LE MOYNE GOLD WAVE HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025 ANNOUNCED
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Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College Dolphin Athletic Association will enshrine the Gold Wave Hall of Fame Class of 2025 containing two former Dolphins, a former coach and a team on Saturday, September 20th […]
Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College Dolphin Athletic Association will enshrine the Gold Wave Hall of Fame Class of 2025 containing two former Dolphins, a former coach and a team on Saturday, September 20th as part of John ‘Doc’ Joiner Homecoming Weekend. The Class of 2025 includes Sean Beney ’18 (men’s cross country and track & field), Courtney Case ’17 (softball), Chris Edmondson ’10 (baseball), Jeff Gilheney ’85 (men’s lacrosse, honorary) and the 1995-96 men’s basketball team.
A full schedule of events for Homecoming Weekend will be released in the coming weeks.
Sean Beney ’18 // Men’s Cross Country and Track & Field (2014-18)
The first member in the program’s history to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championship, Sean Beney ’18 is the seventh member of the men’s cross country and track and field programs to be elected to the Hall of Fame. A four-time cross country team MVP, Beney closed out his cross country career with a berth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. At the NCAA East Region Championship, he finished in fifth place and earned the NCAA Championships berth by virtue of being the second individual (of three selected) not from a top-three team. He went on to place 67th in the field of 249 competitors (third among 23 NE10 runners) at the NCAA Championship with a time of 32:24.7, the second-fastest of his career. He capped his collegiate career by winning the 10,000-meter run by over 40 seconds at the 2017 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the first conference champion in the program’s history. The day prior, he placed sixth in the 5,000-meter run in 15:21.36 to finish the championship with 13 points, one shy of the program’s record. He holds the program’s outdoor 10,000-meter run record (31:15.49) and held the program’s indoor (15:05.77) and outdoor (15:04.38) 5000-meter run records until Jack Gibson broke both this past year. He registered 19 top-10 finishes during his outdoor career, including seven first-place finishes, three seconds and two thirds. During indoor competition, he had 40 top-10 finishes, including six first-place finishes, five seconds, six thirds and seven fourths. During cross country action, he had 12 top-10 finishes, including a pair of victories, two seconds and three fourths.
Courtney Case ’17 // Softball (2014-17)
The leading hitter in the program’s history, Courtney Case ’17 is the eighth member of the softball program to be elected to the Gold Wave Hall of Fame. As a starter in 164 of 165 games played over her career, Case slashed .444/.517/.640 with 233 hits, 157 runs scored, 86 runs batted in, 51 doubles, 17 triples, six home runs and 52 stolen bases, while leading the Dolphins to the 2016 NCAA regional championship. A three-time NFCA All-Region selection, she was recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference each year of her career. She ranks first in the program’s history in batting average (by 76 percentage points), slugging percentage (by 59 points), on-base percentage (by 50 points), runs scored and walks (74) and is tied for first in triples, second in hits (two off the record), doubles (two off the record), stolen bases and intentional walks (3) and third in total bases (336). She led the Northeast-10 Conference in batting average each of her first three seasons and her career batting average is the eighth-best in the Conference’s history and is the best mark since 2002, while she is tied for 10th in doubles, tied for 12th in runs (fourth-most since 2002) and is 16th in hits. She earned a spot on the NE10 All-Rookie Team in 2014 after slashing .419/.490/.527 with 10 doubles, two triples, 33 runs scored, 20 RBI and 14 stolen bases as a starter in all 41 games. Her on-base percentage is the fifth-best in the program’s history, her stolen bases are tied for the sixth-most and her batting average is the seventh-best. She was named to the NE10 Second Team and the NFCA All-Region Second Team as a sophomore following a slash line of .447/.519/.746 with 11 doubles, seven triples, three home runs, 32 runs scored, 19 RBI and 12 stolen bases as a starter in all 34 games. In addition to leading the NE10 in batting average, she had the most triples and the highest slugging percentage. Her slugging percentage is the second-best in the program’s history, her seven doubles are tied for the second-most, her on-base percentage is fourth-best and her batting average is the fifth-best. She earned placement on the NE10 First Team and the NFCA All-Region First Team in 2016 after slashing .450/.528/.584 with 13 doubles, two triples, one home run, an NE10-leading 48 runs scored, 26 RBI, 23 walks and 13 stolen bases as a starter in all 48 games for a team which advanced to the NCAA Championship East Sub-regional final. Her on-base percentage, runs scored and walks are each the third-best in the program’s history and her batting average is the fourth-best, while her 67 hits are tied for the sixth-most and her stolen base total is tied for the ninth-most. As a senior, when she was named to the NE10 All-Conference and NFCA All-Region First Teams for the second straight year and the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, she slashed .459/.529/.722 with a career-high 17 doubles, an NE10-leading six triples, two home runs, 44 runs scored, 21 RBI and 13 stolen bases as a starter in 41 of 42 games played. Her on-base percentage is the second-best in the program’s history, her batting average is the third-best, her slugging percentage is the fourth-best, her 17 doubles are tied for the fourth-most, her run total is the fifth-best, her 96 total bases are tied for the seventh-most and her stolen base total is tied for the ninth-most. The 2017 Rev. J. J. O’Brien Senior Achievement Award recipient, as a senior she became the first Dolphin softball student-athlete to be named the NE10 Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award recipient and was just the second Le Moyne women’s student-athlete to earn the honor for their sport.
