by By Dan Ninham
A first year high school volleyball coach made positive adjustments in her career and life after a swimming accident.
Miranda Washinawatok, 22, is from Keshena, WI. She was a first-year volleyball coach at Menominee Indian HS last season.
“I am an enrolled Menominee, and a Meskwaki descendant,” said Miranda. “Both of my clans belong to the sky. On my mother’s side I am eagle, and to my father’s I belong to the thunder clan.”
“Back in high school I had a teammate comment, ‘Miranda, you’d be a really good coach’ and since then, it’s always been a goal to get that far in this sport,” recalled Miranda. “Really though, I first got my shoes wet when Jaisah Lee, the Oneida Nation HS volleyball coach asked if I’d assist her with 19U Team Wisconsin for the upcoming North American Indigenous Games.”
“As excited as I was, that team was put on pause due to the pandemic. We were able to hold tryouts at least and that was my first time going through the process of eliminating girls and really having a sense of strategy in choosing my players,” added Miranda.
“The pandemic also kept me from returning to college this past academic year, along with a neck injury,” said Miranda. “Ultimately, I chose to stay home and recover while enduring this delicate time with family and my community. So, this past spring I began the six week alternate season as a co-coach to both the varsity and JV1 teams.”
“About two weeks into the season the athletic director, my counterpart and myself agreed to switch things back to something more formal,” said Miranda. “I then became the head varsity coach while continuing to help the other two teams when I could for the remainder of the season.”
“I played volleyball all four years in high school at the varsity level, and two years of basketball at the JV level while at Shawano HS,” said Miranda. “I’ve played three seasons of collegiate volleyball at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. When I return this fall, I’ll be competing in my senior year of my undergraduate career.”
“If time allows as well as my health, I’d really like to use my last year of eligibility and try to play some beach volleyball while attending grad school,” added Miranda.
Miranda was featured in a previous story on Dec. 15, 2019: http://www.ndnsports.com/miranda-washinawatok-menominee-accepting-challenges-as-an-indigenous-college-student-athlete-at-university-of-maine/
“The main thing I am super proud of my accomplishments in coaching would include seeing my team go to five sets,” said Miranda. “That’s like playing overtime or an extra inning in a sense. The Lady Eagles did that three times this past spring, twice against Oneida Nation and again versus Bowler. On top of that, they were able to sweep a team in three sets, when we had gone to four sets and lost the first time we played against that specific opponent.”
“As for my own athletic accomplishments, I will forever cherish how I grew as a player while competing at the NCAA Division III level,” said Miranda. “My freshman year of college I was awarded First Team in the American Collegiate Athletic Association while also being named Rookie of the Year. My sophomore year I was selected as Second Team in the North Atlantic Conference. In my three years at UMPI I was voted captain twice, as well as team MVP twice.”
“Given the collegiate experience and advanced teams I’ve been a part of over the years I truly felt I had a high volleyball IQ for some time now,” said Miranda. “It worked out to my advantage that I was home, and could offer my time to the high school volleyball program at MIHS.”
“I believe every Indigenous nation teaches to give back to your community and encourage an outlet that is beneficial to the youth,” said Miranda. “Volleyball is my greatest passion, and I hope that some of these girls take off and do amazing things with their own love for this game.”
“Seeing how I transformed my life from a kid who was doing poorly in high school off the Rez, I was able to turn things around when I entered college and worked even harder because I had something not many Rez kids have the opportunity to do,” said Miranda. “With the responsibility of being a role model, I was sure to tell relatable stories to my players in hopes they understood, that with discipline and commitment you can accomplish tough goals. The opportunity to coach this sport I love so desperately, to a group of girls that are family and Menominee, was a dream come true.”
“My mentors I looked to this past season, and in preparation for the spring were all past coaches of mine,” said Miranda. “My collegiate coach Jonathon Bowman and I spoke leading up to the season, and I utilized a lot of the drills and games he ran with us during my own practices.”
“It was awesome to see and hear that any high intensity drills I did use, the girls enjoyed a lot! A strategic move that I transferred from playing, to coaching and using on my own team is the way he sets up his middle back defense and who he plays there. Instead of using a perimeter defense that is typical at the high school level, I brought our middle back player up to about ten to fifteen feet in the court and it played out beautifully,” added Miranda.
“Two more of my mentors are Colette White and Michelle Corn, both coaches of mine when I competed on Team Wisconsin’s 16U volleyball team at the North American Indigenous Games in Saskatchewan,” said Miranda. “Both have influenced me in similar and completely different aspects, which is why I love having them on my side as women I can always count on to teach me something about this game.”
“Overall, they gave me detailed insight in how to run rotations better and more strategically, what to look for in being coachable in younger players, as well as relaying information in skills that needed a bit more attention in individual players. It was heartwarming to have them approach me after a game and to hear them say ‘good game, coach.’”
“Aside from mentors, the man who inspired me as a coach was my godfather, my uncle Buckle,” said Miranda. “To the Menominee Reservation, he is a sports legend and well known in the community for his involvement in youth sports. Duane ‘Buckle’ Waukau is a man who, growing up, was always rooting for me and forever encouraging me to work hard outside of practice. He in a sense, spoke my college career and coaching career into existence because he has always supported me in volleyball, however, the conversations we’ve had in regards to my own goals have transitioned just so. Many a time he has put it in my head to come and share my skills and knowledge with the Menominee youth, and I am incredibly thankful he is my inspiration.”
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world quickly and directly affected spring sports going into off-season summer play ultimately going into the fall season and beyond. All in the sports environment were affected.
“Well, to be completely honest we all rolled with the punches thrown at us, coaches included,” said Miranda. “The first day of practice was pushed back by a day, so that limited our time to work with the girls prior to their first game. There were times we had games cancelled the day of, and girls would be bummed or questioning why, and what I emphasized was what can we work on today, what are we able to do with the players we do have, and how much time is available to us.”
“We’d have several girls missing on any given day due to personal, family, and work-related reasons,” said Miranda. “As understanding as I tried to be during this unique season, being patient and learning to adapt is how I approached the uncertainty.”
“To work around all of the chaos and obstacles we faced as a program, I tried my best to fill every minute of practice time, and hold open gyms on the weekend just so these girls could touch a ball and interact with one another in a volleyball setting,” added Miranda.
“This past summer I sustained a neck injury that kept me in the hospital for three weeks,” said Miranda. “During July, I broke my C2 vertebrae and endured spinal bleeding and partial paralysis. Both the odontoid fracture, in addition to the bleeding, heavily affected my nerves as well as physical capabilities. For instance, it took me ten days to learn how to walk again without assistance, and about two months before I could jump.”
“I now have a screw in my neck about an inch and a quarter in length that is nearly healed. I see a physical therapist once a month to assess and check in on any concerns I come across in my prolonging recovery,” added Miranda.
“I started coaching about eight months post op, and I can humbly say these girls, the Menominee Lady Eagles, pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and set aside any hesitation I had in myself,” said Miranda. “They were the girls who made it easy to laugh at myself when I did attempt to show them something, but they were also very understanding that I was trying and working on improving since my injury.”
“I am incredibly thankful to have started this coaching journey with the Menominee Lady Eagles volleyball program,” said Miranda. “I have much to learn, and lots of work to put in yet.”
Photo Credit: D.King of Images
