Some food for thought: the Warsaw Footbag Association is running a project right now with the goal of recruiting new freestyle players. They applied for a grant from the European Union under some sort of a Active Youth program, and got the money to fund a series of well advertised demos run at schools. After the demos they would announce that there's going to be a three months free workshop for anyone who is interested. The gym where the workshops are held is paid from the grant money. You can see the projects website under the following link:
http://www.terazzoska.pl
So far the workshops are a big success, after the demos there were a lot of interested kids and the organizers had a good turnout. Some of the new players are already coming to Zocha Jam (a tournament in a different city), which shows dedication. It seems this method is a great way of getting new players, and we will probably try to set it up on a bigger scale.
Pozdrawiam
Szymon Kałwak (Ners)
Is footbag on the rise?
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
- Post Master General
- Posts: 4092
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010 19:53
- Location: Drumore, PA
Had a session with Drew Martin and some local friends tonight. We recruited a NEW FOOTBAG PLAYER. This kid with a big beard came up to us tonight while we were kicking in a public spot and asked to join us. We were more than happy to have him in our circle. Little did we know, this kid had all the basic stalls under his belt IN SANDALS!!!! Never knew about footbag, just used to play "hacky sack" with his friend a little while ago. His name is Steve and he said he's going to get a pair of Lavers soon.
So +1 for the community
So +1 for the community
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PoisonTaffy
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1003
- Joined: 23 Jun 2007 15:42
- Location: Israel, center
- Contact:
I always felt that I single-handedly destroyed the hack scene in Israel. When I started a few years ago, there were 20-30 people actively attending weekly hack circles. Now there are about 5 regulars and several non-regulars, most into freestyle to some extent.
I still don't know if the loss of 20+ people to gain a few freestylers was worth it.
I still don't know if the loss of 20+ people to gain a few freestylers was worth it.
"Childhood is short, immaturity is forever"
Roy Klein
Roy Klein
...
It was awesome to read your post, Ners, and hear about how well that worked out for you.
I found that simply playing on some of the local college campuses by myself lead to several people being introduced to the sport and going as far as getting bags and/or Lavers. At that point, whether or not they stuck with the sport was a personal decision.
I found that simply playing on some of the local college campuses by myself lead to several people being introduced to the sport and going as far as getting bags and/or Lavers. At that point, whether or not they stuck with the sport was a personal decision.
Mark Bull
I found this thread on my phone in the middle of a bio lecture and missed the whole thing because I was so interested in what's being posted here.
I think money is what separates footbag from trend sports. As Corey stated here,
The "______'s got Talent" routines from Europe are an awesome start but they still don't showcase the sport of footbag itself. Sports need to be competitve and only competitions will grab public attention. Seeing a solo routine out of context or even a group of hardcore shredders playing casual circle makes footbag look like another useless talent. The competitiveness of footbag needs to emphasized.
Also, look at where most of footbag player's money is going. Adidas and fabric distributors do nothing to help footbag although players buy shoes and materials from them. That's why I like the pooling idea - if we all throw our money down on third-party goods, it's not going to help the sport at all. Working together with a collective fund is the best way to get things done.
Going back to Nick's original question: is footbag on the rise? I feel like it's not. I have visions of my generation (17-20 year olds) being the last generation of shredders. Maybe it's because I only joined the scene in 2008/09 and have only ever HEARD of the craziness of 2004 and such. I mean, I've lived within an hour's drive of Jorden Moir my entire life and have never even met the guy. Most players I talk to say that their scene is dying or that they're the last players in the area. Over the past year I've heard so few positive things about footbag communities (in North America anyways). It's pretty depressing, seeing as I'm still super keen to play and shred harder constantly.
- These are just my thoughts on the subject. I've enjoyed reading this thread so much and wanted to post. You guys all rock.
