{"id":1797,"date":"2025-07-27T12:14:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T12:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2025-07-27T12:14:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T12:14:50","slug":"liberias-version-of-baseball-stands-out-its-played-without-bats-and-without-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eandelmagazine.com\/eandelmagazine\/liberias-version-of-baseball-stands-out-its-played-without-bats-and-without-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberia\u2019s version of baseball stands out: it\u2019s played without bats and without men"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Liberia\u2019s version of baseball, there are no bats and no men<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s just before kick off and the Girls of Aries get the adrenaline going with a team song. The Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia is full of anticipation. This is kickball, a mix of soccer and baseball. It\u2019s played with the feet, not bats as in baseball, and in Liberia, there are no men involved. (AP video by Annie Risemberg)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Women<\/picture>Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia\u2019s professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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\"A<\/picture>A kickball player prepares to kick the ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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\"A<\/picture>A kickball pitcher winds up before throwing a ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Teams<\/picture>Teams in Liberia\u2019s professional kickball league play a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Perryline<\/picture>Perryline Jimmie, 23, on the Gisa kickball team, poses for a photo after a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
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It was a flawless pitch. The ball zipped across home plate\u2014only to be met with a powerful kick. Perryline Jimmie took off toward first base as her teammates burst into cheers on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

At 23, Jimmie is a professional kickball player in Liberia, where the sport\u2014a close cousin of baseball\u2014holds a special place, especially among women. Played across the country on schoolyards, public squares, and dirt fields, kickball has grown since its introduction in the 1960s to become Liberia\u2019s second-most popular sport, after soccer.<\/p>\n

The game follows the basic rules of baseball, but with some key differences: there are no bats, and players use a soccer ball instead of the lighter rubber ball common elsewhere.<\/p>\n

And in Liberia, kickball is strictly a women\u2019s game\u2014there are no male players.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Liberia, (kickball) is our tradition,\u201d said Jimmie, who noted many girls start playing kickball from an early age. \u201cThis is why you see women playing kickball in Liberia.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How kickball came to Liberia<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1964, Peace Corps volunteer Cherry Jackson noticed something striking at the all-girls school where she taught in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia: unlike the boys, none of the girls were involved in sports, according to Emmanuel Whea, president of Liberia\u2019s National Kickball League.<\/p>\n

Jackson, an American, first introduced the girls to baseball. However, she quickly realized they were much better at kicking the ball than hitting it with a bat. This discovery sparked the start of a tradition that has since become a rite of passage for girls throughout Liberia, a nation of about 5.6 million people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a girl growing up in Liberia, you will play kickball,\u201d Whea explained.<\/p>\n

Although kickball is played in various countries\u2014including the United States, where it\u2019s a popular playground game\u2014Liberia is unique in having a women-only professional kickball league.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Women on the Girls of Aries kickball team, part of Liberia\u2019s professional kickball league, talk together before a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A league for women and peace<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Kickball League was created in 1994 to bring people together as Liberia was reeling from a civil war.<\/p>\n

The league was set up \u201cto bring the ladies together and use them (as part of) the reconciliation process of Liberia,\u201d Whea said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s sports often are underfunded.<\/p>\n

Saydah A. Yarbah, a 29-year-old mother of two, admits it is hard to make ends meet on her athlete\u2019s salary despite playing kickball for 10 years. Her earnings are \u201cnot even near\u201d what male athletes earn, she said.<\/p>\n

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A kickball player prepares to kick the ball during a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/figcaption>
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An all-women sport headed by men<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The league encourages women but they really don\u2019t want to be coaches, Whea said. \u201cTheir husbands might have a problem with them working full-time (and) for some, their relationship will not allow it,\u201d he said<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Teams in Liberia\u2019s professional kickball league play a match at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Annie Risemberg)<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/figcaption>
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Yarbah hopes to shift that narrative by becoming a coach after she retires, allowing her to pass on her love for the game, even to her two sons, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not going to play kickball for now,\u201d she said. \u201cBut maybe in the future, kickball will be introduced to men.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the sport remains firmly in the hands of women. While men occasionally show up at practice, Yarbah said, they\u2019re no match for the seasoned players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t know the techniques,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cSo we always win.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Source: Associated Press<\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Liberia\u2019s version of baseball, there are no bats and no men It\u2019s just 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