by By Dan Ninham
Multi-talented athletes at a young age in high school have a foundation that began early in their lives. Their leadership was also provided with life lessons by caregivers along the way including family and coaches.
Micayla Silas, 15, is an enrolled member of the Salt River Pima/Maricopa of Arizona. She also represents the Ft. Peck Assiniboine Sioux of Montana, the Oneida and Menominee tribes.
“My Indian name is Flying Hawk Women,” said Micayla. “I will be a sophomore at Seymour HS in Seymour Wisconsin. My parents are Wayne Silas Jr. and Rose Track.”
“I began participating in basketball at the age of five years old,” said Micayla. “I later began my competitive basketball career with the Oneida Futures Basketball team when I was in second grade. Over the years we won many tournaments throughout the state.”
“One of our biggest accomplishments as a team was winning the Wisconsin State Invitational Championship Tournament in 6th and 8th grade,” said Micayla. “I was also very fortunate to be selected to the All-Tournament Team for the 6th grade team selection. In the eighth grade, I was selected to the All-Star team at the March Madness Tournament in Okmulgee, OK.”
“Last year during my freshman year I broke the high school cross country 5k record with a PR of 20:20,” said Micayla. “This was during the third meet of my high school career. I also placed 1st in the Waupaca Invitational Meet. At the end of the season I was named Seymour Girl’s Cross Country MVP for the 2019-2020 season.”
“When the basketball season began I was very thankful that I was selected to play as a starter on the Seymour girls varsity basketball team as a freshman,” said Micayla. “I have also been very honored to have had the opportunity to play with teams and talented teammates from different parts of the U.S. This has given me the opportunity to learn and grow as a player from my experiences with them.”
“In all aspects of my life, I keep our beautiful culture and the one’s that fought to preserve our ways in mind,” said Micayla. “I think of the path they have set for our people and use that to strive for success. I think of the resilience and strength they carried with them to maintain our way of life. I feel that as a student athlete it is important to carry these values on and off the court.”
“I have to maintain a sense of resilience and strength in the school and classroom setting and especially on the court. I also feel that creating a sense of unity on the course and court is so important within our team and family unit. I like to think that as a team, we are one. We look out for each other and protect one another with the common goal of competing and doing our absolute best,” added Micayla.
“Throughout the majority of my basketball career I have been coached by Mariea and Derrick King and trained and mentored by Derick Denny,” said Micayla. “These people have been the most impactful presence in my life. They have positively guided me, not only in the game of basketball but also in life. They have given me some of the most valuable lessons that I will forever keep with me. They have helped keep me on the right path on and off the court.”
“Over the years we have become family and I am beyond grateful for their constant love, support, encouragement and guidance,” added Micayla.
“Mariea and I first started coaching the Oneida Futures and Micayla when she was in 3rd grade during the 2013-14 season,” said Derrick King. “This program was and is an Oneida girls traveling team. We traveled all over northeastern Wisconsin, coaching the girls from 3rd-8th grade.”
“She was naturally athletic but showed a great love for the game early. In the six years coaching her, she may have missed a total of five practices, mostly due to her playing on other teams. She would lead the ball handling drills and earned the starting point guard position. With her as the point guard we won two Wisconsin State Invitational’s, one in 6th grade and then again in 8th grade.”
“Her court vision and passing is amazing,” said Derrick. “She can read the defense and attack, we watched her break down full court presses, she can pull up with the jumper, she has a 3pt shot, can knock down the free throws and ultimately wants to set her teammates up to score. Her defense is also great, often getting steals especially on the 2-3 scramble trap that we learned from Dan Ninham one summer night back in 2018 at the Civic Center where we practiced.”
“She’s naturally athletic but has put in the work during the season and more importantly the off season’s to become a great point guard and basketball player,” said Derrick. “She’s a great sister, always supporting her siblings and family but has also been a great role model to the younger Oneida Futurez Team, that are two grades younger. She even wants to help coach our daughter Charlize’s 4th grade team!”
