By NB3 Foundation

NB3FIT Golf: Getting back into the swing of things

This summer we had our first in-person golf programing session since 2019. The program ran for 8 weeks this summer starting June 1st and ending on July 29th  at the Golf Center at Balloon Fiesta Park. This summer we had a total of 21 youth in our program with ages ranging from 6-18. With the help of NB3FIT staff a new fitness rotation was added this summer which the youth really enjoyed. We added in this new fitness rotation to educate our youth on the importance of taking care of their bodies so that can help prevent injuries and also introduce different avenues for physical activity. While learning the fundamentals of the game of golf the youth in our program also received lessons in the four core areas of our programs: physical activity, healthy nutrition, youth development and cultural connections. The youth in the program persevered through the heat all summer to improve their golf game while also improving their knowledge of how to live healthier lives. To top off our summer two of our youth participated in the 2nd Annual Native Youth Golf Championship Santa Ana Golf Club, Santa Ana Pueblo.

We will be hosting a fall session of NB3FIT Jr. Golf program at Sandia Golf Club. Open to youth 7-18. If you have a child interested in joining visit our NB3FIT page to register.

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3 Foundation Native Youth Golf Championship sends four youth to national tournament

Nearly 50 Native youth golfers ages 8-18 competed in the NB3 Foundation 2nd  annual Native Youth Golf Championship on August 8-10 at the Santa Ana Golf Club, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. Four from the group qualified to play in the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship at Kosati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La. in November.

“The tournament was exciting from beginning to end,” Clint Begay, director of NB3FIT said.  It was great to meet all the youth and families and we are excited to send four Native youth to the national championship.”

Laylee Wishark ,13, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Kanyon DeRyke,13, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Shandiin Harper ,18, Diné and Adiance Cheromiah ,17, Pueblo of Laguna, won their respective age divisions and securing themselves a spot in the national event that will air on Golf Channel.

Wishark, shot 83 and 85 earning her spot to play in the national tournament. Wishark said she was most proud and thankful for her family and community who supported her journey to compete in the tournament. She and her family drove over 1,000-miles from Carthage, Miss. to compete in the tournament.

DeRyke, they boys 13 & under division winner, shot his best score ever 2-under on the final day of the championship. DeRyke, Bringham, Utah, said he was excited about the opportunity to compete in Coushatta.

Last year’s 14-18 girl’s division champ returned this year looking to defend her title. After one round of play Harper found herself four strokes back from day one leader Emma Worgum, Mount Vernon, Wash. On day two, Harper staged a comeback shooting a division best, 71 to reclaim her title as the girl’s division Native Youth Golf Champion.

“I came in today four back, and I ended up winning by three today so that’s pretty cool,” she said. “I’m excited to go back [to Coushatta] and play better than I did last year. I  think last year I wasn’t really ready.”

Taking home top honors in the boys 14-18 division was Adiance Cheromiah, Pueblo of Laguna. They boy’s division was a close finish, Cheromiah taking home first  place by one stroke and leaving a three-way tie for second and third. After a two-hole playoff, Skyler Woods, Diné, claimed outright second and Tristen Toledo, Pubelo of Jemez, secured third.

Looking ahead to the Notah Begay III Junior National Championship in November, Cheromiah said he’s wants to focus on keeping a positive outlook.

“My mentality, not letting my emotions get to me, and working on my iron approach shots,” he said.
Begay was pleased with the diverse turnout this year and said he looks forward to welcoming more Native youth golfers next year.

“It was a great event and we were excited to see so many new faces out on the course this year,” Begay said. “We had an exciting finish in the boys 14-18 division and it was just a great atmosphere watching these dedicated junior golfers in their element… the future is bright for Native youth golfers.”

Girls 13 & Under:
Laylee Wishark +24

Hayden Dan + 38

Dallas Dan +46

Girls 14-18:
Shandiin Harper +4

Emma Worgum +7

Beans Factor + 15

Boys 13 & Under:
Kanyon DeRyke +5

Deviond Shendo +32

Kenneth Tafoya + 46

Boys 14-18:

Adiance Cheromiah +11

Skyler Woods +17

Tristen Thompson +17

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By NB3 Foundation

PNM Supports NB3 Foundation Direct Youth Programs

Donates $10,000 to programs evidence-based sports, health, and research programs

(Albuquerque, N.M.) –As children across the Land of Enchantment prepare to head back to school, PNM wants to make sure there is still a focus on food security, physical well-being, and youth leadership, especially within the state’s tribal communities. To help, PNM will donate $10,000 to the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation to support two key programs, the NB3FIT Cross Country Program and distribution of healthy food boxes in partnership with MoGro and the Indigenous Farm Hub.

