by By Dan Ninham
Shawn Nahno-Kerchee Yazzie is 12 years old and in the sixth grade. He lives in Mesa, Arizona and competes for Aspire Junior Sun Devils.
Shawn is the number one gymnast in Arizona in his age group. He has won multiple state age group championships.
“I am Navajo, Comanche, and Sac & Fox,” said Shawn. “My mom is full Navajo and my father is Navajo, Comanche, and Sac & Fox.”
“One of my Native American names means ‘I am a warrior bringing people out of the darkness and into the light,’” said Shawn.
Shawn has won multiple State Gymnastic Championships and placed 18th All-Around at the 2021 Level 8 National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“The National Championships was where I was able to represent my gym, my family, and my people,” said Shawn.
“One of the biggest traditional teachings I live is running in the morning and to the east to greet the sun,” said Shawn. “The Holy People see me working hard so they help answer my prayers.”
“My great-grandfather, Eddie Chee Yazzie, Sr., taught my grandpa and my dad to get up early and run and to always be ready for the day and build yourself up before you go to school or work,” said Shawn. “My great-grandpa was taken as a young boy to the Tuba City Boarding School then became a Sergeant First Class (SFC) in the Army and was in the 3rd Infantry during WWII. He retired then came home and ran a farm near Tuba City, AZ.”
“My great-grandmother, Lorraine Johnson, was taken by her father and hid from the Army soldiers as they came to take children to boarding school,” said Shawn. “My great-grandma did not go to boarding school and was able to live a traditional Navajo life where she ran a farm, tend to the livestock and maintained our traditional rug weaving. She taught my Cheii (grandpa) Pete Johnson how to take care of livestock and eventually he and all his brothers became professional bull riders. She has taught our family to never forget where you come from and that your foundation is with the land and livestock.”
“My teachings from my tribe convert to me as an athlete in every way,” said Shawn. “In Native American Church (NAC) ceremonies, I am taught to have strength by sitting up and on my knees like I’m riding my horse, staying awake, and listening to prayers and songs that are happening. During sweat lodge ceremonies, I am taught to never check out early by leaving the sweat and sitting up when the medicine man throws water on the rocks. I sing during these ceremonies but don’t know a lot of songs yet, so I am still practicing and learning more.”
“The traditional songs I learn and I sing are with me when I travel to my competitions or when my Cheii Pete sings them to me too,” added Shawn.
“One teaching that my Cheii Marshall Johnson said to me that helps me on my pommel horse routine is when saddling up a horse, what I do to one side of the horse, I have to do the same on the other side of the horse as well,” said Shawn. “There has to be balance when mounting a horse. I often think of his words when I practice my pommel horse routine. Balance and acknowledging my horse is important because I have to have a relationship with the horse and myself.”
“I have learned through my people and family that we can overcome many struggles if we endure and prepare for the next opportunity,” said Shawn. “Learning about where I come from and going home to participate in ceremonies and helping on my family’s farm help me know I am able to go through anything. My family and people have gone through the hardest things and those hard things have become our blessings.”
Shawn has set gymnastics goals to be the best he can be at the top level of competition. At a young age he has set lofty goals that he will strive to reach and help others.
“I want to be able to compete as a Junior Elite and become a National team member,” said Shawn. “My long-term goal is to get a full ride scholarship for gymnastics so I can become a Biomechanical Engineer. I want to build devices that can help doctors and nurses as they help patients.”
“I have learned that having a schedule is very important,” said Shawn. “I currently practice four hours a day Monday through Friday but that is not enough. I’m thankful that my dad was able to get me a pommel horse, trampoline, b-pars, parallettes, rings, and floor mats to have at our home.”
“Training at home has been essential for me and that I need to have great foundations with my techniques. My dad and uncle Moni tell me that ‘practice doesn’t make perfect but perfect practice makes perfect.’ I get up and run with my dad then do strength workouts every morning for about one hour before school and I stretch each day for another hour.”
Shawn honors the ones who came before him and the core value of respect drives him on his journey.
“My sport takes a lot of time and consistency to see results,” said Shawn. “I think of my great-grandparents that lived very hard lives and remember all their prayers and teachings to stay encouraged.”
Elite athletes have a mentor or more than one mentor. The mentor guides them to show them the right way to do what is needed to be at the top of the game.
“My biggest mentors are my parents and my grandparents,” said Shawn. “My mother, Charmayne Yazzie, takes me and my sister to our practices and has always rearranged her schedule to make sure that we get to where we need to be. My mom always talks with us when we are driving to practices or school each day, I love our conversations. My mom played basketball so she has been able to know encourage me throughout my ups and downs.”
“My dad, Shawn P. Yazzie, played basketball and he works out with me and my sister every day and pushes us to do more than we think we can. He is very demanding but he helps me understand that I have to prepare for challenges that aren’t here yet and be prepared for opportunities when they come up.”
“My little sister, Saryah Yazzie, is also a mentor for me because she is such a tough person that never complains,” said Shawn. “She doesn’t need people to tell her good job or to give her a lot, she just always has a great attitude and will support anyone. She plays basketball, loves riding horses, and taking care of our cows. She is the best little sister.”
