Local youths get back to roots of lacrosse with double ball
PABLO — It’s a rare moment when one truly thinks of the origins of the sports we love, and it’s an even rarer moment when one gets a firsthand glimpse of what these origins looked and felt like.
PABLO — It’s a rare moment when one truly thinks of the origins of the sports we love, and it’s an even rarer moment when one gets a firsthand glimpse of what these origins looked and felt like.
On Saturday, that’s exactly what 27 area youths were able to experience, as each was able to learn about and play a predecessor of lacrosse called double ball at the Joe McDonald Fitness Center on the Salish Kootenai College campus.
The event was the first part of the inaugural Learn Native Games Series, a monthly series hosted by the Ten Sticks Lacrosse Club and International Traditional Games Society as part of the college’s Learn and Serve Program.
According to Alex Alviar, SKC instructor, Ten Sticks founder and former high school lacrosse All-American for Detroit Central Catholic High School, the series serves multiple purposes.
The event showcases Native American roots in today’s games and it provides another way for kids to learn more about tribal culture and traditions.
Saturday’s event focused on the Native American cultural link between double ball and lacrosse, which was originated by the Iroquois.
A sister-game of lacrosse, double ball is very similar in how it is played, with the only major exception being the ball it is played with.
As its name suggests, double ball’s ball consists of two stuffed pouches connected by a fabric of some sort, allowing the ball to hang on the sticks used by the players.
In preparation for the event, members of Ten Sticks were led by Arleen Adams into the Mission Mountains on Friday to ethically collect the sticks needed to play.
On Saturday, under the direction of Alviar and other volunteers, the children who attended learned how to play the game, as well as how to make their own double ball set.
They did this by carving the bark off their playing sticks and by stuffing and sewing together double balls.
Alviar said that double balls were traditionally stuffed with buffalo or deer hair and some sand, but they have now started to use a balloon filled with sand.
After their sets were completed, the children were able to play an actual double ball game.
They also played other traditional games, including one in which contestants hid a rock in either hand and others would try to guess what hand the rock was in.
The purpose of this “chance-intuitive” game, according to Alviar, was to hone their instincts, as players learned how to read body language and go with their gut.
Overall, Alviar considered the event a major success, setting up for what should be a successful series.