09/13/2026
Got to spend my day at the Haudenosaunee Wooden Stick Festival at Onondaga Lake, and it was a pretty special reminder of where this game truly comes from.
Lacrosse ,the Creator’s Game ,has been part of Haudenosaunee life for centuries. Before the plastic heads, composite shafts, college championships and modern fields, there were wooden sticks, handmade with purpose, tradition and knowledge passed down through generations. The game we love today exists because of the Haudenosaunee people who created it, protected it and continue to carry its traditions forward.
And you can’t talk about the history of the wooden stick without talking about Alfred “Alfie” Jacques. Alfie spent decades preserving that tradition, carrying on the craft he learned from his father, Louis, and hand making more than 80,000 wooden sticks throughout his lifetime. His work wasn’t just about making a stick it was about keeping a piece of the Creator’s Game alive.
Being there today, especially knowing Alfie isn’t here to share his stories and craft with us anymore, made it even more meaningful.
I’m grateful for the people who came before us, the people who continue this work today, and the Haudenosaunee community for sharing, protecting and carrying this game forward.
As coaches, players and fans, we get to carry the game on in so many different ways. But we should never forget whose game it is, where it came from, and the people who made it possible for all of us to love it today.
Grateful to learn. Grateful to listen. Grateful to carry it forward. 🥍💜🦅
-Coach Stockwell