I think money is what separates footbag from trend sports. As Corey stated here,
I think this idea has lots of potential. If I were to compete in Worlds, I would personally donate money for it to be broadcast on a major network. I have no idea how much this costs or the implications of making it happen but I think that would be a huge thing for footbag.Footbagger007 wrote:The sport needs money! I would love to be able to watch the us open euros worlds etc on espn but yeah we would have to pay a lot. If 300 footbag players donated 50 dollars you can do some serious advertising. Imagine how much publicity a small advertisement on espn.com with a link to a live broadcast of worlds would bring.
The "______'s got Talent" routines from Europe are an awesome start but they still don't showcase the sport of footbag itself. Sports need to be competitve and only competitions will grab public attention. Seeing a solo routine out of context or even a group of hardcore shredders playing casual circle makes footbag look like another useless talent. The competitiveness of footbag needs to emphasized.
Also, look at where most of footbag player's money is going. Adidas and fabric distributors do nothing to help footbag although players buy shoes and materials from them. That's why I like the pooling idea - if we all throw our money down on third-party goods, it's not going to help the sport at all. Working together with a collective fund is the best way to get things done.
Going back to Nick's original question: is footbag on the rise? I feel like it's not. I have visions of my generation (17-20 year olds) being the last generation of shredders. Maybe it's because I only joined the scene in 2008/09 and have only ever HEARD of the craziness of 2004 and such. I mean, I've lived within an hour's drive of Jorden Moir my entire life and have never even met the guy. Most players I talk to say that their scene is dying or that they're the last players in the area. Over the past year I've heard so few positive things about footbag communities (in North America anyways). It's pretty depressing, seeing as I'm still super keen to play and shred harder constantly.
- These are just my thoughts on the subject. I've enjoyed reading this thread so much and wanted to post. You guys all rock.
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DimitriFrazao
- Hack Fiend
- Posts: 52
- Joined: 02 Jul 2010 16:57
Here's just a visual idea of the website dedicated to beginners. Something with information to get people started and motivated.
Have a step by step process to get people to learn it fast and properly.
Something divided in modules to get the newcomer to follow it.
I'm not a web or graphic designer, so please excuse my rough photoshop.
Have it divided into modules and each module would cover a basic move all the way up to some advanced tricks, but not to the point of intimidating.
The start button could have couple videos to motivate people.
Like anyone can do it. Dropping that bag is normal and you're gonna do it a LOT. Practice as much as you can. Make it look attainable. that kind of stuff.
Have the videos being narrated, with front n side examples and illustrations.
On resources have links, bag stitching tutorial, shoe mod tutorial, etc..
I've used a screen grab from Anssi's video as an example. Hope you don't mind
Have a step by step process to get people to learn it fast and properly.
Something divided in modules to get the newcomer to follow it.
I'm not a web or graphic designer, so please excuse my rough photoshop.
Have it divided into modules and each module would cover a basic move all the way up to some advanced tricks, but not to the point of intimidating.
The start button could have couple videos to motivate people.
Like anyone can do it. Dropping that bag is normal and you're gonna do it a LOT. Practice as much as you can. Make it look attainable. that kind of stuff.
Have the videos being narrated, with front n side examples and illustrations.
On resources have links, bag stitching tutorial, shoe mod tutorial, etc..
I've used a screen grab from Anssi's video as an example. Hope you don't mind
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Frank_Sinatra
- Avenging Disco Godfather
- Posts: 1660
- Joined: 09 Jan 2007 12:43
- Location: Chicago, IL
Some very disconnected thoughts...
Playing in public is great for finding people who already play - its how I found CIC in the first place. But its not so great for getting new people interested. Again, the whole "I could never do that" mentality.
In some places there's one central spot to play, where you'll have high traffic of possible players. For instance, college quads, or downtown in smaller cities. In Chicago, there are so many places to play that its like a needle in a haystack running into players.
Even when you do, a lot of the people you run into talk about coming out to kick, and maybe even come out once or twice, but don't stick with it. And then its like - fuck it, I don't have time to chase after these people, I'll just kick when & where its convenient for me. I guess I don't know where the guys who held scenes together in the past get that kind of patience/persistence.
