Redemption and sharing is the story of episode five of the Wood Shop Series trip to work with the stick ball makers of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma. Episode IV was a little embarrassing, but the next chapter of an open book. There’s no better way to learn than failing, but you have to work past the mistakes to make use of that knowledge. Episode V gives it one last shot.
Chickasaw Nation – Wood Shop Series: S03, E05
Transcribed from the video. Narrated by Justin Skaggs.
So, I brought some sticks from Philly. They were kind of old, and they broke. Not gonna lie, I’m a little nervous right now. You don’t wanna come all the way down here and biff the whole thing.
Looking back now, I realized I had never been expected to produce a functional bend for a live audience. Going into this adventure, I honestly didn’t consider what the stress would do, or how much anxiety would add to the process. I had to pivot on the spot. I decided to use the green wood that we had cut from the first stave, which was intended for stick ball sticks.
When Clovis, the man who set this trip up, bent his box stick, I felt a huge weight come off my shoulders. Using the new-growth forest of Oklahoma to make lacrosse sticks will require a different approach. Stick makers will need to leave knotted wood intact on the end of their stave. This is usually cut off because it’s not good for bending, but in the future, it can leave that wood, and use it to make a proper shaft, resulting in a longer-bent stick than what you see here.
Overall, it’s the technique of the bend that I wanted to leave behind. The addition of that extra length of the shaft can just be cut the next time they do a harvest. This trip served me many lessons. It changed the way that I not only make stick ball sticks, but my lacrosse sticks forever.
They’ll often say that failure is life’s best teacher. The first day was not the victory that I expected. In between that failure and the final success, it was a period of rapid growth. Utilizing resources that were foreign to me. Staying present and persistent in my effort. And doing it all with an audience made me a much better stick maker.
Everyone walked away knowing how to bend a box lacrosse head. I left the jig behind so they could replicate it if they choose to do so. Some debts only leave you a small window in which you can pay them. Everyone showed me their skill and gave me their time. So, even today, I can breathe a sigh of relief that day two worked out the way it did.
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September 16, 2020 at 10:11PM
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Proper Lessons: Chickasaw Nation V – Wood Shop Series - Lacrosse All Stars
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