By Anna Rushton
Surprisingly enough, the game Hacky Sack isn’t an Irvington original. Hacky sack has been around for over 50 years! Even some of our parents played this fun but tricky game and it’s become a high school tradition. Hacky Sack was actually invented by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall, two Americans, in 1972. This game itself is based on an old Native American game that involves kicking a weighted ball and keeping it off the ground for as long as possible.
According to ThoughtCo.com, Mike Marshall invited John Stalberger to play in a game that he had learned from his Native American friend. In addition to keeping the bean bag off the ground, they used all parts of their body except for their hands and arms to eventually pass it to another person. The name “Hacky sack” is a perfect name for this because in sports, hack refers to striking an opponent, but instead of a person it’s the sack (bean bag). 6 months after the men played their first game of Hacky sack, they decided to evolve the game.
The two worked on creating different versions of the sack. Initially, the bean bag was square shaped and made of denim, filled with rice. It was soon realized that this variation had room for improvement. So, they tried a round shape to enhance an individual’s control of the sack. This prototype stuck and is the one people continue to use today. In addition to modifying the shape, they also changed the material of the sack to cowhide to ensure that it lasted for a long time.
Although there aren’t any actual rules to the game besides the ones listed above, there are some techniques. ThoughCo.com explains, “The inside kick involves using the inside curve of your foot to kick the ball straight upward.” This tactic is definitely useful because since the sack can’t touch the ground, you need to somehow get it in the air to either land on a body part on to another player! Sophomore Hagai Fretcher is a frequent participant in the hacky sack games. He recommends, “Kick it in the middle of the circle so that someone else has a chance to keep the game going.”
Around IHS, this game is quickly becoming a fan favorite. On days that are sunny, students are seen joining together in groups to play multiple rounds of this game. One sophomore, Gabriel Kaljevic, says he plays often. He describes the game as, “Hard sometimes because if you are stiff or have bad reaction time it can be difficult to get the sack before it falls. But once you figure that out tis pretty easy and really fun once you start to learn the different tricks!”
Overall, I think this game serves as a great opportunity to bring students of IHS together. Although I haven’t played a game yet, I definitely will be trying it out for the fun of it!
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