I'd say there's a pretty good chance that there are pockets of hackers/sorta freestylers out there in the area that we'll just never run into. And like a couple people said, it'll probably just ruin hacking for them. When me & my buddy Jake got into trying to freestyle in college it killed the hack scene. I don't know if that's a good thing.
Since we're talking about how people don't seem to play socially anymore, and about having websites with well-organized videos, what do people think about having more demo videos that show multiple people or circles? Sometimes I think a video about basic circle etiquette would be great, but that's probably just me...
Playing in public is great for finding people who already play - its how I found CIC in the first place. But its not so great for getting new people interested. Again, the whole "I could never do that" mentality.
In some places there's one central spot to play, where you'll have high traffic of possible players. For instance, college quads, or downtown in smaller cities. In Chicago, there are so many places to play that its like a needle in a haystack running into players.
Even when you do, a lot of the people you run into talk about coming out to kick, and maybe even come out once or twice, but don't stick with it. And then its like - fuck it, I don't have time to chase after these people, I'll just kick when & where its convenient for me. I guess I don't know where the guys who held scenes together in the past get that kind of patience/persistence.
I'd say there's a pretty good chance that there are pockets of hackers/sorta freestylers out there in the area that we'll just never run into. And like a couple people said, it'll probably just ruin hacking for them. When me & my buddy Jake got into trying to freestyle in college it killed the hack scene. I don't know if that's a good thing.
Since we're talking about how people don't seem to play socially anymore, and about having websites with well-organized videos, what do people think about having more demo videos that show multiple people or circles? Sometimes I think a video about basic circle etiquette would be great, but that's probably just me...
Good enthusiasm all around.
Time and again, you hear people killing hacky interest with serious shred. I've done it too. I can remember being "that guy" in college that wanted to take it to the next level - soon enough the rest were so inferior skills wise that they didn't want to play with me anymore. Then again, the best players are often found within the hack circle. Tricky issue there.
Now, I'm not suggesting we dumb down what we do, but Nathan may have it right. Showcasing the idea of "yes, you CAN do this" by showing hack circles "plus" (i.e. a good and stylish hack circle that's somewhere between hippy hacky slackers and serious shred) might make a ton of sense.
Also, the whole "don't call it hacky" thing. I personally don't buy that anymore. I did for a long time, and I can tell you what.. I actually have more engaged listeners when I just go ahead and say "yeah, this is hacky sack, but not like you've ever seen it... in fact we were featured at the x-games". They say "Oh yeah? holy cow, can I see a video or something?" To me, using the term everyone knows just advances the conversation far more quickly since it builds on what they already know. Once they see it, they understand how serious it is anyways. But I don't want to focus on that part of the issue right now.
Time and again, you hear people killing hacky interest with serious shred. I've done it too. I can remember being "that guy" in college that wanted to take it to the next level - soon enough the rest were so inferior skills wise that they didn't want to play with me anymore. Then again, the best players are often found within the hack circle. Tricky issue there.
Now, I'm not suggesting we dumb down what we do, but Nathan may have it right. Showcasing the idea of "yes, you CAN do this" by showing hack circles "plus" (i.e. a good and stylish hack circle that's somewhere between hippy hacky slackers and serious shred) might make a ton of sense.
Also, the whole "don't call it hacky" thing. I personally don't buy that anymore. I did for a long time, and I can tell you what.. I actually have more engaged listeners when I just go ahead and say "yeah, this is hacky sack, but not like you've ever seen it... in fact we were featured at the x-games". They say "Oh yeah? holy cow, can I see a video or something?" To me, using the term everyone knows just advances the conversation far more quickly since it builds on what they already know. Once they see it, they understand how serious it is anyways. But I don't want to focus on that part of the issue right now.
Bob R.
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boyle
- Post Master General
- Posts: 3148
- Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
- Location: Canberra, Australia
- Contact:
Something we're planning on doing in Canberra now that the summer is coming through, is to organise a barbeque every month or so, maybe even every couple of weeks, have it organised by footbag players, but just have it as a good time to hang out, kick around a soccer ball, play some hack, four square, net, golf, whatever.