“PNM has been a long-standing supporter of the NB3 Foundation through many contributions and community support. We are grateful for their continued commitment to promote Native American children’s health,” NB3 Foundation COO, Jon Driskell said. “This contribution will help increase opportunities for youth to participate in the NB3FIT Cross-Country program and support a new initiative to provide healthy food boxes to families. “

NB3FIT Cross Country program normally run youth races in tribal communities each week. However, with COVID-19 and tribal communities still shut down to non-tribal members, NB3 will host training and races at North Domingo Baca Park in Albuquerque. The program covers the four core areas of NB3 Foundation: Physical Activity, Healthy Nutrition, Youth Development and Cultural Connections.

MoGro is a nonprofit mobile grocery project committed to providing healthy food that people can depend on. In partnership with NB3 Foundation, MoGro offers boxes of fresh, mostly local, fruits and vegetables each week to needy youth and families in tribal communities.

The NB3 Foundation is a national, award-winning Native-lead nonprofit leading the way to improve children’s health. PNM is proud to support the NB3 Foundation’s mission to ensure Native children achieve their full potential by advancing cultures of Native American community health.

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Back to the basics: NB3FIT hosts running camp for youth

NB3 Foundation kicked off the NB3FIT Running Camp on July 27 at Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, NM.  The camp is designed to help youth become a more efficient at running. A lot of energy can be wasted running incorrectly, and it can also lead to injuries.
During the four day camp, youth will learn different drills they can practice at home to help improve their technique, speed, agility and strength.

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By NB3 Foundation

Youth Spotlight: Koi Zunie | Pueblo of Zuni

On Monday, July 12 Koi Zunie signed his letter of intent to play collegiate golf for Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla. The signing took place at the Santa Ana Golf Club, where Koi says his true golf career started last year at the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation’s Native Youth Golf Championship.

Koi grew up playing an array  of sports, and has always held a special interest in golf from watching his dad and grandpa. From his home in Zuni, N.M. Koi had little access to anything golf related. The nearest golf course was in Gallup, a 45-minute drive, and there was no local youth golf program for Koi to join. After his elementary years, Koi started to gravitate towards other sports that were more accessible, like football.

However, after years of only playing leisurely, Koi wanted to give golf a try again. Only one thing was holding him back from competing, his high school didn’t have a golf team. Koi and his father pitched the idea of starting one to the school board and it eventually was approved. Koi was given the greenlight to compete his junior year as the first-ever golfer from Zuni High School.

Unfortunately, days before Koi was set to compete in his first tournament the pandemic hit. All schools and sports were canceled for the remainder of the year. On the upside of things, golf courses were one of the first things to open back up after the shutdown.

“COVID shut everything down, but luckily we still had this outlet of golf,” Koi’s father, Kevin Zunie said.

Feeling unsure about what was to come, Koi came across the advertisement for the NB3 Foundation’s Inaugural Native Youth Golf Champion slated for August 2020. He knew he wanted to play. He saw it as an opportunity to get experience, and to see where he was amongst fellow Native youth his age.

“After the first round, we saw where I was at and I was seeded better than I thought,” he said.

Seeing where he was and how he finished overall gave Koi a boost of encouragement. He recalled being in awe of the Santa Ana Golf Club and all the nice equipment he seen fellow golfers have.

“I had golf clubs in my bag that were older than I am,” Zunie said. ”My grips were sliding down my hand.”

Regardless of his equipment, Koi was still holding his own and staying competitive in his division. Something he and his dad were proud of in the end.

After the tournament and receiving news his senior season of football was canceled, Koi decided to focus all his efforts on preparing for the spring golf season.

Koi and his dad hit the road, traveling to Grants to get some valuable practice in and finding golf tournaments to compete in. In his first  and only season as a high school golfer, Koi went on to win first place in the Grants High School Tournament, finish with All-district honors and qualify to play in the New Mexico High School State Tournament. He ended up finishing in the top 10 at state, a feat he wouldn’t have imagined just a year ago.

