{"id":19023,"date":"2021-12-13T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=19023"},"modified":"2021-12-13T00:12:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T05:12:54","slug":"cronkite-news-rez-ball-returns-to-community-on-navajo-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/12\/13\/cronkite-news-rez-ball-returns-to-community-on-navajo-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: \u2018Rez ball\u2019 returns to community on Navajo Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t“Rez Ball” Returns | Cronkite News\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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High school basketball was shut down last year because of COVID-19, which hit the Navajo Nation hard. But “rez ball” has returned, providing much-needed heal…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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Cronkite News Video: “Rez Ball” Returns to Navajo Nation<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Rez ball in Chinle: Navajo Nation community rebounds after pandemic takes toll<\/div>\r\n
Monday, December 13, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Gabrielle Ducharme<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCHINLE, Arizona — Shaun Martin\u2019s office sits at the front corner of Chinle High School, down the street from the Navajo Nation hospital that serves his community. It looks onto Highway 191, and during the throes of the pandemic, it was a window into the state of his city.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cEvery 20 minutes, an ambulance would be departing,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt was very real.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nThese days, the wailing of sirens has been replaced by the bouncing of basketballs. Rez ball is back and the community is rebounding.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cTime is gonna heal us,\u201d Chinle women\u2019s basketball coach Francine McCurtain said. \u201cAnd basketball is one of those things that can heal us, too.\u201d

<\/p>\r\n \"Chinle<\/a>

Over 1,000 students attend Chinle High School in the heart of the Navajo Nation. Roughly 40% do not have access to internet, or electricity and running water, said Chinle Athletic Director Shawn Martin. Photo by Gabrielle Ducharme \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

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Community under siege<\/div>\r\nRoughly 300 miles north of Phoenix, tucked behind the majestic Canyon De Chelly, sits Chinle in the heart of the Navajo Nation. A lone central two-lane highway leads in and out of the town. Surrounded by dirt, mountains and desert, the paved road is rare.

<\/p>\r\nSigns hang along fences, warning against the spread of COVID-19<\/a>. Aging buildings face east to celebrate the sunrise and rebirth of a new day, much the way the homes of their ancestors did for generations. The Wildcat Den at Chinle High School is arguably the largest one in town, the 7,500-seat arena that is home to Chinle basketball.

<\/p>\r\nIt sat idle from March 2020 to November 18 while the city was on lockdown due to COVID-19.

<\/p>\r\nThe pandemic was hard on the community. In May of 2020, the Navajo Nation, which includes 27,425 square miles of land that extends into New Mexico, Arizona and Utah \u2013 had the country\u2019s highest infection rate<\/a>, surpassing New York. In addition to rapid spread, the numbers were also high because of significant testing, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a release.

<\/p>\r\nAs of Thursday, the Navajo Department of Health reports 40,254 confirmed cases<\/a> of COVID-19 and 1,557 deaths. It has also rebounded faster than other hotspots because of lockdowns and mask mandates, Nez said.

<\/p>\r\nIt has impacted many, including McCurtain and Chinle boys basketball coach Raul Mendoza. McCurtain lost her father, and Mendonza lost his daughter to COVID-19.

<\/p>\r\n \"Wildcat<\/a>

The Wildcat Den at Chinle High School reopened for the first time in 18 months, welcoming back athletes, fans and community members to the sacred space. Photo by Gabrielle Ducharme \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nBoth are working to find peace in their grief, while helping the community heal through basketball. As McCurtain sat in the Wildcat Den locker room, her eyes drifted to an image of the school\u2019s mascot on the carpet as she recollected her father\u2019s last days.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cIt’s gonna be about a year since I lost my dad,\u201d McCurtain said as she choked back tears. \u201cAccepting that the pandemic year did happen, and we can’t go back and change it.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nMcCurtain is a physical education teacher, basketball coach and mother of five, including two Chinle players: son Kylen and daughter Qoah Yazzie. Her father\u2019s legacy and mother\u2019s impact lives on in her passion for coaching rez ball.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cMy mom was a coach. So naturally she taught me the fundamentals,\u201d McCurtain said. \u201c(My dad) was one of the biggest factors in my family, training us at home.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nIt was different for Mendoza. The legend is entering his 42nd season coaching high school basketball on the Navajo Nation. He has won over 700 high school games and two coach of the year awards.

