by By Dan Ninham
It is high school football game day throughout America.
The Bemidji Lumberjacks football team is ranked fourth in Class 5A with a 4-0 record in Minnesota. The Jacks play rival Section 6-5A St. Cloud Tech who are coming to town with a 3-1 record.
Brandon Lussier (Lac Courte Oreilles and Red Lake Ojibwe/Thai) is a 5’8”, 155 lb., junior cornerback and special teams player. He is the son of Brandon Sr. and Ratana Lussier of Bemidji, Minnesota.
“Brandon is a shut down cornerback,” said BHS Head Football Coach Troy Hendricks. “He is extremely talented with great foot speed and ball skills. Brandon also returns punts and is on a variety of special teams. He is fiercely competitive, making a great teammate and outstanding football player.”
In a game two weeks ago of two top-10 teams in Class 5A and main contenders in Section 8-5A, Bemidji defeated Alexandria on the road 28-26. The game came down to the last minute and a half when Alexandria scored a touchdown but did not score the two-point conversion. Brandon Lussier recovered the onside kick to seal the win for the Lumberjacks.
Some athletes are characters in their public life but also show character by being a part of the positive coach-athlete relationship. “Going back a couple years now, Brandon doesn’t miss an opportunity to give me a hard time,” said Hendricks. “He has a wonderful sense of humor, making his presence in the school hallways and the playing field uplifting and very enjoyable. Fortunately Brandon is just a junior, allowing more opportunity for Brandon to compete for the Lumberjacks and give his coach a few more laughs along the way!”
The versatility of Lussier is also evident in trying sports from flag football to travel team basketball to spring and summer league baseball beginning at the young age of six years old. He has since specialized in football and baseball and performing at a high level in both. His versatility has extended into each sport with different positions as well.
“Brandon is an athlete that has played sports with my son from third grade until now,” said BHS Special Teams Coach Tyler Kondos. “I have followed him in football, basketball and baseball. The best way I can describe him is the old saying it’s not the ‘size of the dog in the fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog.’ Brandon never backs down from a challenge and he faces it head on and he knows he is the best one for the job. One of the things I like about coaching him is he knows his role on the team. He is a leg on a chair. He has a job to do and does it to the best of his ability but it takes more than him to support a quality team.”
“The strengths that I bring to the football team is that I’m a sound player and have filled my role as a new corner this year when our other senior corners left,” said Lussier.
“When Brandon turned 12 years old he wanted to try out for Northern Heat
baseball and he made the team,” said his Mom Ratana. “His Dad was so convinced
that Brandon was a baseball player he decided to build a batting cage in the
back yard.”
“Brandon Sr. felt that Brandon Jr. had more potential in baseball and focused more on baseball even though he still continued to play all the sports. We also realized he had his own thing on the mound, as some of the coaches would say that he had his own rhythm. When he played middle school ball the coaches kept moving him up so when he was in seventh grade he would play with eighth graders,” added Ratana.
In the ninth grade Lussier was working on eventually being a starting varsity pitcher and in one of the games the varsity was short players and put him in the line up as an outfielder. During the summer he played with the senior legion team for Bemidji and with the travel team Minnesota Blizzard 230 miles south of Bemidji in Minneapolis.
“Brandon’s junior year is
what he has been waiting for,” said Ratana. “This is his prime time. Every year
he’s progressed with every sport. Brandon, Sr. and I have always told our kids
if there’s something you want to do we will always support you. Some years are
hard but as parents we feel like we need to give them all the opportunity that
we can so we make it happen no matter what. With Brandon playing at varsity
level I think it’s great he has so much potential to get even better.”
“Now it’s football season and he had started varsity when he was in 10th grade
for football as well. The coaches know what he’s capable of doing and so do we.
We don’t miss very many games and we always challenge him for a goal in any
sport. When he started playing varsity ball two years ago with the commentators
talking about Brandon on the radio was awesome. I personally was so proud of
him to be noticed and doing something that he loves,” added Ratana.