“The little things pay off,” Koi said. “I was practicing with one piece of turf, a holey net and a tire as my target. It may not be luxury practice tools for golf, but that’s how I did it.”

NB3 Foundation Director of NB3FIT, Clint Begay kept up with Koi throughout his season and began noticing his scores getting better and better. Knowing Koi was a senior, Begay reached out to Britanie Wacoche, the head golf coach at Bacone College and let her know about Koi. Wacoche liked what she saw in Koi and asked him to join the program.

“We’re happy to have Koi, this is a great opportunity to not only get a higher education but to have fun playing golf while doing it,” Wachoche said.

Begay was on-site for the signing representing the NB3 Foundation.

“At the NB3 Foundation we try to help Native youth as much as we can. Golf has been a great sport to my family and the foundation, so we just try to give back,” Begay said. “I helped Koi with words of encouragement and some equipment, but he put in the work. He put in the time.”

Koi’s starts at Bacone College next month, and looks forward to seeing where golf  and school will take him.

“Thank you to my parents for believing in what I wanted to do. My extended family, people who believed in me is what I really keep close. Thank you to Clint, the NB3 Foundation,  Zuni High School and Bacone for giving me a shot. We’ll see where it goes from here.”

After college Koi says he hopes to come home to help introduce golf to the youth at a young age.

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Foundation looks forward to hosting Native Youth Golf Championship

The Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation will be hosting the 2nd annual Native Youth Golf Championship August 8-10 at the Santa Ana Golf Club, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
The tournament is a premier youth golf competition hosted specifically for Native American youth. This year, the foundation is looking to host over 40 youth golfers from across the country.
“I’m really excited to see the names and different locations of Native youth coming to play in the tournament,” Director of NB3FIT, Clint Begay said. “A lot of great things come out of a well-rounded tournament like this. It’s a great learning experience for beginners, and an amazing opportunity for Native youth who have played all their lives to come compete for a chance to play in the NB3 Junior Golf National Championship.”
Golfers range between 8-18 years old and will play within two age divisions. Winners of each division will secure a spot to play in the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship November 13-15 at Koasati Pines at Coushatta in Kinder, La.
Winners of the Native Youth Golf Championship get a direct bid to the NB3 Junior Golf National Championship. A unique opportunity for Native youth who win the tournament to by-pass the local and regional qualifiers.
Last year’s Native Youth Golf Championship winners, Shandiin Harper, Zachary BlueEyes and Skyler Woods, all traveled and competed in Kinder, La in November 2020. This year, the foundation is looking to qualify four youth for the national championship, one from each division.
“We are committed to helping grow the game of golf in Native communities and by hosting the Native Youth Golf Championship and partnering with NB3 Junior Golf National Championship we hope to create more access and opportunities for Native youth golfers,” Begay said.
Registration for the event is still open to Native youth ages 8-18. To learn more about the tournament, visit: www.nb3foundation.org/native-youth-golf-championship/ 
Thank you to our tournament sponsors and partner, who are helping make this a memorable experience for Native youth.
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By NB3 Foundation

Evaluation team finishes up post evaluation of summer camp

 

NB3 Foundation Evaluation and Research team was onsite to finish up the post evaluation of NB3FIT Summer Camp. Data compiled will be used to determine how camp impacted the youth, and used to further tailor NB3FIT programs to meet the needs of our youth and communities.

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By NB3 Foundation

Last day of NB3FIT Summer Camp

Nb3FIT Summer Camp finished out programming with a water field day! The youth have been meeting three days a week since June and have focused on physical activity and youth development. On July 22, NB3 Foundation hosted a bbq for participants and their families and opened the NB3 Foundation water trailer serving fruit infused water. During NB3FIT Summer Camp, the youth participated in the NB3 Foundation Zero to 60 challenge, pledging to drink water everyday and not drink sugary beverages. The youth also utilized Garmin fitness watches to track their movement and daily steps. The youth got to keep the watches and NB3FIT coaches encouraged youth to keep meeting their daily step goal even after camp ends.

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Evaluation team gets creative, implements gamified evaluation methods

The Evaluation and Research Department (ERD) has been working on gamifying the evaluation methods, especially for our NB3FIT youth programs.  The ERD joined the NB3FIT Summer Camp to implement the gamified evaluation methods to gather data from the youth.  The two methods implemented include, the Rez Dog likert scale and Body Mapping.  Both methods included questions which were developed using the NB3 Foundation’s four core areas of physical activity, healthy nutrition, youth development and cultural connections, and also using the outcome statements developed by all staff at the Foundation.  Both methods originated from our collaborative efforts with John Snow, Inc., as they suggested some participatory tools that can be used with youth and other stakeholders to collect the necessary data.

