Tyria Heath (Mohican/Menominee): Success Is Defined As Hard Work And Perseverance Over Time

By Dan Ninham (Oneida)

Grinnell College is located in Grinnell, Iowa. The athletics program is in the NCAA DIII and the Midwest Conference. The team nickname are the Pioneers.

Tyria Heath is a 5-9 junior guard on the women’s basketball team at Grinnell College. She is Mohican and Menominee. Tyria is from Wisconsin but has lived in AZ most of her life. Her mom is Mandy Heath and her dad is Kanaysa Heath (Mohican/Menominee). Mom, dad and younger sister Emerald live in Phoenix, AZ. The team’s record is 6-5, are on a three-game winning streak, and Tyria’s statistics are 23 ppg, 1.5 apg, and 3.7 rpg. 

“I’ve won best defensive player of the year a couple times in high school, rookie of the year my first year at Grinnell, and was named Midwest Conference Player of the Week twice this 2019-20 season,” said Tyria. “I made 9-10 field goal tries in a game against Northwestern-St. Paul earlier this season, and this is the second-best shooting percentage in Grinnell WBB program history. I scored 40 points on Jan 3rd, the eight highest total in GWBB history and the highest scoring output by a Grinnell player since 2007.” 

Tyria recently received national recognition and was named as one of five women to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week. It is the first time a Pioneer has made the D3hoops team in nine years. The full report is located here: https://pioneers.grinnell.edu/news/2020/1/8/womens-basketball-heath-earns-national-recognition-with-spot-on-d3hoops-com-team-of-the-week.aspx

“I’ve grown up mostly on the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican reservation,” said Tyria. “As soon as you enter the ‘rez,’ you see this sign with the Many Trails symbol of our band. It symbolizes the strength, endurance, and hope of our people. These are the values my parents & grandparents raised me on. I’ve gone through a lot throughout my childhood, but I’ve endured it and always came out stronger on the other end. I take these values with me on and off the court.”

“Basketball is a hard, competitive sport and it takes a lot of strength, endurance, and hope to be the best player I can be but more importantly, to win games. On the other side of things, the schoolwork at Grinnell is very difficult. But if I get a bad grade back or feel too stressed to complete all the homework I have, I do it anyways or get a better grade the next time. It takes a lot of strength to continuously push myself, but I believe in myself and have hope that things will be okay. And those values are within me in everything I do,” added Tyria. 

“There are so many others but collectively, these people have pushed me to be my best, asked more from me every day on and off the court, and gave me strength to work harder when I didn’t think I had it in me anymore,” said Tyria. “I am so grateful for them every day I step on the court.”

Tyria’s dad Kanaysa Heath talked about his daughter and basketball: “Whether it was from earlier in her life when she was just feeling out the sport or her recent accomplishments, it all brings a smile to my face. There was a time when she was probably nine years old and I was coaching her in a just-for-fun youth league. There was a kid on the other team who was a foot taller than anyone on our team and was easily faster than anybody on the court. He had no business playing in this league. Tyria was a post player at the time because she was one of the taller kids. This big kid was playing point guard, and nobody could guard him. One play in particular stayed with me from that game. This big kid left his perimeter defender in the dust and was on his way to the basket for an easy layup. Tyria saw him coming and left her defender and stepped in front of him to take a charge. This kid looked like he was going to try to jump over Tyria but she drew the charge and took a pretty hard knee to the chest. She came running over to me on the verge of tears. Fearing if I asked if she was ok, she would burst into tears I just told her awesome job and gave her a fist bump. She fought the tears back and just kept on playing. That toughness is something she still plays with to this day.”

“Tyria and her basketball career boils down to her work ethic on and off the court. She works hard and doesn’t take any shortcuts. I remember a night when she was studying for finals as a high school freshman. I worked a graveyard shift at the time. I went to bed around 9 pm and she was up studying, no big deal. But when I woke up for work around 2 am I could still see a light on as I was getting ready for work, so I thought she was still up studying. I thought man she’s really studying late. When I finally left for work, I went into the dining to discover she was passed out face down in her history book. She’s carried that same work ethic over to the basketball court,” added Kanaysa.