Get people interested by getting to their stomachs first, and then they may stick around if we can build a good community aspect here.
One of my favourite moments from Worlds in Berlin was being in about a 30 person hack circle, there were some of the best players in the world, Phil was in it, Ken was in it, I think Juho had a few kicks, and then there were complete beginners around just drinking a beer and having a few kicks.
It was a really open, welcome atmosphere, that was the kind of thing I think would encourage more people to get involved.
Get people interested by getting to their stomachs first, and then they may stick around if we can build a good community aspect here.
One of my favourite moments from Worlds in Berlin was being in about a 30 person hack circle, there were some of the best players in the world, Phil was in it, Ken was in it, I think Juho had a few kicks, and then there were complete beginners around just drinking a beer and having a few kicks.
It was a really open, welcome atmosphere, that was the kind of thing I think would encourage more people to get involved.
Daniel, that's the right idea. We had a ton of success years ago with a bbq approach. We played takraw at that time because almost anyone can get their foot on that ball and have fun. And it made our circles grow.
Interestingly, the "energy of the circle" (yeah, sorry, pretty corny, but true) is what draws many of us is immediately killed as soon as we focus on our own skills instead of the fun of the group.
Those guys from Buffalo that used to show up at Funtastiks are perfect examples of what gets most people into the game.
I betcha if we did a barbecue campaign, it'd be more fun and more effective than a shred demo campaign. Once you have them reeled in, then you can corrupt them with shred
edit: because, quite honestly, shred is awesome and intimidating all at once. but a hack circle with a beer is something anyone can try. you don't need to be even remotely "in the know" to hack it around. It'll be easy to spot the hackers that want to take it further.
Interestingly, the "energy of the circle" (yeah, sorry, pretty corny, but true) is what draws many of us is immediately killed as soon as we focus on our own skills instead of the fun of the group.
Those guys from Buffalo that used to show up at Funtastiks are perfect examples of what gets most people into the game.
I betcha if we did a barbecue campaign, it'd be more fun and more effective than a shred demo campaign. Once you have them reeled in, then you can corrupt them with shred
edit: because, quite honestly, shred is awesome and intimidating all at once. but a hack circle with a beer is something anyone can try. you don't need to be even remotely "in the know" to hack it around. It'll be easy to spot the hackers that want to take it further.
Bob R.
I think getting input from non-footbaggers is invaluable.
This conversation came up with a non-footbagger with whom I was speaking recently and she made the point that money in the sport would make a great impact and difference. That may sound like an obvious solution, but there were some opinions voiced against the impact of money in this thread.
Dante makes a great point about the lack of support from Adidas and a communal something-something. I'm also all for the website idea. I've been wanting to do something like this for forever. It would be really great if Footbag.org could be that cool resource. It has such potential, but it is sooooo stagnated. I can't remember the last time I had any inclination whatsoever to visit that website.
This conversation came up with a non-footbagger with whom I was speaking recently and she made the point that money in the sport would make a great impact and difference. That may sound like an obvious solution, but there were some opinions voiced against the impact of money in this thread.
Dante makes a great point about the lack of support from Adidas and a communal something-something. I'm also all for the website idea. I've been wanting to do something like this for forever. It would be really great if Footbag.org could be that cool resource. It has such potential, but it is sooooo stagnated. I can't remember the last time I had any inclination whatsoever to visit that website.
Let me vote for money and websites NOT being the answer. What, Clavens and Honza and whoever else win a bunch of money... how does that bring new players in? I mean, unless you're talking "you can make six figures per year footbagging" money ain't the answer in my opinion. Websites? People are so desensitized to web content... Footbag.org might be boring to us because we know the game already, but when we were new (and to players that are new now) there's plenty of good content there, and it's stable. The point is, we shred, it's intimidating, it's isolating (playing in the basement syndrome). Hack circles are inclusive, easy, fun, social. People like stuff like that. So, for sake of bringing in new players, perhaps we should focus there, and then unveil the rest. At least we've gotten a whopping 900 views on this thread.. shrug
Bob R.
