by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“I was taught to always be respectful to everyone and always show good sportsmanship, whether it be by encouraging my teammates or helping an opponent up,” said Taya Trottier. “You can be both competitive in what you’re doing without being disrespectful to others. My personality is the same on court as it is off court. I’m quiet and more about staying humble, working hard and being kind. I like letting everyone see for themselves how my work ethic shows on the court.”
Taya Trottier, 16, is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, MT. “My Indian name is Yellow Eagle Plume (Ootkoi Piita Sapope), and was given to me by my paternal grandparents Conrad and Mary Ellen LaFromboise,” said Taya. “My parents are Angel and Brandon Trottier and Mike LaFromboise. I live in Harlem, MT with my parents, my Papa Myron and my little brother Landon. We moved here from Browning when I was two years old.”
Taya is a sophomore at Harlem HS. She competes in basketball, cross-country and track and field. She is a varsity letter-winner along with Class B State appearances in all three sports.
Taya was recently inducted into the National Honor Society virtually. She has a GPA of 3.857 and is an honor roll student.
“During my freshman year our girls basketball team made school history by being the first girls team to ever make it to the state tournament,” said Taya.
“We also made school history by claiming our schools first ever Northern B Girls Divisional championship trophy. We beat Wolf Point, the 2019 Class B State Champions, and that game is still one of the greatest moments in my life and probably always will be one of my most memorable,” added Taya.
“I was selected as Second Team All-conference, named Great Falls Tribune Athlete of the Week and earned Academic All-State,” said Taya.
“Our girls’ basketball team earned the Montana Army National Guard Academic All-Team Award in recognition of our academic excellence by having the highest cumulative GPA for Class B,” said Taya.
During freshman track and field season, I placed second at the Divisional meet in the 800 meter race and earned a trip to State,” said Taya. “Sophomore year, I placed 17th at the State X-Country Meet, just missing out on placing in the Top 15 by seconds,” said Taya.
“During basketball season, I earned All-State and First Team All-Conference honors,” said Taya. “I was also one of the team captains. I averaged 17.6 points per game with four games over 30 points and I averaged 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assist and 4.2 steals per game. I’m the school record for most steals in a season with 104.”
“Our girls team made school history once again by claiming our first District 2B championship trophy,” said Taya. “Our record was 23-3 overall and we were the Class 2B conference champions.”
“We made our second State appearance and we lost a tough close opening game to #1 ranked and undefeated Missoula Loyola,” said Taya. “We would go on to beat Colstrip the next morning and had our sights on bringing home the third place trophy when our state tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19.”
“I’ve played on multiple AAU teams that have traveled to different levels of tournaments,” said Taya. “My Montana Dream consisted of several girls from each of Montana’s reservations and we just clicked. We worked on our skills individually at home without practicing with each other as a team but then we would travel to tournaments and just mesh so well that we won several championship titles.”
“My parents have always stressed that to live up to the true definition of a student-athlete that academics come first before athletics,” said Taya. “I have always made sure my grades are up so I can play sports. During basketball season this can be tough to manage my time when I have early morning shoot around before school, then we usually watched game film after school and then had our team practice. I figure if I want to play college ball then I’ll need to be used to this type of schedule while being held accountable for staying on top of my schoolwork without my parents.”
“I am lucky to have such a strong loving family support system,” said Taya. “I grew up being raised with my parents, as well as my grandparents in our house, so I was fortunate to have them as a second set of parent figures to go to. Even with how busy our schedules get we always make sure we eat dinner as a family every night.”
“I was a fancy shawl dancer from the time I could walk,” said Taya. “I loved the fast pace of the songs. My parents would take me all over to powwows. I held several princess titles over the years and danced up until a few years ago when I decided to trade my moccasins in for basketball shoes and focus more on my love for basketball during the spring/summer months. I started attending more basketball camps, AAU tournaments and traveling with various teams I was on including the Hi-Line Outlaws, Montana Dream, MT Native Elite, GO Hoops and Harlem Lady Cats.”
“L’Tia Lawrence has always been one of my biggest role models who have inspired me on and off the court,” said Taya. “She is not only a phenomenal multi-athlete who excels at any sport she does, but she’s an amazing teammate. She has a great work ethic. She always goes hard at everything she does and never gives up, she just keeps pushing to be better. She would encourage me during my bad games or when I was nervous during my freshman games. L’Tia showed me that hard work really does pay off. She is the first girl basketball player from our school to be offered a full ride athletic scholarship to a D1 school that was always one of her dreams to play for. I love seeing native girls from small towns make their dreams a reality and for L’Tia she did that and that just inspired me that I am capable of doing the same.”
