by By Dan Ninham
Riverside Indian School has about 800 students representing over 75 tribes from throughout the country. The campus is on more than 135 acres near Anadarko, OK along the Washita River. The school is the Bureau of Indian Education’s largest and nation’s oldest federally operated off-reservation boarding school. There are four boarding schools remaining in the country.
According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Riverside Indian School was first organized in 1871. Following the model of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, the school system curriculum was based on agriculture to 1910, vocational education to 1960, academics to 1990, and college preparation since. Several graduates attend universities.
James Kelley, 42, is a member of the Ree Band of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
“My tribal name is Pal-Toke-Yah-Ee,” said James. “I live in Fletcher, OK with my wife and four sons. I coach girls’ basketball at Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, OK and I have been there 15 yrs.”
“I grew up in a basketball-oriented home,” said James. “My father played college ball at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) in Chickasha, OK. We lived in Anadarko and I went to school there until my ninth grade year. I transferred to Carnegie HS in 1993. At that time Carnegie basketball was going to the state tournament every year. I wanted to play college ball so I transferred there. I played under Coach Doug Schumpert, who is now in the Hall of Fame for his prestigious record and state tournament appearances and he always had success coaching native athletes.”
“In my time at Carnegie my teams went 95-9 over four years and we went to the state tournament all my years on varsity including being state runner-up in 1995 and state champions in 1996 going 29-0. I played at USAO from ‘96-‘98 and then I transferred to Southeastern OSU and played my final two seasons. From there I got my masters degree in Secondary Education from Cameron University in Lawton, OK,” added James.
“My first job I taught GED classes for natives in Oklahoma City for three years,” said James. “I moved to Riverside Indian School and have been there ever since. I have been a head coach 12 of those 15 years and have coached both the boys and girls teams with over 200 wins. I surpassed over 100 wins on the girls’ side just this past season. While also on the girls’ side the teams have had 17 girls sign to play college level basketball since 2014. If Covid-19 doesn’t drop this season, then this year alone our program will have eight players playing on the college level.”
“My core values come from my family and faith,” said James. “Perseverance, battling, and serving are all parts of that core. Fight for what’s right, serve others, and keep battling and moving forward for progress not only in your own life but also in the lives of others.”
“I’ve learned that in my journey that each part of it has philosophy phases,” said James. “Where I’m at today isn’t where I was 15 years ago. I find different leaders in the past have said or done things that match the current phase of my journey and helps me accomplish what I need. I believe in learning from others whether it’s mistakes or successes that others have had, and I apply them wherever I can.”
“The positive influences in my life have been many,” said James. “First and foremost were my mother and father. I know that today there are a lot of kids who lack both parents in their life. I was blessed enough to be able to have my parents in mine always. My parent’s are still married and they have contributed to the perseverance and encouragement I have needed when things get tough.”
“My family at home also keeps me motivated,” said James. “I’ve got to keep doing better in order for them to be taken care of. My youngest son wants to be a coach like me, and that’s a heart-warming feeling and makes me want to do well. He can see me and I can be a role model for him.”
“All of the coaches I’ve had in my career had a positive influence on me,” said James. “At the time going through their programs, I was challenged, frustrated, exhausted, angry, and lacked confidence at various times. Each coach pushed me in ways that made me question how much I loved the game. In those moments is when you find out just how tough you are and how much farther you can go. Finding that inner strength to keep pushing forward. When it’s all done, you remember it, but it’s not so bad and you are stronger having gone through it. You also find that in those times, they reflect onto life and when life situations happen that cause you to question, you know you can push through and make it to a desired end.”
“There isn’t any one definition of success or to be successful,” said James. “What’s successful to me may not be successful to another. Of course there are those things we want to reach that makes our lives better like nice cars and homes but everyone has a different idea of what they want to achieve and accomplish. In that sense I can say consistently setting and achieving goals is a good definition. In that lies lessons and journeys that allows one to discover oneself.”
“Right now the pandemic is tough on my program,” said James. “We aren’t allowed to have kids on campus until January and rightly so, because the health of our kids and their families is bigger than sports right now. I’ve had to settle with sending workouts for my players and trusting they’ll do them. I’ve been lucky enough to have a group of girls who are staying committed to staying with us here at Riverside. This group I have coming in just may be the best pound for pound talented group I’ve coached, boys or girls. I’ve never been as excited as I am about any group and that’s saying a lot.”
“Sending kids to college ball and seeing where they are when they get to me, and where they finish is what I do,” said James. “This group may have 8-10 college level players by the time they graduate. That’s huge! Every coach waits and builds for that team that launches the program into repeated success that feeds itself. This may very well be that group and I’m super anxious to see if we can get them a season. The most exciting part is that this group is young and hungry.”
Former player Tommy Whatoname is a player on the American Basketball Association (ABA) Scottsdale Titans in Scottsdale, AZ. He said: “Coach Kelly is one of the greatest coaches that has ever entered my life. Overall he is the most inspiring defined person there is. There is nothing he’ll tell you to do that you can’t do. He is a very honest person and will see things before they happen game-wise and basically for your future because for one he knows when it’s time to talk about on the court stuff but overall he is building you for the stuff outside and off the court.”
“Coach James Kelley is very smart and educated in all areas I think anyways. He is a great mentor with leading youth in the right direction. I think one of his strongest capabilities is that he knows how to talk to anyone and everyone from all types of different backgrounds whether they have some things, have a lot or have no offers at all. He knows how to get your mind or your mental state going, he knows how to make you start to believe in yourself, he knows how to get you to be patient with life and with the game but you always attack the things you want. He has taught me a lot and is the reason why I believe in myself and I know I’m capable of being in the position to be a professional basketball athlete,” added Tommy.
“If it weren’t for Coach Kelley helping me figure out my fullest potential there isn’t no telling where I’d be,” said Tommy. “It is because of him that I know how to succeed with what I really want and I’m living my life the way I want to happily.”
“Hard work, dedication, intensity and poise. These are the words I’d use to describe Coach Kelly,” said former player Leighton Pennington.
“I can tell you he is full of knowledge when it comes to basketball,” said Leighton. “He guided us as players but allowed us to create our own game. I believe this enables his players to move up to the next level with confidence.”
“The ‘visualize to materialize’ philosophy he uses definitely helped me grow as a player during my three years on his team,” said Leighton. “From my sophomore year to my senior year, I went from 7 ppg to 25 ppg and along with that concept and hard work, it allowed not only my team and I to become better players, but it instilled the mindset of, ‘If you can see it, you can do it.’ To him, dedication to basketball and our team was priority number one.”
“He was always in the gym, which set a good example for his players. Even on his days off, he’d have the gym open, encouraging us to workout. Coach Kelly would say, ‘While you’re watching TV, there is someone putting in work getting better than you.’ This really showed me, as a player, what dedication looked like,” added Leighton.
“Being in a very unique environment of a boarding school, you face the up-and-down battle with unpredictability of players returning and the stigma that comes with boarding schools,” said Leighton. “Coach Kelly knew it was important to give players an opportunity to meet his family and create a bond with them. This is because understanding some kids attending Riverside may not have that family structure. In doing so, he creates healthy bonds and beliefs with players, and that empowers them to not only succeed as players but as growing adults.”
“The ‘it’s more than just a game’ mentality is what Coach Kelly teaches and lives by,” said Leighton. “The biggest lesson I learned from Coach Kelly is with hard work, dedication and visualizing your goals, you can accomplish all you set out to.”
Photo Credit: Rhonda Freie
