6 MARCH 1, 2002
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MARCH 1, 2002
Smoke Signals 7
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1 CJH - w , Cjs I A Willamina wrestler Vince Fagundes (top) 125 shows his skills.
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A Willamina wrestler Denny Durham muscles his opponent during a recent meet with Amity, . , mn . .
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' " f .jrv. rr Jgy A Willamina wrestler Corey Bryant (top), 140 pounds, grapples with an opponent at
ATribalmemberKiefferHolsclaw(top)wrestleswithMikeRammelofSheridan.Holsclaw PhOtOS by Peta Tinda 'ySr Amity during a recent meet.
won, pinning Rammel in 1:04 in the second round.
Former Champion Wrestler Looks For A Future In Coaching
Tribal member Shonn Leno won three state championships for Willamina High
School and now spends his time coaching the junior high squad.
College Wrestler Has A "System" For Success
Tribal member Jonathan Brandon attends OSU, wants to be a
teacher and has plans to travel.
By Peta Tinda
Tribal member and former Or
egon State champion wrestler
Shonn Leno has settled comfortably
into his new role as assistant coach
for the Willamina junior high wres
tling team.
"It's been a family tradition," said
Leno. "I started when I was four.
My brother Dustin has four titles.
I have three state titles and two
team titles."
Leno holds practice five days a
week at Willamina Middle School.
The usual attendance is about 16
kids, on an average day.
Leno is popular with the kids,
maybe because he's only 26, and
can still remember clearly his own
high school days.
"I've been through it all," said
Leno. "Plus I've known most of
these kids on the team. But yeah,
being younger helps me to commu
nicate with the kids."
At practice, Shonn seeks to en
courage the young wrestler's talent
by first teaching them the basics of
wrestling.
"We do drills, we do take downs,
we do stand ups," said Leno. "But
no running, because it's not as in
tense as high school. We don't want
to scare em' off."
Leno works full-time as a Fish and
Wildife Technician for the Tribe's
Natural Resources department.
"On an average day, I get up
pretty early and feed the horses,"
said Leno. "Then I come
to work and fig
ure out what
needs to
be done. That's the hardest part.
(Work) can range from land acqui
sition, to surveying fish to count
ing deer. I work on different
projects until three o'clock
and then go to
practice.
Practice
"He's got me" Assistant coach for Willamina junior high wrestling Shonn
Leno practices with junior varsity heavyweight Brody Collins. Leno coaches his kids
every day after school. Leno is very hands on with his approach to teaching wres
tling, and isn't above getting down on the mat to show kids how it's done.
lasts until five, then I go home and
feed the horses again and the
dogs, Casper and Merlin."
This schedule keeps Leno pretty
busy, but he seems to want more.
"What I really want to eventually
be is a head coach," said Leno. "I
did a little bit of coaching for Amity
High School on a volunteer basis.
So I'm continually looking. I want
to coach high school."
With the name the Leno's made
for themselves during their high
school wrestling days, that
shouldn't be too hard.
"We had a pretty good team dur
ing my high school years we won
a lot of state titles," said Leno. "But
it's more important that they know
we have a good wrestling program
(at Willamina)."
The kids at wrestling practice all
look up to Leno and seem to appre
ciate his hometown hero status.
They also like the experience that
he brings and the fact that he's
willing to share it with them.
"It's pretty cool that he was state
champ," said wrestler Randy
Thayer. "And he's a great coach."
Fellow wrestler Kieffer Holsclaw
agreed. "He's a good guy, and a
good coach. We're lucky to have
him." B
By Peta Tinda
Grand Ronde Tribal member
Jonathan Brandon is very commit
ted. The Oregon State University
sophomore gets up early every
morning to attend wrestling prac
tice, followed by classes all day,
more practice, maybe a bite to eat,
then it's off to the library from 7
p.m. to midnight to study. Then he
gets up and does it all again the
next day.
"I think I've got a pretty good sys
tem," said Brandon of his daily rou
tine. The former high school wrestler
for the Estacada Rangers is study
ing history and one day hopes to
teach history and coach at a high
school.
"I like teachers. They're inspira
tional and all my life I've wanted
to be a coach," said Brandon. Bran
don is the son of Tribal member
Larry Brandon and Leann Rich and
the grandson of John Brandon and
Myrna Brandon.
But that doesn't mean he wants
to settle down right away.
"I would like to explore more be
fore I pick a destination where I'd
like to live," said Brandon.
Next year he is planning on at
tending school in southern Califor
nia, where he will continue to
wrestle.
"It's pretty incredible," said Bran
don of his collegiate wrestling ex
perience so far. "It's completely dif
ferent from high school wrestling.
It demands more - more time, more
outside effort. The competition
level is definitely higher. I went
back to my old high school and it
was like night and day, the differ
ence was so huge. The environ
ment here is so much different."
"It forces you to do better," said
Brandon.
Already the skills he's learned on
the mat have proven helpful in the
job market.
"When I was doing summer jobs,
peopled hired me because they
knew I was a wrestler, and that I
would work hard. That's the way I
was raised," Brandon said.
"The commitment level for wres
tlers is way up, even in high school
and especially at college," said
Brandon. "It also applies to the rest
of your life. You decide what you
want, then commit yourself. My
coach said wrestlers make the best
husbands, because you're so com
mitted to your wife and having a
strong relationship."
But it's not just the coaches
who've helped him along the way.
"My Dad's always been my big
gest supporter." Brandon said.
"I also had a few really inspira
tional teachers," Brandon said.
"Mr. Williams in Estacada - he
sparked my interest in history be
cause he was so enthusiastic, he
made it fun.
"Mr. Freeborn who taught his
tory and coached, had this class
called Student Effectiveness Train
ing (SET) it dealt with goal setting,
attitude and steps to accomplish. It
gave me a lot of zest and zeal. I
took those principles and applied
them to my life. It gave me direc
tion. If it wasn't for that class, I
don't think I would have achieved
what I did. It made a big differ
ence in my life."
Jonathan still keeps all of the
handouts and papers from that
class in a three ring binder and he
hopes to teach it to high school stu
dents one day.
He said knowing that people
back home are watching his
progress keeps him focused.
"I never used to think about be
fore. It makes you think about
things you do, how you behave and
act. It's not stressful, but it makes
you think. It's more of motivator,
l -mm? y
y .. . ...v :
Jonathan Brandon
another reason to excel," said Bran
don. He also said he was thankful to
the Tribe for helping him with his
education. "They were such a big
help," said Brandon of the Tribal
Education staff. "I applied for and
got a grant from the Tribes to go to
school. One of the persons who
helped him get money for school was
Tribal Education Specialist, April
Campbell. Campbell has no doubt
about Jonathans chances for suc
cess. "He's gonna do awesome. He's
a really good student, and whatever
he sets his mind to, he'll accomplish.
"My advice to some one in high
school would be to find out your op
tions," said Brandon. "There are so
many opportunities out there. Ap
ply for scholarships. Talk to April
Campbell - find out as much as you
can," said Brandon.
"Even if you don't think you can
afford to go to school, you can't af
ford not to." B