Chris Edmondson ’10 // Baseball (2007-2010)
The program’s home run leader, Chris Edmondson ’10 is the latest member of the baseball program to be elected to the Hall of Fame. He registered a .328/.416/.622 slash line with 224 hits, 49 doubles, a program-record 44 home runs, 10 triples, 139 runs scored, a program-record 178 runs batted in and 28 stolen bases over 197 games played (tied for the most in the program’s history at the time), including 182 starts. In addition to having the program records for home runs and runs batted in, he ranks first in the program’s history in total bases (425) and intentional walks (14), fourth in doubles, tied for fourth in games played, sixth in times hit by pitch (33), tied for sixth in triples, eighth in hits, ninth in slugging percentage and games started and tied for 12th in runs scored. After starting 28 of 42 games played as a freshman in 2007, he was an All-American and the Division I Independent Player of the Year in 2008 after slashing .367/.464/.745 with 72 hits, 22 doubles, 14 home runs, five triples, 64 RBI and 51 runs scored. His 22 doubles are tied for the most in a season in the program’s history, his 146 total bases are the second-most and his 64 RBI are the third-most, while his 14 home runs were tied for the most in a season in the program’s 24-year initial Division I tenure (and are currently tied for the third-most overall in the program’s history), his five triples were tied for the third-most, his .745 slugging percentage was the fourth-highest (eighth overall), his 51 runs were tied for the seventh-most and his 72 hits were tied for the ninth-most. He hit .322/.410/.644 with 13 home runs (tied for the eighth-most in the program’s history), 12 doubles, 46 RBI and 32 runs scored as a junior. He closed out his career by slashing .348/.424/.612 with 70 hits, 13 doubles, 12 home runs, 50 RBI, 41 runs scored and 14 stolen bases as a starter in all 55 games played. He became the first (and still only) Dolphin to record at least 12 homers in three separate years, the first (and still only) Dolphin to drive in at least 50 runs in multiple years and the fourth Dolphin (now five) to record at least 70 hits in multiple seasons. On April 4, 2010, he broke the program’s career home run record with a three-run blast in an 8-2 win over Stony Brook. Two days later, Edmondson became the program’s RBI leader with a two-run homer at St. Bonaventure. The 2010 Rev. J. J. O’Brien Senior Achievement Award recipient, he was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 24th pick of the 43rd round in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He was the sixth outfielder in the program’s history to be drafted. Following three seasons in the Cardinals organization and reaching High-A in 2012, he split his final professional season between the independent Rockland Boulders and the Atlanta Braves’ Class A affiliate. Over 289 games with minor league teams, he hit .264/.332/.423 with 28 home runs, 59 doubles, 12 triples, 169 RBI and 156 runs scored.
Jeff Gilheney ’85 // Honorary/Men’s Lacrosse (1984-85)
Jeff Gilheney, a member of the inaugural men’s lacrosse team at the College, was elected as an honorary inductee into the Hall of Fame. The program’s first captain, Gilheney worked closely with Head Coach Tom Diehl to turn a shared vision for the program from a club team to a varsity team into reality. As a student-athelete, he assisted with recruiting numerous students to the program and his dedication, leadership and mentorship laid the foundation for a program which has won the College’s only men’s national championships. Gilheney, who along with other early members of the program are considered the “Founding Fathers”, was a passionate supporter of the program and College morally and financially, until his passing in February 2020. The “Founding Fathers” led the fundraising campaign for the Athletic Weight Room, which was unveiled in September 2011. On the field, Gilheney was credited with 24 points on 17 goals and seven assists over 18 games in his two seasons prior to graduation, while other more-modern statistics (ground balls, caused turnovers) were not kept at the time.
