Sports: Bartlesville Has Got It All

Bartlesville Has Got it All ...

Well, Except Lacrosse

by Adrienne Kallweit

Over the past several months, our family of nine has been on a cross-greencountry journey relocating our life to Bartlesville. In search of better schools and land for our growing goat farm, we stumbled upon Osage County. We have been familiar with Bartlesville for most of our lives but had never imagined calling the area home.

What we found in Bartlesville was beyond our wildest imaginations. We never thought we would get so immersed in the dynamic community and culture so quickly. But that is just what Bartlesville does. It is the smartest small town on the planet. “We should welcome people into our city,” thought Bartlesville, and Bartlesville flourished.

From what I am learning about this rich culture, this is exactly how Bartlesville was founded — with an attitude of growth, community, and unity. This approach was apparent in the early 1900s when the town was booming and remains true today.

Because of this attitude of growth, Bartlesville has much to offer. Shopping, eating options, retail possibilities, and an event for every occasion. A quick drive down Adams Blvd to check out the billboards and any family’s social schedule is planned.

But we have found Bartlesville is missing one important aspect of Oklahoma life — lacrosse.

With a family our size, the battle over what sport each kid was going to play ended many years ago when we picked lacrosse as the one and only. It was an easy decision; practice was at the same field and there were even girls’ and boys’ teams available. But more than that, we all completely fell in love with lacrosse. The sport took off in the Tulsa area in 2014 and all our kids were part of the explosion. It was so fun watching hundreds of kids (and coaches too) learn how to play the sport and go from unknown to just five years later affording kids scholarships to Ivy League schools.

Lacrosse is popular in other areas of the US. The fact that it is slow to arrive in Oklahoma is a surprise, because the sport itself is immersed in Native American culture. Lacrosse was started by the North American Indians, originally known as stickball, dating back to the 1400s. Through consideration of other sports it was formed into what we call lacrosse today.

The players use sticks and toss a small rubber ball to teammates in hopes of making it into a goal at their respective ends of the field. Each team has 10 players on the field: a goalie, three on offense, three defense, and three middies. There’s tons of running, lots of action, some slashing (landing a player in the penalty box), and definitely the hardest part for the parents when first learning all about the game is keeping up with that tiny white ball on the field.

Indian Nations Lacrosse Conference (INLC) is the governing body for the lacrosse league in NE Oklahoma and just a few of the clubs are Claremore, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, Metro, and Union. The main lacrosse season is from late February through late May, and teams range from kindergarten through high school.

As our family worked to get the word out about lacrosse and how to get it launched here, the YMCA — in typical Bartlesville “we can do it” style — raised their hand. Program Director Tyler Deaton Sr. was eager to learn more. "The YMCA team is thrilled to introduce lacrosse to Bartlesville."

I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing community that we now get to call home, and beyond excited that I get to sign my kids up for Bartlesville Lacrosse spring season 2022!

Meeting with YMCA to discuss Lacrosse opportunities in Bartlesville. From Left to Right: Katrina Spalding (Director of Operations), Josh Kallweit, Tyler Kallweit, Tyler Deaton (Sr. Program Director), Ethan Kallweit, and Benjamin Kallweit. Ethan Kallweit talks with Tyler Deaton about different lacrosse rules.