by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Haudenosaunee means “the people of the longhouse.” The haudenosaunee are within the Iroquois Confederacy and the Six Nations. The haudenosaunee are originally from eastern to western New York and going into Ontario. The Six Nations include the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Tuscarora.
“My Indian name is Tsennine and it translates to ‘She brings joy’,” said Kalani Thomas. ”I am Turtle Clan of the Mohawk Nation. My parents are Cleveland and Connie Thomas. I am from Six Nations, Ontario.”
“I am a 5’6” guard for the Brantford CYO Falcons and the 2019 reigning Division 1 Ontario Cup Champions,” said Kalani. “I also play for Six Nations Elite, and is a native travelling team.”
“Recently I committed to Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario for the 2020-2021 season. I graduated in 2019 at McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia, Ontario, and attended post grad for the 2019-2020 school year. I had the second highest academic average within the native students in my grade last year,” added Kalani.
“My haudenosaunee core values are having and using a good mind, sharing and caring for everyone, treating everyone as if they were family and respect for other cultures.
“These core values define every aspect of who I try to be on an off the court,” said Kalani. “With having a good mindset during and throughout the game, it helps with not getting into a negative mindset if something is not going my way. Sharing and caring for everyone, whether that be helping not only my team up but the other players as well.
Treating everyone as if they were family. With my teammates I take it upon myself to show each of my teammates that I care for them just like how I would if they were my sisters. Respect for other cultures, race does not matter when gaining an emotional bond with my team and coaches.”
“Jeremy Thompson has been a family friend since I was in eighth grade,” said Kalani. “For as long as I can remember he has always looked out for me, whether that be having proper shoes for my upcoming season or showing me that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Jeremy has treated me as his own family, and I hope I can do the same for others. Jeremy is an N7 Athlete, Syracuse Alumni, and he now plays in the NLL for the Saskatchewan Rush.”
“I know Kalani through her father Cleveland Thomas who is a good friend of mine,” said Jeremy Thompson. “We’ve known each other’s families for quite some time now. Here on Six Nations Reserve they have pick up basketball nights which is predominately men, well really all men, and she was only young woman out there and to me that said and showed her compassion and commitment to the game. I tell you, she for real was hitting 3-pointers and taking the ball to the net with confidence. I just thought it was so amazing to see a young woman out there playing amongst men, I thought that was super cool.”
“Carey-Leigh Vyse helped me out with my HU Orange softball team a few years back,” said Kalani. “When she was assisting my team she was also training with Team Canada, in those practices she taught me what it takes to be a great athlete. Carey-Leigh has been a positive influence on me since the first day she came out to show us different techniques of fielding and hitting. She always had a positive attitude in everything she did, even if there were negatives Carey-Leigh would find one positive even if there were one hundred negatives. She has always had a good mind even in the negative, this has influenced me in many ways and I try to keep a good mind on and off the court. Carey-Leigh Vyse played at a very high level for Team Canada and Syracuse University.”
“I first met Kalani in my travels when she was committed to an all indigenous competitive softball team that was established right on the Six Nations Reserve, Ohsweken,” said Carey-Leigh Vyse. “The team was coached by head coach, Robert Bomberry and assistant coach, Brandon VanEvery. I was asked by the coaches that if I had any time during my own training with Team Canada, that I could come to their practices and help out. I was ecstatic to join and help out as that was always one of my main focuses both during my softball career and in my teachings as an Indigenous person, is to help others wherever I can, especially if it is to help our rising Indigenous youth attain a higher level of training and skill.”
“During practices, I was given the chance to really connect with and get to know the team and to my surprise, I had found out that Kalani hadn’t played softball for long and that this team was one of her first experiences at a higher level of competitiveness. That right there, was where that spark happened where I knew Kalani was a special athlete because during practices she was the one to hustle in every drill, display a positive attitude, try her best in learning a new drill, ask questions, work hard during conditioning days and was open to feedback and making adjustments,” added Carey.
“As an athlete, it is important to practice being uncomfortable because if we are comfortable, we don’t grow outside of ourselves, “ said Carey. “We stay the same, and we may stay the same like all of the other competition. Being uncomfortable helps us to achieve our true abilities and greatness. It allows that difference between someone being good to someone being great. It gives athletes that edge over other athletes who aren’t willing to go outside their comfort zone. Kalani was that athlete to practice outside of her comfort zone.”
“Kalani was practicing outside of her comfort zone all that year and for that, it made her a phenomenal basketball player,” said Carey. “I express to young athletes all the time to try different sports as it will have a positive affect on their skill set and mind set. I believe it is important to play other sports growing up because they teach you different skills and movement which will then have a greater impact on your focused sport that you choose to pursue.”