“Skylee Dirden was a senior my freshman year and took me under her wing and helped me through my first season of high school ball,” said Taya. “She always made me keep pushing hard and encouraged me to keep my head up when I’d make a mistake. She helped me learn that in order to be successful as player, leader and teammate that I need to believe in myself first.”
“Taya Trottier is a true athlete in everything she involves herself in she shows heart, determination, and hard work,” said Skylee Dirden. “These are just a few qualities she has. Taya was a freshman when I was a senior. She was my saving grace when it came to basketball and my senior year. Without her history would not have been made in the Harlem Ladycat Basketball program. She helped give me some of the greatest moments in my basketball career. I never had to get on her at practice being the senior. She just came every day willing to work. It didn’t come easy and she knew that.”
“I always knew I could rely on her to be there to push me and make me a better player. She was never selfish and gave it everything she got. I really respected that as a senior because I didn’t have the next year. I could rely on her to show up every day to our morning shoot-arounds. She truly knows that talent is not going to be given to you and you are going to have to put in the extra hours regardless if you’re sore or tired. She is one of the most humble players I know and I truly believe that the success Harlem Ladycat Basketball has had wouldn’t have been possible without her,” added Skylee.
“Joelnell Momberg is another one of my biggest role models that I looked up to since I was younger,” said Taya. “I grew up playing basketball with her younger sister Kyla, but Joelnell was so much more focused on basketball that I was in awe of her abilities of the game. She is a fierce competitor who knows the game so well and is an awesome playmaker. I seen how much she worked in the off season and that when you put in the hard work then playing at the D1 level is within reach for anyone willing to put in the extra effort. One of my first games as a freshman was in a packed gym against Box Elder during the Native American Classic at MSU-Northern gym. I was so nervous to be playing against both her and Lilly Gopher, who were set to be back to back Class C champions that year.”
“Taya is a super hard worker and is always going 100 percent,” said Joelnell Momberg. “One thing about her is she never, ever gets tired. She’s like a silent killer because she’s going to lock you down on one side, then come back to the other and help get the ball to the bucket. The whole time she’s doing that, you don’t hear a word come out, but you know she’s here to win and compete. Each game, you can’t necessarily hear it, but you can see the competitiveness inside her to win and the way she wants to be better each time.”
“I think it’s crazy how much potential she has and how athletic she is, and I know she’s going to be working to reach her goals. I know she wants to be great by the way she carries herself on and off the court. She has a great, supportive family who are behind her, along with teammates and friends, who will all be cheering her on in her journey,” added Joelnell.
“Marlin Lawrence is an awesome coach who is respected by his players because he holds us all accountable for how we are as athletes and students,” said Taya. “He will get after us in practice or games if he see’s us doing something wrong but in a way that he is trying to teach us to be better and improve ourselves. He inspired me to keep pushing and take one game at a time. He believed in me to become a better player and to be a leader for our team. Even during close games he knew what I was capable of doing and kept encouraging me to be confident and take the shot or drive the lane. I’m thankful he talked my dad into being his assistant coach my freshman year so we got the chance to experience the success together.”
“Taya Trottier is a awesome athlete and even greater person,” said Martin Lawrence, Harlem HS head varsity girls’ basketball coach. “I had the opportunity to get to know and coach her these last two seasons for the Harlem Ladycats. Taya is a driven young athlete that works hard on the court and in the class room, she always puts in the extra time in on her own to be the best she can be and it has shown. As a freshman she was a starter on the varsity team and she did not disappoint. She is very explosive in the open court and can get to the rim and finish, and she has such great instincts on the defense end.”
“The Harlem Ladycats made their first ever appearance in school history to the state class B basketball tournament last season. Taya was one of the reasons we were able to accomplish that. At the end of her freshman year she earned 2nd team all conference.
This past season Taya had a big sophomore year, and she was not only a starter again but co-captain. We had another great year and were able to make it back to the state tournament, although it was cut short due to the Covid-19 it was a great run,” added Lawrence.
“Taya led us not only in steals per game but she had multiple games where she scored 30 points or more,” said Lawrence. “She finished the season with 459 points that was the most points scored on our team. She was named All State honors and 1st Team All Conference. Taya is a very coachable athlete and always shows respect to her coaches and team. Taya has already accomplished a lot her first two years of high school basketball and she is only going to get better.”
