Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Incoming Tenino Elementary School fifth grader Kora Hadaller has played a big part in the Nyastrong Warriors Academy’s (NWA) success as a youth basketball team.
The NWA program aims to honor the life of former Yelm student, Nya Jaquez, who died in October 2016 after she battled signet ring cell carcinoma, an aggressive and rare form of colon cancer, for several years.
Nearly nine years after her death, Jaquez’s name lives on through the NWA program, where head coach Richard Durham aims to teach student-athletes within the Nisqually Valley about the courage and perseverance Jaquez displayed in her fight with cancer.
Hadaller has represented Jaquez since November 2022 when she joined the program, and Durham said she’s one of two athletes who have been part of the program since then.
According to the coach, she sports a 45-3 record as NWA team captain. He noted she’s a great leader and someone who loves learning the sport of basketball. He believes the qualities of hard work, determination and perseverance — derived from her knowledge of Jaquez — are present in Hadaller.
“Kora is an amazing person. As our captain, she has led her team to a 45-3 overall record and 9-0 in championship games. We’re currently on a 30-game winning streak, and eight of those championships have come since February of ‘24,” Durham said of Hadaller. “She is one of two girls that have been with us since we came to Tenino in November of ‘22. I coached her for three months and we won a second grade tournament in February of ‘23, then I started coaching her again in December of ‘23. We’ve been running ever since. I told her mom we’re going to build around Kora and win championships. She has led five different rosters and lineups to championships. Keep in mind she’s playing a year up.”
Kora told the Nisqually Valley News that she’s inspired to keep coming back to the NWA program because she loves basketball and hopes to make her relationships with teammates even stronger than before.
“This program gives me that opportunity to grow as a player, a teammate and a friend,” Hadaller said. “I’ve seen a lot of improvement, not just in basketball, but with my confidence off the court as well. NWA has helped me find my voice and improve my basketball skills.”
Durham added that the NWA program doesn’t have “superstars or heroes,” but rather great leadership and great teammates on the court. He said his team isn’t a “rah-rah” program, but a program that just “lines up and plays ball.” The coach believes this attitude is player-driven, and often an attitude shown by Hadaller.
“What’s more impressive about (Kora) is how she is off the court. She’s a very well-balanced, outgoing, confident, sweet kid. I train her year-round,” Durham said. “Whether at the gym, athletic conditioning or hooping, she’s the same kid. She’s able to be so balanced because she has outstanding parents and family that raises her right. The humbleness and toughness this little girl displays is second to none. She could not be our leader if she wasn’t tough. By design, our practices are always harder than our games. We play to our own expectations regardless of our opponent. Being a great leader is the ability to make people follow, and she does that.”
Hadaller looks up to 10-time NBA all-star Jason Kidd, a former NBA champion who is renowned for his elite defense, court vision and passing ability. She is also inspired by Kidd’s love of the game, which she credits to the fact that he became a coach after his playing days were over.
“My biggest inspiration is Jason Kidd because he is known for his court awareness and his passing abilities,” Hadaller said. “He’s the type of player I want to be. He loves basketball so much he’s still coaching the game.”
The longtime NWA player noted that one of her all-time favorite memories in the program is from 2024’s Hoopfest event in Spokane. She points to the team overcoming adversity in the form of an early loss as being the reason she regards this tournament so highly.
“Earlier in the tournament, we lost in a very heated, close game and fought our way back up to the top to face off with that same team in the championship. We had to beat them twice in a row to win it,” Hadaller said. “We won the first game, and halfway through the second game there was a sudden rain delay. We weren’t sure we were going to be able to finish the game. But the sun came out and we finished strong as a team to win the championship.”
The NWA program will resume action in July and will launch its inaugural youth boys basketball program in the fall of 2025. Hadaller’s younger brother, Knox, will be included on the team, according to Durham.