1995-96 Men’s Basketball Team
The 1995-96 Men’s Basketball team returned Le Moyne College to the national stage. The Dolphins went 24-6, won the New England Collegiate Conference Championship and were selected to the NCAA Championships for the first time in eight years. Featuring two members of the Gold Wave Hall of Fame (Adam Stockwell and John Tomsich) and coached by another (Scott Hicks), the Dolphins tied program record for wins in a season with their 24 (set by the 1987-88 Hall of Fame team). The Dolphins went 16-4 in NECC action and 12-1 at home. In the NECC Tournament, the Dolphins opened with a 76-73 home victory over UAlbany to advance to the final four at Franklin Pierce. The Dolphins handed back-to-back regional champion New Hampshire College (now known as Southern New Hampshire University) an 81-68 defeat to advance to the championship game against Southern Connecticut State University, which upset host Franklin Pierce. The Dolphins recorded a 77-73 victory over the Owls to claim their first NECC Championship in their final season in the conference before Le Moyne transitioned to the Northeast-10 Conference. In the NCAA Championships, held in Albany, the Dolphins fell to Franklin Pierce in the first round. The 1995-96 Dolphins scored the seventh-most points (third-most at the time), made the fourth-most field goals (third-most at the time), recorded the fourth-most steals (third-most at the time), recorded the sixth-most assists and recorded the eighth-most rebounds (third-most at the time) in the program’s history.
Tarleton State’s Prestina Ochonogor wins gold, sets new U-20 African Record at African U20 Championships
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STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State freshman Prestina Ochonogor shined once again on the international stage taking home gold and setting a new African U20 record at the 2025 African U20 Championships in Abeokuta, Nigeria on Saturday. Ochonogor dominated with all three of her jumps exceeding 6.60 meters. She set […]
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State freshman Prestina Ochonogor shined once again on the international stage taking home gold and setting a new African U20 record at the 2025 African U20 Championships in Abeokuta, Nigeria on Saturday.
Ochonogor dominated with all three of her jumps exceeding 6.60 meters. She set a new season best and posted her third-best lifetime leap with a 6.71-meter jump. That leap established herself with the U20 African record and U20 African championships record as well.
The youngster breaks the U20 record previously held by fellow Nigerian Olympian, Ese Brume. Brume’s best leap of 6.61 meters came when she was 19 years and 162 days old. Ochonogor recently celebrated her 19th birthday, setting the new record at 19 years and 16 days old. Brume also held the meet record of 6.33 meters set over 10 years ago when the competition was in Addis Abada, Ethiopia.
The Bennin, Nigeria, native, has been setting constant records since joining the Tarleton State squad. In her first jump as a Texan, she set the new women’s indoor long jump school record and WAC Championships Meet record with a 6.49-meter jump. She bested herself later on in the competition re-breaking those records and setting a new all-time WAC record with a 6.64-meter leap. But she wasn’t done there. In the outdoor slate, she set the new school record at the Texas Relays. At the WAC Outdoor Championships, she tied the meet record with a 6.67-meter leap.
Ochonogor is no stranger to competing for Nigeria at the national level. A summer ago, Ochonogor jumped for Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympics. As one of the youngest competitors at the 2024 Paris Games and one of the youngest to compete for Nigeria, the then 17-year-old finished 12th in the women’s long jump.
In her first season as a collegiate athlete, the freshman brought home major accolades. She won the WAC long jump title in both the indoor and outdoor season and was a First Team All-American with an eighth-place finish at each NCAA National Championship. She also earned the WAC Outdoor Female Freshman of the Year, the second Texan this year to win the honor, joining indoor freshman Victoria Cameron.
At the end of the month, Ochonogor will compete at the Nigerian National Championships in the long jump. The freshman will be competing for a chance to earn a bid to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.
Canada falls to Serbia in men’s Volleyball Nations League
LJUBLJANA — The Canadian men’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to a Serbian team desperate to avoid relegation in Volleyball Nations League on Saturday. LJUBLJANA — The Canadian men’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to a Serbian team desperate to avoid relegation in Volleyball Nations League on Saturday. Serbia’s (15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) victory over the Canadians […]
LJUBLJANA — The Canadian men’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to a Serbian team desperate to avoid relegation in Volleyball Nations League on Saturday.