“My dad has been there for me for as long as I can remember,” said Taya. “When I first started playing basketball he offered his support from the crowd. Then as I got older and transitioned over from playing on boys teams to girls teams he start helping coach. He start working with me on toning my dribbling drills and more shooting drills so I could use as a point guard. He is usually tough on me but he knows me best on what I am capable of. He will call me out if I am slacking. His constant support and pushing me to practice, practice and practice has helped make me the strong contender I am on and off the court. I’m thankful for the countless hours in the gym and weight room he spent with me to help shape me into the player I am today. I know even when he is mad, he is always more proud of me.”
“One of Taya’s positive attributes that stand out the most to me is her great work ethic and competitiveness on the court and in the classroom,” said Brandon Trottier, father and Harlem Ladycats junior varsity basketball coach. “She always strives to get great grades and working towards a 4.0 GPA. I’ve always told her while she’s working on her shooting and dribbling she has to balance it out in the weight room as well. Especially, if her dream is to play basketball at the D1 level, where the women are going to be stronger and faster. So I introduced her to weights while she was in eighth grade. I know some days she doesn’t want anything to do with the weight room.”
“Taya is starting to get more advanced in her dribbling and shooting abilities. I now have YouTube or Instagram drills for her to do. We live in a really small rural town so we don’t have the luxury like some kids to hire a basketball trainer year around. I wouldn’t have it any other way since it makes a good bonding time for us as father and daughter. She is a very coachable player and her humbleness while she’s playing makes her an even better player, as well as a person. She has a bright future for sure and I hope she accomplishes her goals not only on the court, but in life as well.”
“Mecklen Davis, GO Hoops AAU coach, is always very supportive, encouraging and always gives me a better perspective on the game of ball,” said Taya. “He believes I can play at the top level and pushes me to work to better myself in everything I do. He has worked with me on learning different basketball drills I can use at home to improve my skills. He has coached me on different levels of basketball under his GO Hoops program and the MT Native Elite program. He believed in me enough to provide me with the opportunity to play on the Adidas Gauntlet series that he coached with Joel Rosette, where we played some fierce competitors from all across the USA. For a small town Montana girl those opportunities are rare.”
“Taya is a coaches dream, she is an athletic combo guard that plays hard on both ends of the court,” said Mecklen Davis, GO Hoops AAU coach. “What makes Taya great on and off the court is her passion for life. Everyone that has ever come in contact with her knew that she puts her all into everything she does. Her work ethic and dedication to being the best she can be ever day has allowed her game to grow rapidly the past few years.”
“Like many of her AAU teammates there are so many memories of Taya that stand out. There was a game that she assisted a game winning field goal in Denver that put us into the championship game. There was the time in Kansas City when she came off the bench and went on a 6-0 run to help us regain the lead against a team from Australia. The time she took over a whole game off of hustle plays and steals in Spokane. She has the ability to score and guard the other teams best player and that makes her so hard to have to match up against. Her basketball IQ makes her extremely hard to guard. She does all the intangibles as well. She grabs rebounds, takes charges, and hustles after every loose ball. This speaks volumes to the type of person she is,” added Mecklen.
“Taya has extremely high character as well,” said Mecklen. “Her parents Brandon and Angel have been a huge force in supporting Taya both as a student and as an athlete. I look forward to seeing what Taya does these next few years in high school.”
“There are not too many girls in my grade that are interested in basketball like I was,” said Taya. “When I was in the third grade and all the way thru junior high school, Myron Hoops picked me up to play on his Hi-Line Outlaw boys team. I played with them from elementary until eighth grade when I was not allowed to play in boys’ tournaments anymore and had to find a girls team to play with. He would work with us on various basketball drills to improve our dribbling and shooting. Playing with and against boys I learned to have a physical and mental toughness that has made me a strong athlete today. I’m grateful that Myron worked with me all those years and gave me the opportunity to play. He didn’t take it easy on me for being a girl and would make me do something over until I got it right. The boys on the team taught me to get back up and keep fighting through and never give up.”
“Tara was a champion fancy shawl dancer before she found her next calling, basketball,” said Myron Hoops. We had a boys traveling team called the Hi-Line Outlaws and since there were no girls playing, she played with the boys. From third grade to eighth grade she played with us ‘til she started playing with girls only, but she played all over Montana, Idaho and North Dakota. She is a very smart and competitive player and should do good on the next level.”