“Micayla is really like another daughter to us,” said Derrick and Mariea King, Oneida Futurez coaches. “We watched her grow so much over the years. Her freshman year she made varsity girls basketball and cross country at Seymour HS. We were so proud of her. She really has a very bright future and we’re honored to have coached her.”
“I’ve had the privilege to train Micayla since fourth grade now going into her sophomore season,” said Derick Denny. “It’s been great being able to watch her growth not only as a great basketball player with unlimited potential, but a young woman who is a huge role model in her community. I don’t think she has quite grasped that yet. Since the beginning though ‘Boo’ was exceptionally ahead of her playing age. When I first met her she was doing things in games that I knew older girls I’ve worked with weren’t able to do in training sessions. I was excited because as a former college athlete myself I was able to see right away that if she worked really hard, I believe she could literally play anywhere.”
“She’s mistaken as a 2 or 3 guard, but at heart she’s a true point guard where a lot of the times she’ll give up a perfect open lay up to drop it off to her teammates. Her ball handling is improving each summer, and we emphasized her left hand this AAU season trying to get more comfortable attacking left and understanding the importance of needing that in your arsenal as all great players do,” added Derick.
“She’s a great spot up shooter, but is getting comfortable creating shots off the dribble,” said Derick. “Being 5’8ish I think that’s a great height to be a taller, longer, more athletic point guard than most teams her age are used to. I think if they do have a season this fall, she will truly get a big opportunity to burst on the scene as one of the top players in the state I truly believe that. She also attended Seymour HS and we understand that basketball is life there. If you play basketball there you’re in a great position to be successful and I think she will under Coach Bobby Kuchta.”
“All in all she’s a great kid with amazing potential,” said Derick. “If she stays focused she will have tremendous success. She’s a great daughter, sister and teammate. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.”
“Another very influential person in my student-athlete endeavors is my mom Rose Track,” said Micayla. “She always pushes me to be the best student-athlete I can be. She is always sure to hold me accountable for my actions in school, on the course and on the court. She stresses to me the importance of giving it my all and to have fun whether it be basketball, cross country or track. She has always been encouraging and supportive by coming to all my games and running meets. No matter how busy she can be, she tries her best to make it to all of my activities. One of my biggest goals in life is to be able to provide for her and take care of her the way she always had for me and my brother and sister.”
“Micayla was born with natural leadership abilities,” said mom Rose Track. “She has such a bright personality that people seem to gravitate towards. Micayla has the ability to be a leader without having to be appointed the leader title. She can play the role as a leader because of her ability to quickly understand and adapt to the people and environment around her. She is fearless. She isn’t afraid to step up and lead when need be.”
“I feel that her good heart, compassion, understanding and patience are key components of what makes her a great leader. She leads with humility, positivity and encouragement. She likes to ensure that her teammates feel their importance to the team and feels that everyone works better together when everyone feels significant and included,” added Rose.
“Off the court Micayla carries herself as a proud young Native woman,” said Rose. “She takes pride in who she is. Being a minority in her school, she has faced adversity but has never wavered in the dignity she has for being Native. She uses her voice to stand-up and educate about her heritage.”
“Micayla has an aspiration to play basketball and run cross country at the collegiate level,” said Rose. “As her mother, I have instilled in her since she started her athletic journey that academics come first. I have stressed the importance of working hard for academic excellence because in order to succeed at the collegiate level she needs to be able to have that strong academic and athletic work ethic. She knows that I have high expectations for her and she works hard to maintain balance between academics and athletics.”
“Micayla is a hard worker. She has always been driven by everything that she is passionate about. I am so very proud of my daughter and look forward to witnessing her bright future, and the sky’s the limit,” added Rose.
“I give a message to my fellow indigenous student-athletes to work hard for your dreams,” said Micayla. “Whatever that dream may be, work hard! Hard work, patience and determination can take you a very long way as long as you put the work in. Also, no matter how the odds are stacked against you or how many people tell you that you can’t do something, learn to take that negativity from other people and put it into your game and motivation to be the greatest student and athlete you can be.”
“Most of all stay focused on your education and don’t let sports become your first priority, because after all you are a student-athlete,” added Micayla.
Photo Credits: Jazmyne Harroun and Patti Tanewash.
