You’ve heard of the phrase, ball is life. For Aliyah R., a fifth-grade member at Boys & Girls Clubs of Mason Valley’s Yerington clubhouse, that’s especially true.
When she’s not at the Club, you can find Aliyah on the softball field, on the basketball court or at the volleyball net. But even when she is at the Club, the first place Aliyah heads to is the gym.
“When school gets done, I head right there so I can play basketball in the gym,” she said. “I like when we play against the boys because I can show I’m better than them.”
Aliyah has been playing basketball for more than four years, the same amount of time she’s been a member at her Club. She plays each year in the youth basketball league hosted each winter, and even doubles or triples up her teams traveling every weekend to different tournaments around Northern Nevada.
Being able to hone those skills every day at the Club and on her different teams led Aliyah to the opportunity of her lifetime, competing with her friends at the 2025 Native National in Arizona. She was part of a small team from Yerington, many of who play in the Club’s league as well, that headed down to test themselves against hundreds of other players.
“It was hard because there were people from all over that were really good,” she said. “It was our team against high level players, and we still got fourth place, which I think is pretty good.”
Aliyah also said she learns a lot from playing her sports, especially that experience.
“We lost against a really tough team, and we just couldn’t beat them. I was getting mad, and that made me lost my concentration. My coach pulled me out and told me it’s ok to make mistakes, because I’m only human. And as long as I’m trying my hardest, that’s what he wanted.”
Her lessons learned extend past the sports she plays, too. This year, Aliyah competed in the Junior Youth of the Year program as one of six candidates. She worked with one of her favorite staff, Erik, on her speech and her public speaking. Erik competed in Youth of the Year this year, and was able to share his experience with her so she was better prepared.
And where Aliyah is a strong writer whose favorite subject in school is social studies, math can be a struggle. One of the youth development professionals, Cole, and the Yerington clubhouse director, Kristen (who also happens to be Aliyah’s mom), are able to help her during Power Hour. Power Hour is an hour of dedicated tutoring, education and enrichment time that clubhouses across the organization have every day.
“I’ve also learned a lot in Healthy Habits that helps my sports,” Aliyah said. “You have to stay healthy so you can keep running. If you eat better, your body will be better. And you shouldn’t vape or smoke.”
When Aliyah has some free time, she likes to craft in her room making bracelets, hang out with her best friend Sienna, or wrestle with her little sister, who attends the Club’s early learning center in Dayton. When she grows up, she wants to be a professional basketball player or nurse.
As a side note, during the interview for this story, Aliyah felt it was very important to share a list of her favorite things.
Favorite soda: Dr. Pepper
Favorite snack: Hot Funyuns
Favorite shoes: Birkenstocks
Favorite clothes: Nike
Favorite basketball players: Anthony Edwards and Steph Curry
Favorite colors: Red, Black and Blue
Favorite superhero: Spider-Man
Favorite singers: Olivia Rodrigo and SZA