“Brandon has been a student athlete for the 18U summer baseball program that I coach for two years now,” said Nathan Blumhagen. “This is impressive as two years ago Brandon was only 15 years old. Brandon has always had a strong competitive spirit and fire to win, but has recently added more mental toughness and a stronger sense of maturity to his competitive nature. This was evident this summer when during conversations Brandon expressed hopes of being a leader of a young baseball team, and had clear definitive goals that were both personal and team oriented. Together we were able to talk about strategies on how we can work to achieve those goals before his high school career ends. Since those conversations I have seen a more superior ability from Brandon to deal with adversity in the heat of competition. Watching and working with Brandon as he develops his athletic gifts both physically and mentally has created the type of relationship I really enjoy sharing with student athletes.”
“He plays an integral role in our team,” said BHS Head Baseball Coach Mike Fogelson. “He is an extremely versatile player who can play almost any position in the field and is also one of our top hitters. He is an aggressive hitter that can drive the ball and has a knack for the clutch hit. He also possesses great instincts on the bases and can wreak havoc for an opponent when on base. He made his varsity debut as a freshman, which is rare in our program and has been a mainstay on the team since. Brandon has grown as a player in learning how to deal with the adversity of the game and respond in the right ways to help his team compete at the highest level. He has come up with many clutch hits in his young career already and will continue to be a leader and top player for us on the mound, in the field and at the plate. Brandon loves the game of baseball and is on the way to having a great career.”
No one ever knows how many people and who is watching star players and teams. One of them is lifelong BHS athletic fan and former Head Baseball Coach at NCAA DII Bemidji State University James L. Grimm. “Brandon is a talented young baseball player”, said Grimm. “He has been a varsity player at Bemidji High School since his sophomore year. Brandon is very smooth athletically, as a pitcher, hitter, and fielder. One of his major strengths is his calm demeanor. This has led Brandon to be very effective in high pressure situations. This trait is very remarkable for such a young player. Brandon has been ‘clutch’ many times for his teams. His coaches have been able to rely on Brandon in the biggest games, both on the mound and as a hitter.”
The future of Brandon in baseball is being directed by continuing his high performance on the football gridiron. “I’m planning on going anywhere with a baseball field that fits me. If it wasn’t for baseball or football, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Sports helped me be a better person and an athlete at the same time. To me being the only Native American on the team pushes me to outwork all the other people and makes me have a chip on my shoulder to do better in life and in sports no matter how hard it is,” added Lussier.
Bemidji High School has a general student enrollment of about 1,400 with 20% being American Indian, and 3% being multi-race. Bemidji is located in the heart of three of the largest land and population base Ojibwe Reservations in Minnesota: White Earth Nation to the southwest, Red Lake to the north, and Leech Lake to the east. As with many reservation border towns there is a high native population in the neighboring city.
There are several American Indian and multi-race student athletes in the middle school and younger levels of high school. Although being multi-race, Brandon Lussier is also the only American Indian athlete on the varsity football and baseball teams at this time. “As a minority with Brandon being native and Thai it was hard for him trying to find his identity,” added Ratana. “It was tough for him to choose which sense of belonging he had to his native peers, but the influences were not good. It took Brandon a lot to break the barrier to be a better athlete or stay stuck in between. It’s awesome to see how dedicated he is into all his sports. Since he’s been driving he gets himself up to be at school by 7 am to weight lifting, goes to practice and comes home, its all about sports to him. Now it’s football season and he had started varsity when he was in 10th grade. The coaches know what he’s capable and so do we.”
“My parents by far have influenced me the most and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be in the position I am today,” said Lussier. “They get almost all the credit and my coaches starting from my traveling coaches all the way up to my high school varsity coaches they’ve made me a very good player but they’re going to push me to be great in these next coming years. They set the bar high for me to achieve and they push me to be the best in the town of Bemidji because they know I can be one of the best. I try and never get complacent of where I’m at and I’m always trying to outwork the next towns best man so I can known all around the state as the Native American All-Star.”
The future is now as Brandon Lussier is balancing the books and athletics. “We have been getting recruitment letters since he was a freshman and he can only prove that he can get better in any sport he chooses,” said Ratana.
Photo’s provided by Brandon, Sr. and Ratana Lussier.
BHS Lumberjacks Football Schedule: http://minnesota-scores.net/teamschedule.php?yid=1920&sport=104&tid=986
