by By Dan Ninham
How does volleyball and track complement each other for an athlete to be elite? College scouts came to the Menominee Indian High School to find out.
Tehya Pyawasay, 17, is a senior at Menominee Indian High School in Keshena, WI.
“My Indian name is Sīkwanowēquaw and means Spring,” said Tehya. “I am originally from Houston, TX but live in Suring, WI on the Menominee Reservation.”
“My tribal affiliation is with the Menominee Indian Tribe and I am a part of the Eagle Clan,” said Tehya.
“Throughout my high school years, I’ve competed on the varsity volleyball and track and field teams at MIHS,” said Tehya. “Even before entering high school, I was involved in many different sports in Texas, where I found a love for sports and competition. I have broken one individual school record in track for the 400m dash and broke two more school records for the 4x400m relay and 4x800m relay.”
“In my sophomore year in track, my coach presented me the Most Improved Athlete award,” said Tehya. “I was awarded the Team Captain award my first year playing volleyball at MIHS as a junior. I have also recently signed my letter of intent to play volleyball at Marian University in Fond du Lac, WI. My goal for the end of my senior year is to beat the school record for the 300m hurdles and 100m dash.”
“The two tribal core values I feel define me are truth and respect,” said Tehya. “I have to be true to myself to make it through each day. Accepting constructive criticism is important because I can’t be arrogant about myself when I know there is always room for growth. Respect for myself and my peers is the highest principle. I always try to build my teammates up by telling them how great they are doing and cheering them on even if there is competition between us.”
“I always give my biggest appreciation to my coaches no matter what. They want the best from me, and every practice has a purpose,” added Tehya.
“Respect for myself is necessary because even if I get into my head and don’t perform my best, I need to believe in myself for the next match or meet,” said Tehya. “Otherwise, belittling myself affects my next performance.”
“The first person who has influenced me through my high school years is my head track coach, Corey Webster,” said Tehya. “He would always give me guidance on moving forward and persevering, on and off the field. No matter how stubborn I would be, he supported me 100%. He regularly reminds me before every race to believe in myself and that one piece of advice can change my entire performance.”
“Another thing he would do is push me to try new things. I never even thought about doing hurdles until he encouraged me about my speed and height,” added Tehya.
“Tehya is a great young woman,” said Corey Webster, Varsity Track Running/Jumping Coach, Menominee Indian High School. “You will always see her with a smile. Tehya’s drive to become better at anything she does is one thing that makes her such a great athlete. She is one of those special runners that is never satisfied with her performance driving her to become better.”
“Tehya is always questioning what she can do to be better and to improve her performance. She works harder than ever this season. Losing 2020 was hard but she has overcome that to continue to break her school record just about every week along with becoming very competitive in the 300m hurdles, an event she has never run before,” added Corey.
“Tehya is one of the most coachable athletes I have ever seen in the years I’ve been at MIHS,” said Corey. “I have no doubt that Tehya will continue to improve at the college level, helping her team improve and succeed. Her success and drive comes from her strong family upbringing and her drive to succeed in academically as well. She knows how important it is to learn with her education and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future.”
“My dad, Darryl Pyawasay, is my number one supporter throughout my life,” said Tehya. “I would turn to him when I would get frustrated on the court or field. He would tell me to keep focusing on myself and not worry about the other athletes so I could make my own goals. Not only was he pushing me in sports, but about school as well. If my grades dropped below an A or B, he would ask what’s going on and then encourage me to push to my highest potential.”
“Tehya has always strived to do her best,” said dad Darryl Pyawasay. “She set a school record at Pearland Middle School in TX in track for the 4 x 400. Tehya has always been a team captain in volleyball by showing her dedication and willingness to help others to be the best that they can be. She is a motivator on and off the track or court to keep spirits high and to help team members stay focused and on task.”
“Tehya has always performed with a lot of heart and emotion in track and volleyball with the mindset of never give up and this is proven by the multiple records she has broken for Menominee Indian High School. These are all traits that will help her to succeed in college,” added Darryl.
“Besides her dedication to her sports she shows the same discipline in academics by finishing as class salutatorian with a 3.7 GPA,” said Darryl. “She helped other students with their education by proofing papers before being submitted and helped teachers in the classroom with student’s papers. All these traits are not only shown on the track or court but at home and in the community by being the person to always want to help others. She has already completed her CNA with Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) and has completed some of her general education credits for college while attending high school.”
Miranda Washinawatok, MIHS head girls’ volleyball coach, talked about her star athlete: “This past spring was not my first exposure to seeing Tehya in a volleyball setting. Tehya had tried out for the 19U women’s volleyball team to represent Team Wisconsin in the North American Indigenous Games. Although she did not make the cut for the Nova Scotia Indigenous Games, she has grown tremendously as both an athlete and as a bright young woman since the 2019 tryouts.”
“Tehya was one of five seniors to play through the entire six week season while also maintaining passing grades. Because of her hard work off the court, she was the most consistent player I appointed as floor captain. I found Tehya to be most deserving of that position because she is someone who can handle both the pressure of leading her team in play and bringing positive energy in a huddle, to setting up nets before practice and being one of the first to arrive,” added Miranda.
“She hustled immensely, communicated directly with her teammates as well as to her coaches, in addition to being such an awesome scholar athlete,” said Miranda. “The only worry I had was, how do I make this girl a better volleyball player? I pray Tehya finds that mentality in this sport where she sets out, dominates, and continues chasing excellence, since she is one awesome athlete.”
“What sets her apart as a leader is that she is extremely well rounded and always looking for a challenge. The discipline and maturity it takes for a player to be accepted to compete at the higher level is not an opportunity many Indigenous kids receive. Seeing her grow as someone who at first, was not on my roster to a player that I needed on my roster, in addition to her passing grades, good attitude, and self-advocation, I appreciated having Tehya on my varsity team,” added Miranda.
“One thing that I truly live by is tenacity,” said Tehya. “I have seen too many of my peers join a sport, and after the first day of practice, they quit. The work we do in practice is to better ourselves on the court or field. I can recall so many times when I would let the stress get to me, and I would think to myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But then I remember how much I want myself to grow. You have to put in the work to see results.”
“Throughout my life, I always felt behind the other kids,” said Tehya. “My family couldn’t afford to put all my siblings and me in club sports or camps. So, when I first started volleyball in seventh grade, I was disappointed that I wasn’t as good as the other girls who have played club since they were eight or nine years old.”
Tehya has been breaking and re-breaking her track records this season. “Track season so far is going great. I’ve broken my 400m record a couple more times. I’ve also beaten my 100m personal record by a whole second so far this season. My personal best times for the 400m is 1:06.27 and 100m is 13.87 seconds.”
“I had to start somewhere, and I am so proud of myself for where I am at today. I am also blessed with the amount of love and support my community has given and thankful I have become a part of the Menominee community. I am perpetually proud of my roots,” added Tehya.
Photo Credit: D.King of Images
