Air Force bomber
Military family daughter leads Air Force base softball team
By Manuel Jesus
Special to the Times
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(Courtesy photo)
Taylia Nez, shown with her brother LaKota, is the captain and most valuable player for the Desert High softball team.
With the support from her family, Taylia Nez has become one of the top softball players at her school in California.
A daughter of an Air Force serviceman, Nez has lived on a military base since her birth. She was born at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, N.M., then the family moved to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska (north of Anchorage) when she was 5 years old.
In 1999, the family moved to Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of Los Angles.
She has been playing on the Desert High varsity since her freshman year. As a sophomore, she was named to the league's first team and this year, as a junior, she was named the team's captain, most valuable player and to the league's first team.
Her father, Waylon Nez, who retired this year from the Air Force after 21 years of service, is her high school head coach.
This past season, Taylia Nez, Navajo/Zuni, said she played every position except catcher.
"I can play anywhere on the field, with the exception of catcher," Taylia said. "I've never tried catcher and I don't think I want to because of the killer heat. My favorite position is short stop."
Taylia had a batting average of .350, scored seven runs and drove in 14 RBIs in 16 games this past season in Division 6 of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section, playing in the High Desert League.
Taylia said that there are no other Native Americans at her school.
"Being the only Navajo and Zuni in my school is cool," she said. "I like to be different from everyone else and I think that pretty much covers it.
"It would be nice to hang out with fellow Natives," Taylia added. "I have never played with other Native Americans on a team, but would like to. We are said to be very competitive and that's what I like."
Taylia began to learn softball at Elmendorf when she played at the youth center, but according to father, she learned to play softball by watching her mother, LaTonja, playing softball on air force base teams.
Since he wasn't home most of the time he was on active duty, Waylon said it was LaTonja who taught Taylia and her older brother, LaKota, how to play softball, from throwing and catching to swinging the bat.
"Her mother was instrumental in developing a good softball player early on when she played little league on base," Waylon said. "Taylia grew up watching her mother play, so there was no need to send the kids to a babysitter - they went with their mother to her games."
Waylon said that now he has retired, the family has moved off the base to Rosemont, a suburb north of Los Angles, and LaTonja plans to attend college now that the kids have grown up.
"She's going back to school, she's always been there for the kids" Waylon said. "I have always been gone, three to four months at times, each year. She kept herself busy and softball occupied her time."
With school over, Taylia said she plays volleyball at her school and is interested in joining a club softball team and finding a job.
Being a military family, Taylia said they rarely visit the Navajo Reservation. Her parents are originally from the Naschitti, N.M., area and both attended Tohatchi High. Taylia said she looks forward to visiting the reservation.
"We always talk about going back home, but we never have the time," she said. "Everyone is so busy with school and work that we only have time to talk about going back.
"The last time we went back home was about three years ago for Christmas," she said. "My parents went home last summer for a wedding, but my brother and I stayed home because of our jobs. It's been so long that I cannot wait to see my family."
Besides softball and volleyball, Taylia also plays basketball. She has a strong interest in music and plays clarinet. She was also the school's junior class president and plans to attend college when she graduates.
"Long Beach State has very good music courses, but the school doesn't have a softball team," Waylon said. "Maybe Vaisilla College, or Antelope Valley College where they have softball. I'll need talk to her, but it's her decision. As long as she's doing something."
Taylia's brother LaKota is in his second year at Haskell Indian Nations University, where he plays on the school's football team.
Taylia's maternal clan is Zuni Bear Clan and her paternal clan is Water Edge People.