Choctaw Nation holds annual youth stickball tournament: “It’s the grandaddy of all sports”
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Choctaw Nation holds annual youth stickball tournament: “It’s the grandaddy of all sports”
The Choctaw Nation held its fourth annual Peh Toli Youth Stickball Tournament. Stickball was used to keep warriors in shape, hone hand-eye coordination for hunting, and mediate conflicts and tension. Players use cupped sticks to sling golf-ball sized leather balls at tall, narrow poles to score points. The tournament also helps players prepare for the annual World Series of Stickball that takes place in Mississippi later this summer. If you’re interested in picking up the sticks, stop by theChoctaw Cultural Center to learn more about how to join a team.
“Stickball is what we call the granddaddy of all sports,” Crystal Davenport, the Public Program Coordinator with the Choctaw Cultural Center, said. “It has elements of basketball, soccer, and lots of other sports.”
It’s a physical team game where players use cupped sticks to sling golf-ball sized leather balls at tall, narrow poles to score points.
As one of North America’s oldest sports, stickball was used to keep warriors in shape, hone hand-eye coordination for hunting, and mediate conflicts and tension.
“This was the game we played before war to settle disputes,” Davenport said. “It was said that if someone could beat you and stickball, then they could probably beat you at war, so then we wouldn’t go to war.”
Yazmine Del Rosario plays for the Choctaw Women’s Team, but she also coaches the up and coming stars.
She said the sport is a great way for youngsters to immerse themselves in the culture.
“It’s really like a gateway for them to learn a whole lot more about themselves and who they are and be interested in other aspects of the culture,” Del Rosario said.
The Peh Toli tournament also helps players prepare for the annual World Series of Stickball that takes place in Mississippi later this summer.
Tribes from around the country compete in the prestigious competition.
“It’s just really exciting to see how everything’s grown so far and to imagine what it will look like in five years from now,” she said.
The tournament will be streamed here on the MBCI World Series Stickball Page.
“The women’s team has been making strong headways over the last four years,” Davenport said. “They’ve been to the semifinals and the finals, so they’re doing super great.”
And back here in Texoma, after a long, hot day of competition, Team Chikasha took home the Peh Toli tournament trophy this year.
If you’re interested in picking up the sticks, stop by the Choctaw Cultural Center to learn more about how to join a team.
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