“All growing up, I was the kid who signed up for every sport in elementary school (ex. badminton, track and field, cross country, basketball, soccer, etc) and in high school, I committed to playing competitive basketball in the winter and competitive softball in the summers. Kalani is an athlete who saw opportunities in playing multiple sports and took those challenges and worked hard to overcome them,” added Carey.
“Kalani decided to commit fully to her basketball career after playing competitive softball,” said Carey. “She came to that time where as athletes, we do need to decide which sport to pursue in order to master the sport you have chosen, and it takes your absolute everything and focus. Another thing that I admired about Kalani was that she wasn’t scared to play with the boys. I loved playing against boys because they challenged me and in return, I got better and so is Kalani as she plays in a men’s basketball league. I had the opportunity to play alongside Kalani during the ‘Shoot Out Basketball League’ and I got to witness first hand her leadership as a point guard and her skills as she would drive around her opponents or be a deadly 3-point shooter.”
“Kalani is leading by example for our future generations,” said Carey. “I can’t wait to see what this next chapter in her life will bring her and to watch her become an even stronger indigenous athlete to rule that basketball court as she takes on college level playing. I enjoyed my softball days coaching her and playing alongside her when we played in a men’s basketball league. I wish her all the best and I’m cheering for her greatly!”
“Jess Martin played NCAA D1 softball at Syracuse University,” said Kalani. “Jess was the assistant coach for my HU Orange softball team. She would always tell us that we could do anything we put our mind to. She taught me a lot when coaching my team and the little things carried on in my basketball career today like hustling more than the other team when going to the bench or getting back into the play. Jess always reminds me to stay on a good path and keep working hard. She has always been there to help me when I have a question about school or sports. And she is one reason I am at where I am today.”
“I was fortunate to coach Kalani for our U16 Six Nations Softball team,” said Jess. “I have many stories coaching her but the ones that stand out to me are the times when she showed up to put in work at practice, while always keeping things light and fun. One thing to note is that softball was like her second maybe even third sport, but she would never shy away from being a student of the game. I say that with the utmost respect for her, because she brought a competitive edge to everything she did. She wanted to be the best she could be. I saw that same fire in her when she played basketball and hockey. The thing about Kalani is that she was a natural leader, and she led by example. She didn’t complain, she just worked super hard and one of the best things about her is that she had this way of bringing a team together through laughter and light heartedness. She’s a great athlete and even better human being. I’m excited to watch her shine in this next chapter!”
The holistic model of wellness focuses on balancing the body, mind, spirit and emotions. The balance also helps aspiring athletes to perform at their optimum best in practice and games.
“When I am training for upcoming seasons and during the season I always try to out work my opponent and work harder each time I train,” said Kalani. “I have also been playing in the Six Nations Men’s Basketball League. This has helped me by playing against people that are bigger and much stronger than I am. It is also better competition and pushes me to find ways to get around obstacles like opponents being twice my size.”
“During the off season I try to go to the court three times a week and shoot around or play scrimmages with others at the gym. There is also pick-up ball during the week, this summer I am expecting to do workouts with my college team to gain physical strength,” added Kalani.
“I need to improve being confident in my abilities and being able to keep shooting even if I’m not hitting my shots,” said Kalani. “Once I miss a few I start to get in my head to not believing in my own abilities. I am always trying to become a better all round basketball player. There is always something to improve on even if you think you are a master at it.”
“To me spirituality is just how we connect with our surroundings,” said Kalani. “We connect to people, the earth, the plants, animals, waters, food and we know our place. So for me I am able to connect with people through sports, building friendships and playing for my family trying my best to represent them and who we are.”
“In stressful game situations, I try to control my emotions and not be distracted by the negative aspects of what is happening in the game,” said Kalani. “When games become stressful I have to trust my team and trust myself, know that mistakes happen and I have to be okay with it. I try to play every game as if it was my last and play with heart. This helps with stress by knowing that I tried my best and played with heart.”
“During the pandemic I have been spending more time with family and enjoying the outdoors,” said Kalani. “Before when my schedule was busy with school and sports almost every day of the week it was getting overwhelming and stressful. Since the pandemic it has shown me that we do need to spend as much time with family as we can. My father has been getting medicine from our natural resources and we drink one cup a day for our immune system.”
“During the pandemic my family and I have become closer and playing different games, we have put our electronics down and just spending time with each other. This has helped us all feel safe during this stressful time. It also reminds us that we are not in control and we only have a limited amount of days here on earth and it makes me reflect on what I want to accomplish.”
Photo Credit: Kalani Thomas
