Smoke signals., January 15, 2019, Page 7, Image 7

S moke S ignals
JANUARY 15, 2019
7
Kaelynn maintains a 3.75 GPA at school
SOFTBALL continued
from front page
drives me on those days when I
don’t want to practice … that col-
lege dream.”
In addition to a full schedule as
an athlete, Kaelynn, 17, maintains
a 3.75 GPA at Dallas High School.
“I do that by prioritizing import-
ant stuff,” she says. “The student
comes before the athlete. I always
do my school projects first because
that is what will eventually get me
to what I want in life.”
Kaelynn is the daughter of Kevin
Simmons, who works in the Tribe’s
Education Department, and Robin
Simmons. She has been playing
softball since the age of 7 and
gravitated toward pitching almost
immediately.
“It just felt fun for me,” Kaelynn
says. “I like the ability to have
something to do that is an outlet for
stress relief. For me, it also helps
that I am pretty good at it. I like
striking people out and being able
to pitch for long games.”
Beyond practice and games, her
training involves athletic condition-
ing, working on improving speed
and pitching lessons.
Beyond being offered scholar-
ships from three universities and
being heavily recruited by another,
the proof of all this hard work lies
in the various accolades she has
received during her high school
Contributed photo
Tribal member Kaelynn Simmons has played softball for Dallas High School
for the last three years and will continue her athletic career playing for the
Western Washington University Vikings.
softball career.
As a freshman, she was named a
First Team Mid-Willamette Valley
Conference Infielder and also se-
lected for the Polk County Itemiz-
er-Observer All Polk County Team.
During her sophomore year, she
earned the prestigious 5A State
Pitcher of the Year award and as a
junior Kaelynn was named First-
Team All-State Pitcher.
In August 2016, Kaelynn attend-
ed a softball clinic held in Grand
Ronde that featured Oregon State
Makai Simmons named to Team USA football
Photo courtesy of Kevin Simmons
Makai Simmons, 15, is a sophomore at Dallas High School and has
been playing football for three years. This past summer he attended a
USA Football Seattle regional tryout and was then selected to attend
U.S. National Team Training Camp in Ohio in July, where he earned an
opportunity to play for the U.S. National Team. He also attended camp
at IMG Academy and was invited to play for IMG Academy. In addition
to IMG Academy, he attended Stanford University Elite Defensive Back
Camp and also Brigham Young University Camp where he was selected
as Defensive MVP.
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
Kaylene Simmons isn’t the only
child in the Simmons family to
achieve high athletic goals.
Younger brother Makai, 15,
has been invited to play as defen-
sive back on the U.S. Under-17
National Team at International
Bowl X in Dallas, Texas.
The U.S. Under-17 National
Team will face Team Japan on
Friday, Jan. 18, at 1 p.m. Central.
Simmons, a sophomore at Dal-
las High School, has been playing
football for three years. This
University assistant coach Emily
Friedman and player Lovie Lopez.
She was quickly identified for her
pitching and hitting skills, and in-
vited to attend a softball camp with
top youth athletes from all over the
country.
“That kicked off a whole bunch
of things and schools really started
looking at her,” Kevin recalls. “Now
she trains with the best in the coun-
try. … It really was a community
effort at the Tribe and she has a lot
of support here.”
Tribal Social Services Director
Dana Ainam has known Kaelynn
for several years since her daughter
also plays softball and both girls
attended several of the same Youth
Prevention camps and clinics.
“I went to Kaelynn’s first game
when she was 13 and have been
following her softball success since
then,” Ainam says. “I’m really
excited for her. It takes a huge
commitment to be able to play for
a four-year university under a full-
ride scholarship, and a huge family
commitment to the goal as well.”
Playing and practicing with the
best in her sport is something that
motivates Kaelynn to work even
harder to achieve goals.
“It really helps me up my game
because it gives me confidence,” she
says. “I know I can compete with
them and it’s nice to be able to do
that. … I thrive on competition.”
Kaelynn received scholarship
offers from Southern Oregon Uni-
versity in Ashland, Western Wash-
ington University and Corban
University in Salem, and was heav-
ily recruited by Linfield College in
McMinnville.
After touring campuses and
talking to coaches, she went to
Western Washington to visit before
making a final decision.
“As soon as I saw the campus,
talked to players and looked at the
fields, I knew right away it was the
place for me,” Kaelynn says. “It just
felt so right.”
Off the softball field, she said she
plans to major in psychology and
earn a master’s degree in psychi-
atric nursing.
Kaelynn encourages fellow Tribal
youth to “never give up” on their
dreams and keep at it, even when
it seems progress is slow.
“Keep working,” she says. “If
you know what your dream is, you
have to work for it. Do more work
than what is average if you want to
achieve success.”
Most student athletes have had
mentors along the way and Kae-
lynn is no exception.
“I am grateful to my parents and
my ancestors for paving the way for
me,” she says. “Teresa Wilson, one
of my coaches for my travel team,
is a big inspiration, too. She helped
me want to play at the college level
and see it was possible.”
Wilson coached the University of
Washington Huskies softball team
for 11 years and they reached the
NCAA Women’s College World Se-
ries six times.
“She has really helped me to get
to where I am today,” Kaelynn says.
Kaelynn will be signing her com-
mitment letter to Western Wash-
ington University at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Tribal
Community Center. The public is
invited to attend.
“This is also an achievement for
the Grand Ronde community,”
Ainam says. “It’s important to cel-
ebrate moments like this. It gives
back to all of us.” 
past summer, he attended USA
Football Seattle regional try-
outs and was selected to attend
the national training camp in
Ohio in July, where he earned
his opportunity to play for the
national team.
Additionally, Simmons also
attended IMG Academy Football
Academy camp and was invited
to play for that team. He also
went to Stanford University’s
Elite Defensive Back Camp
and Brigham Young University
Camp where he was selected as
Defensive MVP. 
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