“Tyria didn’t decide to get really serious about basketball until after her sophomore basketball season in high school,” said Kanaysa. “Her goal was to become a D1 player. She was very good in junior high, was the best player on her freshman team and was a top player on her JV team as well, but she didn’t join a club team until after her sophomore basketball season. She still mostly played post although she was explosive in the open court. Her club coach saw how hard she worked but she was way behind the curve because most of the girls playing club ball had been doing so since seventh grade. When he found out she wanted to be a D1 player he told her to start shootings three’s and working on dribbling drills because at 5’9” she needed to be a guard. She put in her individual work and was trying with everything she had to get better, but she was struggling. She was athletic enough and held her own, but the other girls were so much more skilled because they had been doing it longer and she was getting frustrated. There were times she wanted to quit. But she stuck with it and worked even harder to improve her skills. She was always looking for a court whether indoor or outdoor so she could get her individual practice time in. Most of the time I would go with her and be her ‘designated rebounder’ during shooting drills. There was a 4th of July when it was 118° here in Phoenix and there were no indoor courts available so she dragged me out in the heat so she could get practice. I remember being hot and grouchy the whole time, but she just had to get her work in.”

“She made varsity at a big program as a junior,” said Kanaysa. “Desert Vista HS won a state title with three future D1 players, one who is now in the WNBA, and there was a certain pedigree to uphold. She was very happy to be on varsity as most of her JV teammates from the previous season did not make the varsity squad. She played, but it was a senior-laden squad with championship experience. She struggled a bit her junior season, but she showed flashes of promise. And she never stopped working to get better.”

“She played club ball again after her junior season and showed remarkable improvement. There were no D1 offers in and we all began to realize there was just too much ground to make up from a skill perspective. She had the athleticism and talent but so did many girls who were more skilled. Her coach insisted he could get her a scholarship at a D2 school, but she wasn’t impressed by any of their academic reputations. That’s when she started looking at D3 schools and narrowed down her search. When she took her visit to Grinnell she was blown away and it became her number one choice. When she was accepted later that year and she was elated to be going to her number one school and be able to play basketball for four more years,” added Kanaysa.

Kanaysa addressed his daughter’s college basketball future: “When we dropped Tyria off to start her college career we didn’t know what to expect. Could she start? Would she even play that first year? We looked over the roster and noticed that they were thin at point guard. Tyria had never played the position before but she knew if she worked hard maybe she had a shot at getting on the court early. She doubled up on her dribbling drills and worked harder on outside shooting. We thought she could get meaningful minutes. As the season drew closer and closer Tyria realized she was running point with the first team. When the season began, she was the starting point guard, and this position she would hold for her entire freshman season.” 

Mandy Heath addressed her daughter’s basketball experiences: “Tyria has had a basketball in her hand since she’s been a baby. I think we even bought her a small basketball hoop for her 1st birthday hoping she would want to play. Since her dad and I both played basketball we wanted to get her started early and hope that she enjoyed it as much as we did. From her youth leagues to high school to club ball, her commitment to the game has rarely wavered. Tyria has always held herself to a very high standard, both on and off the court and all of her persistence and extremely hard work has definitely paid off.” 

“Over the years, I have always called her a silent leader. She has this way of empowering and encouraging her teammates that has always had them looking to her for guidance throughout her basketball career. Her basketball IQ, mental toughness, and knowledge of the game has even had coaches go to her for advice during games and practices. Through all the ups, downs, wins, losses, and trying to figure out her role and place on the court, she has not once given up. Her persistence, hard work, and love for the game has gotten her to where she is today. We couldn’t be more proud of Tyria,” said Mandy.

“My best friend Maddie Golla plays at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs,” said Tyria. Maddie said: “Tyria has been one of my closest friends since our sophomore year of high school. We met through playing basketball in high school and we became very good friends during our club season that year. She had been a great leader on and off the court and was great at motivating others to work harder. Not only is she an amazing basketball player, but she’s one of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. She’s so kind and she really inspired me by everything she does for others. There’s so many great things I’ve seen her do in life, and in basketball, and I’m so proud to see her doing big things at Grinnell.”

