This summer, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project welcomed 4- and 5-year-old ball players back to Ho’n A:wan Park for the 2nd Annual ZYEP T-Ball League. Not only did the program bring 40 children together for four weeks of practice, games and fun, it also engaged eight community coaches.
Sisters Shanay and Kalil Edaakie were two of the eight. This was not the first time they had coached together, and their journey with ZYEP started even earlier — with the youth project’s long-running Summer Camp program for 6- to 12-year-olds.
Kalil, 21, attended Summer Camp as an elementary school student. Shanay was too old for the program, so she decided to apply to become a counselor. She says she enjoyed it so much, she returned for multiple summers.
Shanay also became active in coaching youth sports. It was a good fit, she says, because she loved sports as a child.
“I joined cross country, basketball, track, softball, even Little League baseball,” she says. “I joined everything that was available in Zuni at that time.”
Shanay applied to be a coach in ZYEP’s annual Basketball League, and she spent six years coaching with Zuni Public School District — as track coach at Zuni Middle School and assistant track coach at Zuni High School.
Kalil, who also was active in basketball, volleyball and softball as a youth player, says she was inspired to join her sister as a coach. She and Shanay coached together for the first time during the pandemic, taking on “virtual cross-country.”
“That got me interested,” Kalil says. “I knew she had experience, so that made it more comfortable for me. So I decided to coach T-ball last year, and I came back for the second year. Our little sister was in a softball league in Gallup, and I coached that too.
“It’s such a fun way to spend my time,” she continues. “The kids are goofy, fun, and so free. You enjoy life more, when you see it from their perspective.”
This year’s T-ball league ran from July 10 and concluded Aug. 2. The kids practiced every Wednesday at 9-10 a.m. and played one game every Friday at 9-10 a.m.
“It was such a great outlet for them,” Shanay says. “They could play without having to travel too far, or pay to participate. I love that about ZYEP. They give the kids so many creative, diverse outlets that allow them to explore their interests, and they provide positive role models and mentors.”
“ZYEP helps them make friends, too,” Kalil adds. “Even if you go to different schools, you’re able to be together here.”
The sisters are quick to note that the ZYEP experience has benefited them, as well. In fact, Shanay says it changed her entire plan for the future.
“I was initially going into exercise science, but then I was a counselor for Summer Camp,” she explained. “It got me interested in working with kids.”
Shanay is now preparing to become an elementary school teacher. She will graduate from Western New Mexico University in Silver City this December, and she is in her final year of Educator Fellows, a New Mexico Public Education Department program for high school graduates who are aspiring to become certified educators.
So far, Shanay’s classroom experience has included working with ZPSD as a substitute teacher, educational assistant and Zuni language instructor. Between coaching and teaching, she is working with kids from 4 to 18 years old, and she says she is grateful to have the opportunity to watch them grow up.
“Seeing that growth, that’s what I’m most proud of,” she reflects. “That validates my ‘why.’”
For her part, Kalil says she never considered coaching or teaching until she got involved with ZYEP, and it has been rewarding. She is now studying psychology at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque.
“Once I earn my associate’s degree, I’ll transfer to get my bachelor’s degree,” she says. “I would like to go into forensic psychology.”
Regardless of where their education and careers might take them, the sisters say their hearts are in Zuni. They say the pueblo is a very special place.
“Everyone knows each other,” Kalil says with a smile.
“It’s so close-knit,” Shanay agrees, adding, “Our T-ball games are always packed! The people here have so much love for the kids. And for each other.”