The Body Mapping method explores existing attitudes and practices; and also to explore the likes and dislikes of the youth. Through this process, the participants drew and outline of their body, as depicted below in the picture.  On the outline or inside of the body they wrote and drew pictures while also using words to describe their health and wellbeing based on the questions being asked.  The responses in the picture below were based on the following questions:

  1. Healthy Nutrition 
    1. How does eating healthy foods make you feel? Around the edge of your body map, write or draw those feelings. 
    2. On the mouth of your body map, write how many cups of water should you drink a day?  
    3. Draw a line from your mouth outward. Now, draw or write what healthy foods you eat. What unhealthy foods do you eat? 
  1. Physical Activity
    1. Draw a line from your legs outward. Now, draw or write activities you can do with your legs to be active.  
  1. Youth Development 
    1. Draw a line from your head outward. Draw or write what you think of yourself? 

One youth’s body mapping illustration.

The Rez Dog likert scale was originally called the Self-Confidence snails and the activity encourages participants to score changes in their self-confidence before and after the program.  For this tool, the ERD tailored the activity for better understanding from the youth we serve in NB3FIT by calling this activity the Rez Dog likert scale.  The questions for this activity were geared towards bravery for certain activities and it included the rez dog showing different emotions, which was explained to the youth what each emotion meant to help them understand.  The likert scale started at one and ended at five.  At one the rez dog was brave and at five, the rez dog was not brave at all.  In the picture below, the children were asked ‘how brave are you to make new friends’, on the left side of the picture is the higher end of the likert scale which is at five.  For this specific question a majority of the youth felt brave to make new friends.

The other questions for this activity were:

  • How brave are you to talk to a group of people?
  • How brave are you to learn a new sports skill?
  • How brave are you to be physically active?
  • How brave are you to teach an activity you learned in the program to your family?

The new gamified evaluation methods are new for the NB3FIT program and as we move forward we will learn and adapt to best fit what will work for us in evaluating our NB3FIT program.  Findings from these methods provide general patterns that can be strong indicators of changes taking place in the youth that we serve.  We will revisit these evaluation games at the end of the NB3FIT Summer Camp for a post evaluation to determine where the youth are at and how the summer camp has impacted them.

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3FIT Golf Team busy on the greens this summer

Three NB3FIT Golf Team members recently qualified and played int he the Notah Begay III Junior Golf Regional Tournament at Stanford University Golf Course on June 16-17.  Zachary BlueEyes, Tristen Toledo and Skyler Woods all traveled and competed at Stanford, and all though they did not place  it was a great opportunity and learning experience for the young golfers, Director of NB3FIT Clint Begay said.

Since the season began, the 14-member team has gone on to compete in seven tournaments this summer. Due to the pandemic, the high school season here in New Mexico was extended into the summer leading to many members on the NB3FIT Golf Team playing in high school tournaments as well. Recently, eight members of the youth golf team played in the New Mexico High School State Golf Tournament.  Top finishers from the team were Shandiin Harper finishing tied for second place in girls 5-A and Skyler Woods, Kirtland Central, finishing tied for sixth in boys 4-A.

Girls

  • Shandiin Harper, Piedra Vista, tied for 2nd
  • Melody Sandoval, Volcano Vista, tied for 14th
  • Maddison Long, Volcano Vista, tied for 22nd
  • Emily Kitseallyboy, Farmington, tied for 36th

Boys

  • Skyler Woods, Kirtland Central, tied for 6th
  • Zachary Blueeyes , Kirtland Central, tied for 22nd
  • Ardell John, Kirtland Central, tied for 26th
  • Noah Pozernick, Miyamura, 48th

“I’m extremely proud of this group. They have all been super busy and are continuing become better golfers and role models to their communities,” Begay said.

There are five events left on the schedule, and their season will end with our NB3 Foundation Native Youth Championship, August 8, 9 & 10.  Skyler, Zachary and Shandiin look to defend their titles from last year’s Native Youth Golf Championship.  Winners from each age group will qualify for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship in November in Coushatta, La.

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