While I agree that money isnt the answer, I do agree that the footbag.org website could use an overhaul. It is useful, and does contain some great information, but it does feel like your walking into a house which hasnt been decorated since the 60'sRieferman wrote:Let me vote for money and websites NOT being the answer.
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Outsider
- Ayatollah of Rock n' Rollah
- Posts: 1373
- Joined: 21 May 2003 21:30
- Location: Bridgewater, New Jersey
Bob Riefer is right right right. I vote for Bob.
Hacky Sack is good. It should be very good for footbag. Footbagger's negative attitude towards hacky sack has had us shooting ourselves in the foot for years.
Hacky Sack is the gateway drug to footbag, but all those recreational kickers see the serious freestyle junkies all strung-out on shred and they decide to stay in school.
Hacky Sack is fun, but shredders have a special knack for making it not fun. Shredders should:
1. try not to change a hack circle into a shred circle or get preachy/teachy and sanctimonious to the hackers -- try letting hackers have some fun for a change, instead of making it a lesson. Hacky Sack was fun before there was good shred, and it still is. Some people who just can't get enough Hacky Sack will graduate to shred. There will be a bigger pool of potential shred addicts if we don't discourage all the recreational hacker users.
2. try to enjoy a good circle kick instead of just thinking of all the shredding that you're not doing. I try to play hacky sack when I can find it. I think that with my way-above-average hacky-sack kicking skills I am able to make a hack circle more fun for largely-unskilled hackers by giving good passes, making saves that keep the bag in the air, and occasionally (not constantly), showing off some fairly basic freestyling skills. I believe that "making a hack circle better instead of worse by using my skills for good instead of evil" is a worthy but subtle freestyle skill that I'm willing to bet most hotshot shredders suck at. Shredders: try to learn this important but under-appreciated skill -- you might even have some fun.
I'm with the Rieferman on the web-page thing too. I haven't done a study of this, I'm just shooting from the hip here, but I'll bet that there are more footbag-related web-pages now than there were in the past. Some of them are probably lame. Some of them are probably cool. I don't know. I doubt it would make much of a difference if footbag had twice as many web-pages devoted to it and had the world's #1 greatest web-page ever. Bob's right about the reason for this - there's a lot of web-pages dedicated to lots of different things -- everybody spends lots of time on the web - people don't get all that excited by stuff on the web anymore because we're all a little de-sensitized to it. There are other reasons too, but it doesn't need to be discussed now.
And as for the money -- I think many footbag players have always had this ass-backwards. They're putting the cart before the horse to say the least. It would sure be nice if there were lots of money in footbag, but there's probably never been a sport that became big just because some people that loved it puts lots of money into advertising it -- Even if there ever were such sports, they were probably developed when there were fewer over-all choices for that kind of recreation. A sport will eventually have lots of money involved in it because, first: 1. lots of people play it, 2. lots of non-players follow it (watch it, read about it, discuss it with other fans), 3. players and fans will spend money on that sport's various gear and memorabelia, and 4. that sport's players and fans make up a large enough audience that people selling non-sports-related stuff can advertise these other products to them en-mass. Of course, along the way there will be instances of some money being used to advertise the sport itself and make the audience of that sport larger in order to sell more products, but, that sort of money doesn't make something out of nothing. I'd say that we have to first demonstrate the potential for an large audience that can be expanded even larger. Addidas, I'm sure, has check us out and hasn't seen that potential yet. Addidas probably sells a million pairs of sneakers each year, and the number of sales they make that result directly or indirectly from footbag is a tiny fraction of 1 percent of their business. Its kind of a shame, really, since I'd think we'd be such a good poster-child for a shoe company -- I mean, really, basketball results in the sale of lots of shoes, but basketball players don't manipulate the object of their game with their feet -- nobody really needs to look at the basketball players's feet to follow the game, but, well, nobody really looks at footbag player's feet either because their just aren't that many feet out there playing...