LJUBLJANA — The Canadian men’s volleyball team fell 3-1 to a Serbian team desperate to avoid relegation in Volleyball Nations League on Saturday.
Serbia’s (15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) victory over the Canadians assured the Serbians a berth in next year’s Nations League with a ranking of 15th out of 18 participating countries.
Canada, ranked 14th with a record of 4-7, will also return to Nations League in 2026. The Canadians wrap the VNL preliminary round Sunday against Ukraine.
Canada dominated the Serbians in the first set, but the latter adjusted to pull out the victory.
Serbia led in attack points (53-50), aces (4-3) and made fewer errors (26-29). Canada had the more effective block (8-4).
“We have to execute at a higher level if we want to be able to compete internationally,” observed Canadian head coach Dan Lewis.
“The statistics in general were not that bad, plus minus was good overall, but we didn’t have enough serving pressure on them and our attack dropped to a level that’s not sufficient enough to compete at a high level.
“We’re not digging enough balls and we’re not presenting ourselves with enough block positive and slow down transition opportunities and this has been a theme for some of our matches. We need to improve on this if we’re going to win.”
Brodie Hofer of Langley, B.C., (15 points), Isaac Heslinga of Orangeville, Ont., (14 points), and Toronto’s Xander Wassenaar Ketrzynski (11) led scoring for Canada.
Serbia’s Drazen Luburić led all scorers with 20 points (18 kills and 2 aces)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025.
Australian captain Bronte Halligan (right) battles it out with Greek player Sofia Tornarou. (EPA PHOTO) Australia’s women’s water polo team suffered a heartbreaking loss in the dying seconds of their quarter-final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. The Aussie Stingers and Greece were locked at 7-7 with eight seconds left on Saturday, but Australia […]
Australian captain Bronte Halligan (right) battles it out with Greek player Sofia Tornarou. (EPA PHOTO)
Australia’s women’s water polo team suffered a heartbreaking loss in the dying seconds of their quarter-final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
The Aussie Stingers and Greece were locked at 7-7 with eight seconds left on Saturday, but Australia inexplicably turned over the ball and the Greeks swam towards the Aussie goal, shooting from outside to beat the buzzer, scoring with two seconds left.
There were never more than two goals separating the teams all game, and the Aussies seemed to have the momentum in the final quarter.
It was always going to be an emotion-charged game, the two sides having faced off in the quarter-finals at the Paris Olympics. Australia won that game and went on to claim the silver medal. But, like Australia, the Greeks have a new-look team and have already achieved strong results in this Olympic cycle.
Stingers captain and dual Olympian Bronte Halligan said the team were devastated they won’t have the opportunity to play for a world championship medal.
“That’s a really tough result. As Bec (Rippon, Stingers coach) said, quarter-final water polo you’ve got to stick it out right to the end and we did,” Halligan said.
“The Greeks also did that, but we showed real heart out there and I couldn’t be more proud of our girls.
“It’s a tough loss and it’s going to sting for a little bit, but the girls will hold their heads high knowing we did everything we could have.
“This is a stepping stone and we really want to build this squad, we have a lot more goals. I think it’s exciting to see where we are going to go over the next few years during this Olympic cycle.”
Rippon echoed Halligan’s sentiment, saying despite the disappointment of the loss there is a lot they can build on as they set their sights on LA 2028.
“We spoke about it before the game, that this is what we do all the hard work for, these big moments, and we go out there and leave everything we’ve got in the pool, and I think we did that tonight,” Rippon said.
“It is a heartbreaking way to lose, but we did leave everything out there and I’m proud of the team.”
Australia now meet Japan in the classification matches on Monday.
Former Cardinal Golfer Emily Holzopfel Takes Third in WV Women's Amateur Championship
Story Links Wheeling, W. Va. – Last week, some of the best amateur golfers across the state of West Virginia competed at the Club at Cress Creek for the 2025 West Virginia Women’s Amateur Championship. Former Cardinal Emily Holzopfel was among the events participants and finished third in the competition field with a score of […]
Wheeling, W. Va. – Last week, some of the best amateur golfers across the state of West Virginia competed at the Club at Cress Creek for the 2025 West Virginia Women’s Amateur Championship. Former Cardinal Emily Holzopfel was among the events participants and finished third in the competition field with a score of 224 (+8) across the three rounds of competition. The former Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women’s Golfer of the Year finished just seven strokes behind the event’s champion as she continues her post college playing career.