“My grandmother, Laura Johnson, is the foundation of our family,” said Shawn. “She works hard to teach us our traditions and pushes me to learn how to speak Navajo. She also takes a lot of time to learn about what I’m doing in school and she gets really excited to talk with me about what I’m learning. She also teaches me the importance of spending time with our family.”
“My grandfather, Pete Johnson, is always working and moving,” said Shawn. “We are a lot alike. He always wants to do things like go to the ceremonies, sing traditional songs, go to the park, and always goes out of his way to come see me and my sister. I love being with him because we have fun and he teaches me a lot.”
“My parents and grandparents make me feel very special because they always spend so much time talking and working with me. They help me believe that I can reach any goal I set for myself,” added Shawn.
“I also have uncles that are my mentors,” said Shawn. “My uncle Lawrence and Lamoni Yazzie both played Division 1 basketball together for the Air Force Academy. They help me because they are boys in the family and I’m the oldest boy in mine.”
“I can relate to them in that way but in other ways I still need to grow like my uncle Lawrence with his leadership skills and being able to deal with a lot of pressure and do great,” said Shawn. “My uncle Lawrence is a Lt. Colonel in the National Guard and is a great leader. My uncle Lamoni Yazzie is very fun to be around but has a lot of determination and tough demeanor when something needs to get done. When we have to get something done, there is no funny uncle because he works and works and works.”
“My uncle Lamoni was the first Native American team captain of a Division 1 basketball when he played for the Air Force Academy,” said Shawn. “He has inspired me to become an engineer because he is an engineer but he challenges me to out-think my competition and be tougher.”
“My other uncle, Ryan Johnson, is a great mentor because he is the oldest, like me, and always takes time to come see me,” said Shawn. “He travels to a lot of my competitions and shows me how to work hard when we go back to the Navajo reservation to help family. He has given me a huge gift by giving me cattle that has been with our family for over 100 years. My uncle Ryan has shown me how to take care of cattle and that has been a big blessing to learn more about our traditions.”
“I have many teammates and gymnasts that I’ve practiced with that are my mentors,” said Shawn. “One of my best friends and teammates, Dylan Briones, has already made the National Team and we have practiced together for the last five years. Dylan is a year older than me and like a big brother. He is always working towards his goals and never has a bad attitude. He does a great job at focusing and he has pushed me to be better. I have practiced alongside many All-Americans, national team members, and future Division 1 gymnasts, and one US Olympian who won the first medal for the United States on Pommel Horse in 32 years, Alex Naddour. They have all shown me that you have to be consistent and coachable to get better but you also can’t have your coaches tell you what to do all the time, you have to do things are your own too.”
“Rob Survick is the head coach and program director for my team and also an assistant coach for the Arizona State University Men’s Gymnastics team,” said Shawn. “Coach Rob has been huge in mentoring me not just as a gymnast but in becoming a man. He is someone who has taught me more about life outside the gym than inside the gym. He was an all American and National Champion at Arizona State University but is an even better husband and father.”
“Coach Rob was recently diagnosed with ALS and has shown me, even before this diagnosis, to take the opportunity today and every day to develop deeper relationships with your family, teammates, and community. He also talks to us about having enthusiasm and working together as a team. Coach Rob has a lot of energy and passion, like me. He is a mentor and hero to me. I love Coach Rob because I always feel like he cares more about me more as a person than a gymnast,” added Shawn.
“Another coach who was a mentor for me was Paris Bland,” said Shawn. “Coach Bland was the first to see my potential when I was four years old. He invited me to be a part of his development program and was my head coach when I first began competing. Coach Bland led me to my first Arizona state championship and saw my energy and excitement as a strength despite me struggling to sit still. He took my passion for gymnastics and helped me focus.”
“Coach Bland always asked questions about my culture and my long hair, and he made me feel special. Coach Bland and my dad spent a lot of time talking about my development and the journey I would go on if I worked hard enough and was coachable in this sport. They helped create the vision that I am living today back when I was five years old,” added Shawn.
Everyone has a story. In a feature story everyone has a storyline. Shawn has both.
“I am a Native American boy just like most natives,” said Shawn. “I have a lot of energy and it’s hard for me to sit still. I love being active and have found that my energy and fire is my blessing when I focus it. I come from a boarding school, military, farming, rodeo, Native American Church (NAC), and traditional Navajo family that works hard to give me all of these teachings to build me up as a man so I can be a great husband then father one day.”
“I am working my hardest to become a great warrior and I hope to be a great leader so I can help my people one day. It is important to know where you come from then use your family and tribal teachings to give strength when you are pushed out of your comfort zone or when you are the only native around,” added Shawn.
“Thank you everyone for all of your kind words and prayers,” said Shawn.
Photo Credit: Charmayne Yazzie
I so love this. Best wishes for a long and successful life and a GREAT gymnast career.
You are offering so much by your ways of acknowledgement. I thank you.
How incredibly awesome is this!!
Very simple! Gratitude to the many who have molded and shaped you. My prayers of strength, wisdom and balance, you are going to show many the magnitude of who you are and where your from. Blessings on your journey! May you walk in beauty…
Good thoughts and prayers for your well being young man. I am sn elder from a tribe in Oregon. All the people from all the tribes are proud of young people like you who strive to do your best. Rewards for all your hard work snd self- discipline are not material but much more within your being. Keep the strong spirit.