“It was a pleasure watching her play against boys ‘til the eighth grade. This prepared her for high school ball and her first two years she had played above and beyond and helped the Lady Cats go to the big dance. She is in the radar with some of the local colleges and will make an impact as soon as she steps on the court at the college level,” added Myron.
The holistic concept of wellness is based on physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health. By achieving a balance of the components may encourage student-athletes to reach optimum performance.
“I like being active so I usually try to stay in shape year round,” said Taya. “I have been doing weight training since I was in junior high school and currently have it as an elective for school, so my teacher has been providing me with weekly workouts to do while I am at home.”
“In the off-season I go to the Red Whip Fitness Center and do a combination of conditioning, cross fit and agility training under certified trainer Miles Werk. I like to do the agility drills to help with making my footwork quicker and become a better defensive player. I like being active so I usually stay conditioned year round.”
“My dad takes me to the gym to work with the shooting machine and we work on different basketball drills to apply in game situations,” said Taya. “I’ve been running two-three miles. I don’t like running long distance but it helps build my lungs and my endurance. That’s one of the main reasons I decided to join cross-country this year instead of volleyball so I would stay in shape for basketball season.”
“All of my basketball skills need constant and continuous work to help me stay conditioned and to keep improving on each one,” said Taya. “Practice, practice, practice is the foundation of success in sports. Basketball is just like life, you need to work on building good habits then practice doing them everyday for them to be successful.”
“Spiritually, to trust in God that he will guide me thru sports just as he does in life,” said Taya.
“I try to remain calm and keep my head clear,” said Taya. “I know that if I start to let myself panic or let an opponent get in my head then it will lead to turnovers and simple mistakes. I’m smaller so it is easy for my opponents to face guard me, so that is one of the things I work on so when it happens in game situations I am prepared for it.”
“I’ve just been staying home since we got back from the state tournament in Butte,” said Taya. “My class-work gets dropped off once a week so working on my assignments has been keeping me occupied. I am still getting shots up on my court in the driveway but it’s not the same as being in the gym. My weight lifting teacher sent workouts for me to do daily and my dad sends me dribbling drills to work on. Now that it’s nice out I am running two-three miles every other day.”
“I unexpectedly lost my Meemaw Renee the end of October 2019 and it really devastated me personally, as well as my family and small community,” said Taya. “She was one of my biggest supporters in sports, school, life or anything I did. We lived with her since I was two years old so she was like a second parent-figure in my everyday life. I lost her a few days before X-Country State in Great Falls. It was my first year running X-Country in high school so my family encouraged me to finish out the season and I know my Meemaw would have wanted me to run at State too, but it was hard for me to be focused during the race and I end up finishing 17th in Class B girls. I missed out on placing in the Top 15 by seconds.”
“Right after I finished running we headed back to Billings for her funeral. Basketball season started two weeks later and the beginning of this season was really tough on me. I was dealing with my grief and at the same time trying to put in the hard work needed with our team so we could have another chance at making it back to the state tournament,” added Taya.
“The home games were the toughest because I was used to seeing her in her favorite spot in the crowd,” said Taya. “It made me feel overwhelmed at times like I had a lot of pressure to do good. I just didn’t feel that same confidence I used to have playing on my home court in front of our fans. I started to become doubtful with my abilities and was messing up more to where I was letting myself dwell on a turnover, instead of making up for it like I usually would. I ended up talking to my parents about what was bothering me and that I felt like quitting. They were really surprised and shocked since all I had ever talked about since I was younger was playing basketball and how it was my dream to go play college ball and play overseas someday after college. They encouraged me to finish out the season and said the same rules applied that if I joined something I had to see it thru until the end and no quitting. And if I still felt the same after the season then we would not travel to AAU tournaments this spring/summer and focus on other things.”
“I thought really hard about it and knew my Meemaw would not have wanted me to give up on my dreams,” said Taya. “She loved watching me play and how much she and my family spent and fundraised for me to travel to basketball tournaments all over the years to get me to where I am today. I decided I still wanted to go as far as possible in basketball and just needed to pick myself up and keep working hard on making myself better and build my confidence back up.”
“We had a conference game that weekend against Glasgow that we needed to win to secure the #1 seed at the district 2B tournament and I ended up playing one of my best games ever,” said Taya. “I didn’t feel that self-doubt anymore, and the first quarter I came out on fire and had scored all our team points. I ended the game with 32 points.”
“I’m glad I gained my confidence back so that I could continue being the leader I needed to be mentally on the court in order to help my team get back to State,” said Taya.
Photo credit: Randy Perez