Kayla Morrissey was a positive influence of Tyria. She played with her one year at Grinnell and is now an assistant coach at North Central College. Kayla said: “I first met Tyria my junior year at Grinnell College. She was doing her overnight visit to see if she wanted to attend the college. She played open gym with our team, and I remember immediately thinking that she was an incredible basketball player. I wanted her as a teammate for my senior year, and luckily Coach Harrold was able to get her committed to play for Grinnell.”

“I got to play with Tyria during my senior year at Grinnell, or her freshman year. It was a privilege to get the chance to know and to play with Tyria. One thing that stands out to me about Tyria is her work ethic and her grit. As a gym rat myself, not too many people got to practice as early as I did, but Tyria was always in the gym early to work on her game. We even started doing the same ball-handling routine together before practice every day. I still reflect fondly on little things like this. Little things that happen outside of practice and games can really bring a team together and it helped our on-court chemistry. Tyria is gritty and hates to lose. If our team lost or if she didn’t play as well as she could, I could always see it in her face. She hates losing and she hates to play under her potential. I think this speaks to her greatness as an athlete. After playing basketball throughout high school, college, and overseas in Ireland, I can definitively say that Tyria is one of the most hardworking and gritty players that I have ever played with,” added Kayla. 

“While I wish I got to play a few more seasons with Tyria, I’m very glad we got one season together,” said Kayla. “She is a player who emanates greatness. It has been incredible to see how her work ethic and grit have led her to become an unstoppable force in the Midwest Conference. I once told Tyria that she would be the best player in the Midwest Conference one day, and I personally believe that day has come. I look forward to watching her continue to succeed on and off the court.”    

“I never would have considered myself a strong basketball player until my senior year in high school and I’ve been playing since I was nine years old,” said Tyria. “I was an okay player since I started playing but never really pushed myself or thought about college hoops until after my sophomore year in high school. I was a late bloomer compared to a lot of my AAU teammates I played with in Arizona. It may have been viewed as a minor setback, but I worked hard to get even a single look from any college or university. At that point, I knew I’d have to go D2 or D3 if I still wanted to play so I took the opportunity. I worked hard, I put in hours and hours of work during my two AAU seasons and achieved my goal. I found a school where I could still play basketball but more importantly, be challenged academically. I think it’s a good example of the fact that it’s never too late to work for and achieve your goals.” 

“Tyria is a special player indeed,” said Dana Harrold, Head Coach, Grinnell College.  “She came to Grinnell with a fairly diverse skill set as a basketball player and I think we have seen a lot of growth from her first year to now.  As a first-year player, she played point guard for us out of necessity and I think that has really helped her to see the floor and score in a variety of ways.  She has gotten so much stronger and versatile in the past three seasons and those strides have been really fun to watch.” 

“As a leader, Tyria is hard working, gritty and focused.  She is a lead by example player that is always willing to put in extra time and will work to get better each day,” added Coach Dana.  

“She is not the loudest person in the gym, but we have been working on her vocal leadership as well as showing growth and her ability to stay focused and positive when there are challenges in front of her,” said Coach Dana.  “I am happy with her progress and hope she continues to learn and grow.  We are very proud of her and happy that she is a part of our program here at Grinnell.”

Tyria provides advice for other student athletes to be successful on and off the court. She said: “You just have to work hard. I’m sure a lot of successful athletes answer that way but it’s true. Hard work and perseverance are the two most important qualities for success on and off the court. Basketball was hard throughout high school, and I sat the bench my junior season and struggled to find motivation to even play anymore during AAU season. It felt like I was getting nowhere, even with all the hard work I was doing. School sometimes feels the same way, you put so much effort into writing a paper or studying for a test and get a bad grade back and it crushes you. You know you worked hard and don’t get the outcome you expect and that’s something that happens every now and then. But that’s where perseverance comes in. Things will never always go your way but the ability to just keep pushing and work even harder the next time makes you successful. Success is not defined by one accomplishment. It is defined by one’s hard work and perseverance over time.”

Photo Credit: Grinnell College Athletics SID Ted Schultz and Cory Hal