite memory of Mike is before games he would have a unique handshake with almost all of the athletes so you would see him doing all those handshakes on the sideline,” said Jaisah.
“Both coaches showed me the two sides of coaching and how important it is to find a balance,” said Jaisah. “The lessons of B.J. and Mike will continue to have a positive impact on my life and my coaching career.” “Jaisah’s experience and investment in the sport of volleyball will be a tremendous asset to the players at Oneida High School,” said B.J. Bryant, head women’s and men’s volleyball coach at St. Norbert College. “She was a fierce competitor on the court and played with a passion and love for the game that resonated with those around her.”
“In big moments she kept her calm and trusted the work and training she had over her years playing. These are characteristics that, I believe, are extremely important for all coaches especially those beginning their careers. Her love of the sport, as large as it is, pales in comparison to her love of family and her tribe,” added B.J.
“Jaisah’s work in the classrooms here at St. Norbert College and Washington University has been done, in large part, to give back and help people in the Oneida community,” said B.J. “Her commitment and desire to help those around her find their life paths and pursue their passions will work hand-in-hand with her volleyball knowledge to help create a winning culture and mindset within the Oneida program.”
“I am so excited to see the progress she and the team will make and the impact she will have on the young people she will mentor and coach through the sport,” added B.J.
The holistic areas of performance during the pandemic: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, needed to be fine-tuned for maximum dividends on the court.
“We had a very short season this year,” said Jaisah. “It was only four weeks with six conference games. I really empathized with my athletes as they were virtual learning because I also am learning virtually in my master’s program. What really helped was having my athletes fill out those check in sheets before practice and game days to understand where they were at in each of those areas, leaving the option for them to come talk to us if they wanted. For example, if one of my players was not hustling in practice or diving for a ball but I knew their physical category was a high number, I would know they are experiencing a high amount of stress physically.”
“To build on this, I recognize that the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual parts within are interconnected and important components to an athlete’s performance on and off the court. When we were struggling as a team, I reminded my players to take a breath, reset and we really talked about having that ‘next point mentality’. I would say because it was such a short season it was difficult to consistently build on these categories,” added Jaisah.
“The athletes had a new coaching staff so the majority of our time was spent on getting to know the athletes, building our program, and allowing time for the athletes to get used to this new style of coaching,” said Jaisah. “The first day I talked to the athletes about ‘giving grace’ to us as coaches and we would give grace in return. This meant being empathetic towards one another in this new learning environment as the assistant coach and I were coaching for the first time at a high school level and the athletes were learning from a new volleyball perspective.”
Artley Skenandore, Athletic Director at ONHS said: “Coach Lee, while playing volleyball in college, accumulated conference and team recognition as the result of being the leader by example. Her leading attribute while playing was making everyone play better with the result being team success. This skill has transferred to her coaching toolbox. She has engaged the ladies on her team to play for each other with the result being team success. We look forward to Coach Lee continuing to grow the success of the program by encouraging her ladies to learn the strength of working together on and off the court.”
“This is my first year coaching,” said Yelihwakanyehs Rodriguez, 19, ONHS assistant volleyball coach. “I am only a sophomore at UW-Madison but I graduated from ONHS and some of the girls I coached I also played with my junior and senior year of high school.”
“Jaisah is one of the most kindhearted people I know,” said Yeliwakanyehs. “She has a huge heart and is always helping everyone around her. She’s hardworking, loving and just a great person to be around. She can light up a room as soon as walks in. She motivates me to work hard and follow my dreams. I know if I were to ever need help she would come instantly. She’s the big sister I never had growing up and I was so fortunate to be asked to coach alongside her.”
“My hope for the fall season is to continue to build the program and incorporate the Oneida Nation High School values: Be Respectful, Be Ready, Be Responsible,” said Jaisah.
Photo Credit: Sarah Wunderlich
