by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Natalie Veit is a trailblazer in her tribe and high school by signing a national letter of intent to play college volleyball. She is influenced and inspired by others like most star athletes. Trailblazers are involved in as many elite camps and teams that are possible. Oftentimes the future star doesn’t know who they will meet along the way that will believe in where they are capable of going.
“One of my biggest role models by far is Lauren Schad, a Native American professional volleyball player who went to high school in Rapid City, South Dakota,” said Natalie. “In the past I have attended two of her volleyball skill camps held in Eagle Butte, SD and loved getting to spend time with and ask questions to someone of that level in the sport I love. Earlier this year she even gave me some advice on recruiting and what I could do to make my college dreams come true. She has had a huge impact on me and the person that I am today.”
Pro volleyball player Lauren Schad said: “Natalie, from the first time she arrived in my camp was always driven and motivated. She’d always come in the gym attentive and willing to try new techniques. As a coach you always notice the players that hustle a little extra, or come in a little earlier to warm up, and that was Natalie. It’s been a pleasure to see her ability grow throughout the past couple years. She reached out to me last fall asking for advice regarding recruiting and playing volleyball post high school and I think that shows the type of determination she has. It’s not always the most fun or glamorous conversations to have when it comes to the criteria you need to meet to get to the next level but she was up for the challenge and willing to utilize her resources to learn more. I’m happy to hear she’ll be moving onto the next level of her athletic and academic career, and I’m excited to see where her upcoming seasons take her. I think she has the ability to make her mark at DSU and help the team in reaching new heights.”
Natalie Veit is a 5’7” senior who plays basketball and volleyball at Dupree High School, Dupree, South Dakota. Her parents are Morgan and Candace Veit. They live by Dupree, SD located on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Natalie was a Little Moreau Volleyball All Conference Player and team MVP last season. She is now preparing to play college volleyball.
“One tribal core value that defines me as an athlete is trust and respect,” said Natalie. “It’s extremely important for athletes to have trust in their coaches, teammates, and teachers as well as have respect for them. All who are doing everything they can to better you as not only an athlete but as a person. Another core value would be strength. There’s a lot of adversity on reservations, like mine, but having the strength to overcome them is one of my best core values.”
“There are many different people who have influenced me as an athlete,” said Natalie. “My parents and grandparents have been one of my biggest support systems for everything, not just sports. They’ve hardly ever missed a game and always make sure to give me a pregame pep talk. I am extremely blessed and could never thank them enough for all they’ve done and continue to do for me.”
Mom Candace Veit said: “Natalie demonstrates leadership both on and off the court. She has great dedication for any sport she plays. She puts hours into the gym and attends several camps to better her skills and knowledge of the game. Natalie also had the privilege of playing on Kusler Klinics Volleyball League and learned a lot to take back to the high school volleyball team. The under classman look up to Natalie and seek her for help or advice with sports and academics. She is always willing to help the younger girls through her ability to be a great leader and positive role model. Natalie is a very dedicated player who gets along great with all of her coaches, while maintaining a level of respect. She remains calm in every situation of life whether it is on the court, arena, classroom, or at home.”
“Last year the Dupree Lady Tigers Basketball team won the regional’s for the first time in school history. In the game against Lemmon, she demonstrated leadership by going 3 for 3 in the first quarter from the three-point line. Those points being the only points scored in the first quarter.
Natalie demonstrates leadership off the court as well and her three younger siblings look up to her with admiration. I am an ER nurse and her dad is rancher, we both work long hours and she always helps get her siblings to their sporting event practices etc., while maintaining great grades and her own sports. Natalie also helps out on the family ranch. She is an outstanding kid who demonstrates leadership in many ways in our community,” added Candace.
“Secondly, both of my volleyball coaches, whom I’ve had throughout my volleyball career, have made a huge impact on me and have always pushed me to do things I thought I never could,” said Natalie. “Throughout all the frustrating times, injuries and setbacks my coaches, Jazmyn Holmes and Chelsey Kelly, gave me constant support.”
“Leadership is an important role in volleyball, especially between your captains,” said Coach Jazmyn Holmes. “As a setter though, it is the most important role. Natalie took on that role like it was natural. As a setter, she is the one that gets the second touch on the ball every play. The setter sets the pace of the game, she reads defense on the opposing side and sets where her girls are ready to hit. As a setter, you have the best relationships on that court and earned respect from her teammates. But all that is mostly on the court, off the court Natalie always wanted to get the girl’s in the gym, and build good communication. She is also very smart and independent which are the two most important qualities as a young woman. I cannot wait to watch her play at Dakota State!”
“Thirdly, Clint Holmes and Callie Zeiler, our girl’s high school basketball coaches, have been another huge influence in my life,” said Natalie. “Last year with just seven juniors and one senior they took us to our first ever girl’s Sweet Sixteen, in the history of Dupree High School. We are the only girl’s basketball team to have a banner up in our gym and are looking to add to it this year. Lastly, my teammates and friends through the years have helped me tremendously too. We all are super competitive, so we love to push each other to better ourselves all while still being great support for each other.”
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you want it bad enough you can have it,” said Natalie. “When I first started playing volleyball, I was in seventh grade because where I’m from we don’t have any league teams for younger kids or anything. So, everyone must start when they get into junior high at their school. My love for the sport instantly sparked. It soon became a dream of mine to work towards playing at the next level. No one that I know of has ever come out of my high school, which ranks at just a class B school, has went to play college volleyball. Hardly any have even went on to play college sports at all, so I knew that this wouldn’t be easy getting to the next level, but I wanted it bad.”
“To contribute to my goal, I went to as many camps as I could over the years and even played on the league team Kusler Klinics in Aberdeen, South Dakota. My parents would drive me to Aberdeen after school once or twice a week for practice and then compete at tournaments in Sioux Falls and Fargo just to name a couple. I would constantly watch clips on college teams or watch games on TV of teams I loved including University of Texas, University of Minnesota and Stanford University. After six years of hard work and dedication I finally achieved my goal of getting to play at the next level. Next year I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at Dakota State University,” added Natalie.
“No matter what the odds are or what obstacles you must go through to get to your goal, work hard and don’t ever give up,” said Natalie. “Also remember school comes first.”
Photo Credit: Kathy Olsen
