Time to spend with friends, toughing it out

VICTORIA BARBER

May 02, 2008 at 10:13AM AKST

When Aline Nguyen, of Unalaska, won fourth place in her event at Native Youth Olympics on April 24, she walked away with more than a medal.

A round, bruised callus, about the size of a dime, had developed on the inside of her wrist, just where she’d supported her body’s weight while dangling from a stick being carried by her teammates for personal best of 263 feet, 4 inches.

It’s an unusual badge of athleticism but not a rare sight at NYO. In addition to the run-of-the-mill skills that athletes painstakingly cultivate – such as speed, flexibility or strength – building up calluses in unusual spots is key for success in NYO events.

Blaine Shaishnikoff, also from Unalaska School, worked for weeks to toughen his hands up for the seal hop event, which demands that competitors hold their body parallel to the floor while scraping along on their palms, knuckles and toes.

In the one-foot high kick, athletes have to stick the landing to make their kick count, which usually means hopping on one foot to catch their balance. Some high kickers wear sneakers, many are barefoot, but either way the skin on the ball of the foot gets abraded and toughened.

"Jumping high enough is difficult," said Sage Lewis, who kicked 62 inches. "But once I had built up the calluses it got easier."

It is all a part of what helped Alaska Native people survive in harsh conditions through thousands of years – the ability to endure through blisters, pain and fatigue and keep going.

NYO 2008 handbook says that Native people developed the games to hone their survival skills. At last weekend’s event, it was clear that the appeal of the games has gone beyond its connection to subsistence activities.

The ethnically diverse crowd of participants was made up of communities from across the state, both small rural villages and large urban centers.

Some of the appeal for teenagers is the event’s location. Coming to Anchorage is a treat for many in far-flung reaches of the state, and the prospect of hanging out at the mall, going bowling or catching a film at the theatre was incentive for kids to learn the kneel jump or hone their seal hop.

In St. Paul, first-time coach Nikki Lishinski said that the school said that the school had to be selective in picking its team, because it could only afford to send four students. St. Paul students had to try out for the team twice and help raise funds before they were cleared to go.

Lishinski said that a big motivator for her students was getting to see friends they had made in previous years at NYO.

"They build friendships with other kids and they don’t have the opportunity to see them very often," Lishinski said. "With St. Paul, being so far out it gives them insight into what other communities are like."

The event also comes at the end of the school year, after most sports are finished for the year, and NYO practice helps fill the vacuum of basketball or volleyball practice.

"It’s something to do, time to spend with friends," said Lewis, who plays volleyball in the fall and took fifth in the Eskimo stick pull.

In general, athletes who are talented in non-Native sports will also excel at NYO. Jonny Samuelson, a sophomore at King Cove School, helped lead his school to a third-place finish at the state basketball tournament this year with his quick, athletic drives.

The same speed and agility carried him through to the final elimination round of Saturday night’s one-foot high kick event, in which he drove at the small, sealskin ball much as though it were a basket, stopping short just in time for an explosive kick that spun the ball hanging well over eight feet above the floor.

Samuelson’s teammate, senior Charlie Dushkin, is known in basketball for his bruising inner play. At NYO, Dushkin fought through a sprained ankle to place third in Eskimo stick pull.

"He’s in some pain, but he’d never tell you that," said coach Etta Kuzakin, watching Dushkin loosen his laces to relieve the pressure on his swollen ankle after the match. "Every single one of them on the team has a lot of heart."

Learning to fight through challenges and have fun while doing it may be one of the greatest lessons NYO has to offer teenagers, whether they’re from the remote tundra or from the city streets.

"Alaska is a tough place to live," Unalaska coach Babbi Goodwin said. "We have these games to get kids to be tough."

Victoria Barber can be reached at (907) 348-2424 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 424.