At first glance, I thought hacky sack was a joke. A one-week pastime for the seniors during their last months on campus.
I was wrong.
I didn’t understand how a loose circle of boys kicking around a stitched ball with dirt inside could become so popular. There are no rules, no scoreboard, no winner, no referees and the list goes on, but I realized that is exactly what makes it so appealing.
During the last quarter of school, students are worn out competing for grades, and competing on the athletic field. Hacky sack gives students an escape. After taking my last Algebra test of the year, I didn’t want to sit down and study. But, I also didn’t want to go play a sport and drain my energy. That’s when I realized that hacky sack is the perfect spring sport.
As a baseball player, I have trouble classifying it as a sport, given that it does not meet the definition of a structured competitive activity requiring physical skill on first glance.
Then, I realized maybe it does. It is a structured activity, as everyone knows exactly how to play. I have experienced firsthand that it does require skill. Lastly, it is very competitive because there are hacky sack rankings that one can climb to be recognized as a respectable player.
While hacky sack is not a traditional sport with structured practices and games, hacky sack has the same pressure to perform, it seemed like.
I’ll admit I was not a fan at first. It seemed like an activity for those who weren’t motivated enough to be doing work, and just wanted to kill time until their next commitment.
While those ideas are still probably true, I realized that it is ok to sometimes prioritize physical activity during the busiest school months of the year.
Maybe it causes me to stay up later because I am less productive, but it never feels like a burden or a waste of my time. I realized that doing nothing is something if you are intentional about it.
For me, most of the things I enjoy, I like to think I am pretty decent at. With hacky sack, that is not the case. While I am definitely getting better, I still can’t do the cool tricks. Instead of that being a reason for me to dislike the sport, it is a reason for me to practice and try to get better.
Originally, I figured that it would be a trend that phased out in a week or two. I can safely say I was wrong. I didn’t realize how it could captivate such a large audience.
The sport has so much more than meets the eye. And, I get it. I was a skepticist at first, but I reccomend hacky sack to anyone who has not tried it out yet. Even if you are not a soccer player. Even if you don’t think you will be any good or like the activity, I encourage you to try because I didn’t think I would like it, and then I did.
While hacky sack is no traditional sport, it is a way to have some fun with friends during the busy finals season.
Even if by the time you read this no one plays anymore, it was fun while it lasted.
