Native All-State Games Set For This Weekend
Excellence in high school sports will be on full display later this week when the Oklahoma Native All State Association holds competitions in five sports in two cities.
The schedule is:
Thursday, June 6
Fastpitch softball at Claude Cox Omniplex – Okmulgee 6 p.m.
Friday, June 7
Football at Memorial Stadium – El Reno 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 8
Girls’ & Boys’ Basketball at Mvskoke Dome – Okmulgee 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Baseball at Bateman Park – Okmulgee 6 p.m.
For additional information visit: https://bit.ly/3R9Wq6O
ONASA Executive Director Patrick Moore Jr., who is also Superintendent at Jones Academy, is very excited to highlight the achievements of athletes throughout the State of Oklahoma. He recently took some time from his busy schedule to update us on the latest developments and future direction of this important organization.
What is the mission of the Oklahoma Native All-State games and how long have the games been around?
We started in 2016 and our official mission state reads “The mission of the Oklahoma Native All State Association is to provide Native youth an opportunity to showcase their athletic talents and skills on the field of competition in order to promote physical fitness, teamwork, personal growth, good sportsmanship, and sound character in pursuit of their personal goals in life. ONASA is committed to providing a quality program of support for the advancement of American Indian athletes through an interactive, participatory approach with guidance, coaching, and mentoring from American Indian professionals at various levels of leadership.”
What sports do you currently sponsor?
We currently have softball, baseball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and football.
What do you think of the future direction of the games?
Every year we have people ask about adding additional sports. Usually that comes form parents who have kids that play other sports than those we have. I always say we if have coaches that step up and want to be a coordinator, we’ll work with them to see what we can make happen. That was the case for football this year. We need to have actual school coaches though who understand what it takes to coordinate the whole event. They also have to have a passion for the sport and the athletes. This is all volunteer work on our part, so you have to care about it to sacrifice the time to make it happen.
What is your experience with the games and when did you become director?
Well, back in 2001 when I graduated, I played in what was the Indian All State Basketball game. When I was coaching, I had the honor of coaching in the game a couple times. 2015 was the last time they had Indian All State basketball. That’s why in 2016, we got together and decided to keep something going that recognized this demographic. For the first several years I was the coordinator for boys basketball. I’ve been the director for the past 3 years.
Anything else we should know about the games?
There are a few things I would like folks to understand about our event. One of the unique aspects of our games is that we have kids from all classes playing against each other. So, it gives kids from class B or A a chance to compete against kids from the bigger classes. Another part is that we don’t separate our teams by geography or class. So, no East vs. West split or anything like that. Our selection committees do their best to select the top Native American student athletes out of the graduating class who are nominated, and then the coaches try to split the teams into two even teams so we have competitive games. And lastly, we hope people realize the level of representation we have in this state from Native student athletes. Most of the kids who play in our games go on to become student athletes at the college level. We have even had some who have gone on to play professionally.