The Chickasaw Nation’s junior and senior Chikasha Bak Bak (Chickasaw Woodpecker) youth stickball teams went undefeated during the 2025 Choctaw Nation Youth Stickball Tournament.
“Chikasha Bak Bak junior and senior teams went undefeated in their age divisions at the tournament,” Bak Bak coach Brandon White Eagle said. “This remarkable win gives Chikasha junior Bak Bak their first ever Choctaw Nation Youth Stickball League Championship, while Chikasha senior Bak Bak adds another championship to their record. This win gives the seniors five total wins, with three occurring the past four years.”
Junior Chikasha Bak Bak defeated team Nashoba Homma (Red Wolves), playing out of Antlers, Oklahoma, by 10 points during the finals. Senior Chikasha Bak Bak triumphed over team Tvshka Waya (Standing Warriors), from Talihina, Oklahoma, with a final score of 6-1.
The Choctaw Nation Youth Stickball end of the season tournament took place in Tushkahoma, Choctaw Nation, April 19. The tournament consisted of teams taking part in elimination rounds, with seven teams in both the junior and senior divisions competing.
“The teams have both improved tremendously this season,” White Eagle said. “They represent their families and the tribe well.”
The Chickasaw Nation’s Chikasha Bak Bak team includes more than 120 players between the ages of 5-17. Both the junior and senior Chikasha Bak Bak teams are coed.
With parental consent, players ages 14 and up can play on either the men’s or women’s adult stickball teams, Chikasha Toli and Chikasha Toli Ihoo, respectively.
“I have seen more and more Chikasha Bak Bak girls and boys participating in adult tournaments,” White Eagle said. “The Chikasha Bak Bak team brings youth, experience, leadership, stick skills, speed and the warrior mentality to the adult teams.”
Chikasha Bak Bak is designed for young stickball players. These teams develop the necessary skills to transition to the adult stickball teams once players age out of senior Chikasha Bak Bak.
The junior Chikasha Bak Bak team involves youth between the ages of 5 and 13, while senior team players are between the ages of 14 and 17. Currently, the senior team has more than 40 players, with the junior team consisting of 80 players.
“It is indescribable how coaches feel about this season. Our program has come far since 2014, when it began. As head coach, there’s no way I could do this alone,” White Eagle said.
Youth games play with rules that do not involve tackling. Fields have shooting circles and lines dividing up offense, defense and center positions. Tournament games consist of 20 players rotating on and off the field during the game.
Stickball offers an opportunity for cultural enrichment while promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. Games are generally played on grounds similar in size to a football field. All regulated games are two-pole, east/west games.
Open to the public at no charge, stickball practice sites are located throughout the Chickasaw Nation. There are practice sites in Ada, Purcell, Sulphur and Tishomingo. Players are provided team-specific jerseys and stickball sticks that can be borrowed for practice and games. Limited transportation is provided to games.
Stickball practices take place eight months out of the year, from February until the end of September. Chickasaw youth, as well as adults, are encouraged to attend practices and play league games. All experience levels are welcome.
“Stickball is shared amongst Southeastern tribes. It brings different First American communities together,” White Eagle said in a July 2024 Chickasaw Times article. “The stickball community is growing but is still relatively small. Networking has been a great factor in the growth of the game.”
For more information or to become involved in one of the three Chickasaw Nation stickball teams, visit Chickasaw.net/Stickball or call (580) 272-5833.
