by By Dan Ninham
Sokobi Connywerdy, 16, will be a junior next school year at Norman HS in Norman, OK. He is Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo. His Kiowa name is Setsian meaning Little Bear.
Sokobi was one of the youngest to receive a Black Belt in Mixed Martial Arts in his school. He was on the competitive #4 OK state ranked soccer team and won the State Cup with Norman HS.
He also competed in the track regionals in the 100m, 400m and long jump. He worked to get to the level of having a 32 inch three-step running vertical jump.
Sokobi also is a champion teen fancy dancer at various powwows.
“I refuse to give up,” said Sokobi. “The only way to stop me from accomplishing something I set my mind to do is to completely immobilize me. I will never let anything get in my way, and no matter what you throw in my way I will always find a way around it.”
Sokobi believes the hard work happens when no one is looking. He said: “Drag your feet through the mud and tough it out.”
“I feel my tribes are the same,” said Sokobi. “The more you throw at us the more we find a reason to keep going. If you’re working toward an athletic dream you work harder than anyone else in the sport to get there.”
“You will get beat out by others, injuries and bad luck will happen, you come back harder and smarter than last time. You don’t make excuses if you are truly hungry for improvement,” added Sokobi.
“As an athlete I go in the direction to max out my potential and be the best I can possibly be,” said Sokobi. “My goals are to get my high school team a championship and become a college athlete. I’ll become this by perfecting my mechanics in the game and developing a higher game IQ. The physical part of the game is only half the battle, the other half is the mental.”
When Jokobi first joined the soccer team his coach Noe Lopez was so far ahead of the team that when he played none of players could get the ball from him. “Now since we all got older he has kept the team together and we still all play with him.”
“I coached Sokobi in competitive soccer for more than three years,” said Noe Lopez. “He is an amazing defender and a warrior on the field. He always gives everything he has, even when he has been injured he played through it. I am so proud to be his coach.”
“Norman HS coach Gordon Drummond is always analyzing our games and telling what we did wrong then how to fix and improve it,” said Sokobi.
Like many highly competitive athletes, Sokobi had challenges rather than obstacles. The challenges are not road blocks but hurdles that he is jumping over. He said: “Due to illness when I was young I did not reach my full height and I stopped growing at 5’5 while my growth plates were closed. Since I am smaller than most of my opponents I had to become just as strong or stronger while being faster and more athletic to get the ball and make it hard for them to keep up with me.”
“My freshman year I got kicked in the knee causing a MCL tear so now I have to wear a brace whenever I play. Currently I have to recover and overcome a lower spine injury which could take six months to fully recover to where I can work out and play sports again,” added Sokobi.
“By never giving in I took my athleticism to the next level even with the injuries and got faster,” said Sokobi.
He improved his 100m time from a 13.11 to 11.57 and his 24 inch running vertical jump to a 32 inch running vertical jump.
Sokobi currently cannot run or jump and plans to take his recovery very serious so he can return as soon as possible. He said: “I will study the game in order to raise my IQ and awareness during the game.”
“Just like the warriors in my tribe long ago, I will never give up,” said Sokobi.
Photo Credit: Kevin Connywerdy