<\/p>\r\nBut with great success comes great sacrifice, he believes.

<\/p>\r\nMendoza feels he \u201cmissed out\u201d on \u201ca lot\u201d before the pandemic at the expense of his coaching success. After his daughter fell ill to cancer, and eventually COVID-19, he held on to the knowledge that the quarantine brought one benefit:

<\/p>\r\nTime spent with her.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cAfter she passed away, I’m glad that I was able to be with her,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cIt was a positive thing for me.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nAlthough their loved ones represent the unfathomable amount of loss the Nation has faced, the coaches represent a gain: the rebirth of rez ball.

<\/p>\r\n \"Francine<\/a>

Chinle girls basketball coach Francine McCurtain is also a teacher and mother of five, including two Chinle basketball players. She grew up playing the sport. Photo by Gabrielle Ducharme \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n

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More than a game<\/div>\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s like the heart of the Navajo Nation here,\u201d McCurtain said.

<\/p>\r\nBasketball is important on the reservation. Navajo learned the sport in the boarding schools of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and transformed it into rez ball, a run-and-gun style of play that often wears down opponents.

<\/p>\r\nOn this night, the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams take the court to cheers from community members socially distanced in the upper levels. Martin sits high above the courts in a state-of-the art press box looking on, microphone in hand.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWelcome back to the Wildcat DEN,\u201d he shouts.

<\/p>\r\nRez ball tips off, and the healing begins.

<\/p>\r\nThe women\u2019s team plays a hounding full court press, stealing the ball before opponents can react. It relies on senior forward and team captain Aisha Ashley. She is tall, broad-shouldered and dominates her opponents with menacing drop-steps offensively, then swats shots into the bleachers defensively.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cShe\u2019s strong,\u201d a coach from Show Low High School said with a tone of surprise.

<\/p>\r\n \"Fans<\/a>

Fans said they were happy to return to the Wildcat Den, calling it a sign of healing for the community following the pandemic. (Photo by Gabrielle Ducharme \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMcCurtain paces back and forth, snapping at players for missed screens and costly turnovers. She understands the magnitude of rez ball\u2019s return, of the Wildcat Den reopening, and prays her athletes do, too.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI think if they wear the black and gold, they should be very proud,\u201d McCurtain said. \u201cAnd not just because I’m the coach, but because they want to do it.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nMendoza was the last to join his men\u2019s team on the court. Quiet, yet focused, the coach stared at the court as his players warmed up. Normally he would be up actively communicating with them. Instead, he sat down and observed.

<\/p>\r\nIt is a symbol of his new coaching philosophy: He relies more on his assistants to check in on athletes and prioritize their mental health.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cBecause of the pandemic, we needed more involvement from (coaches),\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cTo where (players) can reach out to them, and try to see that everything’s going in the right direction.\u201d

<\/p>\r\nThe men\u2019s team plays up-tempo run-and-gun. They rely heavily on a small lineup dominated by guard play. The ultimate goal: Get the easiest bucket as quickly as possible.

<\/p>\r\n \"Kylen<\/a>

Senior point guard Kylen Yazzie, the son of girls basketball coach Francine McCurtain, said it was difficult to have his junior senior canceled because of the pandemic. Photo by Gabrielle Ducharme \/ Cronkite News <\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P> \r\nSenior point guard Kylen Yazzie provides structure to the fluid offensive scheme. The lanky 18-year-old gets into a deep defensive stance, bending his knees, and pursues the ball with vengeance. He\u2019s reserved and leads by action rather than words.

<\/p>\r\nThe player models his coach: quiet yet powerful.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cNative kids are a little bit more introverted, a little bit less outgoing,\u201d Martin said. \u201cNon-native kids will be a lot more readable as far as body language and emotions.\u201d

<\/p>\r\n The games were scrimmages, so the teams did not keep score, but it did not matter to Chinle, which always applied full court pressure, always played fast.

<\/p>\r\n\u201cOur modern day warriors are our kids on the court,\u201d Martin said. \u201cIt’s built into our cultures to just have positive, competitive environments where we’re celebrating not only our kids, but other communities.\u201d

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