The event kicked off on Sunday, July 13th, with the first 18 holes of competition and it would be the best round of the event for Holzopfel. She would shoot a 71 across the 18 holes, shooting an even par for the day. After hitting par on hole one, she picked up the first of four birdies on the day to get to –1. She would add two more birdies on the front nine and finished an even par after nine holes. She duplicated her performance on the back nine and would sit in the top spot after the first round. Holzopfel would hold a two stroke lead on the competition field heading into day two of action and looked to continue her success on the course.
As she entered day two of the event, Holzopfel would continue to battle for the top spot, shooting a 74 (+3) in round two. She would add two more birdies to her event total and had her best showing on the front nine, where she shot a +1. With 18 more holes to come on the final day, Holzopfel would hold a one stroke lead over Morgantown’s Alyssa Zhang as she looked to finish the event strong. Her final round would see her shoot 79 (+8), putting up a +4 on both the front and the back nine. She would end up finishing third in the competition field finishing at +11 over the three days of competition. It equalled her third place finish from a year ago competing against the best of the best in the women’s amateur scene.
During her four seasons in a Cardinal uniform, Holzopfel was one of the most decorated golfers in Wheeling Women’s Golf history. She finished as a two-time First Team All-MEC award winner, taking home the conference’s Women’s Golfer of the Year award during the 2021 season. In that same season, she led the Cardinals to their first-ever team appearance at the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championships. She also played as a member of the Wheeling University Women’s Basketball team, where she helped lead the Cardinals to the MEC Women’s Basketball tournament in each of her four seasons. She would cap her athletic career by winning the Female Intercollegiate Athlete of the Year award, given annually to the top graduating female student-athlete for their achievements across their entire athletic career.
The Wheeling University Women’s Golf team will kick-off the 2025 Fall season on Thursday, September 4th, when they host day one of the Wheeling Invitational at 9 AM.
Eastman key to Manitoba’s Francophone Games team – The Carillon
After nearly a decade on hiatus, the Canada Francophone Games are back. The games opening ceremonies were held in Montreal’s Bell Centre, the home of the NHL’s Canadiens July 15, with the Manitoba delegation full of Eastman talent. The Francophone Games bring French-speaking youth from across the country together to compete in a variety of […]
After nearly a decade on hiatus, the Canada Francophone Games are back.
The games opening ceremonies were held in Montreal’s Bell Centre, the home of the NHL’s Canadiens July 15, with the Manitoba delegation full of Eastman talent. The Francophone Games bring French-speaking youth from across the country together to compete in a variety of disciplines.
The Francophone Games were last held in 2017, with the 2020 edition of the games cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gabrielle-Roy volleyball standout Logan Barnabe will be suiting up for Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games this week in Laval. He was named a Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association AAAA boys varsity all-star this season, as Gabrielle-Roy were defeated in the AAAA semi-finals by St Paul’s. (Cassidy Dankochik The Carillon)
One of the over 100-member delegation from Team Manitoba is Otterburne’s Mélanie Curé, who is the coach of the province’s badminton team. The Francophone games feature both sports and culture competitions, including culinary, music and improv teams.
“It’s really good to see them back,” Curé said.
“It will come with a bit of a learning curve for a lot of folks. Typically when you have this sort of thing every two or three years, there’s continuity… When you go eight years without it, you’ve essentially lost two high school cycles.”
Sporting events include beach volleyball, badminton, athletics, ultimate, flag football and 3×3 basketball.
Eastman participants fill the Team Manitoba roster, with more than two dozen set to suit up for Team Manitoba across various events. Gabrielle-Roy volleyball standouts Colin Vermette and Logan Barnabé, who helped their AA school to an appearance in the AAAA semi-finals last season, will represent the province in beach volleyball.
Cure’s badminton team features a pair of Eastman players from St Adolphe and Aubigny. It’s going to be an intense schedule for badminton athletes. After individual events, the provinces will be seeded for a team competition, similar to the Davis Cup in Tennis.
“It makes for a very different feel,” Curé said, noting the players and coaches feel the pressure to perform for teammates.
“There’s a lot of emotional management happening as well. All of a sudden you’re not just playing for everybody on the bench with you. The fans are always a lot louder, you’ve got cowbells and signs. That’s not something that badminton players are used to seeing… It makes for a very different experience… Getting to do it in French is something that doesn’t happen very often.”
Some of the best badminton players in the U19 age group in Manitoba are Francophone, with more than 40 players trying out for the team earlier this year. Curé said it’s difficult to predict how badminton players will fare at the games, as even during normal games it was up in the air how good the top players from other provinces would be.
