By Henry Muzzy
Hacky sack, invented in 1972 and popular in the 80s and 90s, is making an epic resurgence among teens. It’s a national trend where kids make a circle and “sack.” The goal is to use your body (excluding arms) to keep the hacky sack, or footbag, from hitting the ground. It is a threaded ball with little pellets inside that give it the perfect balance of weight and flexibility.
It was when the game started popping up on quads around the area. In Irvington, one could see a circle of seniors, standing around, kicking up their legs like an Irish dance. Teachers and parents observing the phenomenon reminisced over their own hacky sacking days in college and high school. The number of circles forming in the quad has exploded in recent weeks. Hacky sack is clearly making an epic revival.
On Instagram, a club called “914sackclub” provides a Top 10 ranking in hacky sack for area schools. It is unclear how they judge schools on “sack” but Irvington is ranked number two, behind Mamaroneck.
“It’s like juggling a soccer ball with the lads. It’s a good experience to do,” said freshman Jack Mosca. Fellow ninth grader Patrick Pressman said, “I saw people sacking in the quad. It was hard at first but I got better.”
But is it an educational distraction or opportunity to engage with classmates without the use of technology?
“I am in favor of it as long as it’s not interrupting academics. It hasn’t impacted me in a way where it’s gone too far but I know other teachers have,” English teacher Ms. Grant said. “ I think it’s great that students are getting together to play a game.”
But it isn’t just Irvington that is “sacking”, it’s nationwide. The Dartmouth, the news site for Dartmouth University, recently wrote an article on the hacky sack revival. The reporter talked about how everywhere they looked, people were playing Hacky Sack.
In an article entitled “The Sack is Back”, Teo Steverlynck-Horne writes, “At Dartmouth, the sacking spirit thrives. Nico Bañez ’26 had “never” played before coming to the College, but quickly got hooked as he improved. He said that Dartmouth turns a lot of students into hacky sackers.”
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