“I’m very happy with the turnout, we had a record number of players try out, which made my job very difficult but also very rewarding” she said.
“In terms of how they’ll stack up against other provinces, I truly have no clue.”
There are plenty of new faces on Team Manitoba’s mission staff, with many former athletes and participants now making the transition to organizers and coaches.
While the pressure to perform in their respective disciplines is strong, Team Manitoba is also the three-time defending Francophonie award winner, where athletes from other provinces vote for which region had the best spirit throughout the games.
“It’s something that’s definitely been discussed,” Curé said with a laugh.
“We’re really hoping to bring that vibe again.”
A new feature for the games this year has an Eastman connection as well, as the Francophone Games will give out the first Roxane Dupuis Commitment Award.
The award recognizes “the ongoing commitment of a person who has distinguished themselves by their contribution to the development of the games over the years,” and is named after La Broquerie’s Roxane Dupuis, who will be in Laval to present the award herself.
The 2028 edition of the games will be closer to home, as Regina was announced as the next hosts earlier this year.
Participants
Raphael Raharijaona – Grunthal – Ethics Cup
Nathalie Delaquis – Ile des Chenes – Music
Julie Fillion – Kleefeld – Music
Cédric Chartier – La Broquerie – Athletics
Yvan Turenne – La Broquerie – Basketball
Melanie Cure gives coaching to a player during the Zone 13 badminton championships in April. The Otterburne coach is leading Team Manitoba at the Francophone Games in Laval. (Cassidy Dankochik Carillon Archives)
In Liberia's version of baseball, there are no bats and no men
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — It was a perfect pitch. The ball sped straight across home plate, where it was met with an equally powerful kick. Perryline Jimmie sprinted toward first base after her kick as her teammates erupted in cheers on the sidelines. Jimmie, 23, is a professional player of kickball, a close cousin of […]
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — It was a perfect pitch. The ball sped straight across home plate, where it was met with an equally powerful kick. Perryline Jimmie sprinted toward first base after her kick as her teammates erupted in cheers on the sidelines.
Jimmie, 23, is a professional player of kickball, a close cousin of baseball that is beloved by women in Liberia and played all over the country from schoolyards to public squares and dirt fields. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has become the nation’s second-most popular sport after soccer.
Kickball in Liberia has the rules of baseball but there are no bats, and players kick a soccer ball instead of the larger, lightweight ball used for the game in other places.
There also are no male players.
“In Liberia, (kickball) is our tradition,” said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. “This is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.”
How kickball came to Liberia
In 1964, Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed that, unlike boys, the students at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia, the capital, didn’t play any sports, according to Emmanuel Whea, president of Liberia’s National Kickball League.
Jackson, an American, tried to teach the girls baseball but quickly realized they were much better at hitting the ball with their feet. That was the start of what became a custom for girls in the country of about 5.6 million people.
“When you’re a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,” Whea said.
Kickball is played in other parts of the world, including in the United States, where it is a common elementary school game for girls and boys. But only in Liberia is there a women-only professional league.
A league for women and peace
The National Kickball League was created in 1994 to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war.
The league was set up “to bring the ladies together and use them (as part of) the reconciliation process of Liberia,” Whea said. “We had just left the civil war, and everybody had just scattered … So kickball was one of those sports used to bring Liberians together so they could have the time to hear the peace messages.”
Whea has big plans for the league, including expanding it to men and introducing the game to other African countries. However, his mission has been complicated by a lack of resources, especially in a region where women’s sports often are underfunded.
Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete’s salary despite playing kickball for 10 years. Her earnings are “not even near” what male athletes earn, she said.
An all-women sport headed by men
In Liberia, many sports, including soccer, are male-dominated. Despite kickball being a sport played by women, the league is led by men, from the coaches to the referees and league officials.
The league encourages women but they really don’t want to be coaches, Whea said.
“Their husbands might have a problem with them working full-time (and) for some, their relationship will not allow it,” he said
Yarbah plans to change that narrative by becoming a coach when she retires, allowing her to share her passion for the sport with others, including her two sons, she said.
“They are not going to play kickball for now,” she said. “But probably in the future, they are going to introduce kickball to men.”
For the moment, kickball remains a women’s game. Men sometimes come during their practice, Yarbah said, but they do not stand a chance.
“They don’t know the techniques of the game,” she said. “So we always win.”