Hacky Sack is good. It should be very good for footbag. Footbagger's negative attitude towards hacky sack has had us shooting ourselves in the foot for years.
Hacky Sack is the gateway drug to footbag, but all those recreational kickers see the serious freestyle junkies all strung-out on shred and they decide to stay in school.
Hacky Sack is fun, but shredders have a special knack for making it not fun. Shredders should:
1. try not to change a hack circle into a shred circle or get preachy/teachy and sanctimonious to the hackers -- try letting hackers have some fun for a change, instead of making it a lesson. Hacky Sack was fun before there was good shred, and it still is. Some people who just can't get enough Hacky Sack will graduate to shred. There will be a bigger pool of potential shred addicts if we don't discourage all the recreational hacker users.
2. try to enjoy a good circle kick instead of just thinking of all the shredding that you're not doing. I try to play hacky sack when I can find it. I think that with my way-above-average hacky-sack kicking skills I am able to make a hack circle more fun for largely-unskilled hackers by giving good passes, making saves that keep the bag in the air, and occasionally (not constantly), showing off some fairly basic freestyling skills. I believe that "making a hack circle better instead of worse by using my skills for good instead of evil" is a worthy but subtle freestyle skill that I'm willing to bet most hotshot shredders suck at. Shredders: try to learn this important but under-appreciated skill -- you might even have some fun.
I'm with the Rieferman on the web-page thing too. I haven't done a study of this, I'm just shooting from the hip here, but I'll bet that there are more footbag-related web-pages now than there were in the past. Some of them are probably lame. Some of them are probably cool. I don't know. I doubt it would make much of a difference if footbag had twice as many web-pages devoted to it and had the world's #1 greatest web-page ever. Bob's right about the reason for this - there's a lot of web-pages dedicated to lots of different things -- everybody spends lots of time on the web - people don't get all that excited by stuff on the web anymore because we're all a little de-sensitized to it. There are other reasons too, but it doesn't need to be discussed now.
And as for the money -- I think many footbag players have always had this ass-backwards. They're putting the cart before the horse to say the least. It would sure be nice if there were lots of money in footbag, but there's probably never been a sport that became big just because some people that loved it puts lots of money into advertising it -- Even if there ever were such sports, they were probably developed when there were fewer over-all choices for that kind of recreation. A sport will eventually have lots of money involved in it because, first: 1. lots of people play it, 2. lots of non-players follow it (watch it, read about it, discuss it with other fans), 3. players and fans will spend money on that sport's various gear and memorabelia, and 4. that sport's players and fans make up a large enough audience that people selling non-sports-related stuff can advertise these other products to them en-mass. Of course, along the way there will be instances of some money being used to advertise the sport itself and make the audience of that sport larger in order to sell more products, but, that sort of money doesn't make something out of nothing. I'd say that we have to first demonstrate the potential for an large audience that can be expanded even larger. Addidas, I'm sure, has check us out and hasn't seen that potential yet. Addidas probably sells a million pairs of sneakers each year, and the number of sales they make that result directly or indirectly from footbag is a tiny fraction of 1 percent of their business. Its kind of a shame, really, since I'd think we'd be such a good poster-child for a shoe company -- I mean, really, basketball results in the sale of lots of shoes, but basketball players don't manipulate the object of their game with their feet -- nobody really needs to look at the basketball players's feet to follow the game, but, well, nobody really looks at footbag player's feet either because their just aren't that many feet out there playing...
"The time has come to convert the unbelievers..."
Jonathan Schneider --- sometimes showers with his Lavers on (to clean them)
The Ministry of Silly Walks
NYFA
BAP
Jonathan Schneider --- sometimes showers with his Lavers on (to clean them)
The Ministry of Silly Walks
NYFA
BAP
[quote="DimitriFrazao"]Have a step by step process to get people to learn it fast and properly. Something divided in modules to get the newcomer to follow it.
...
Have it divided into modules and each module would cover a basic move all the way up to some advanced tricks, but not to the point of intimidating.
quote]
Last i heard, Ianek was working on something like that. With kind of ''level'' that you could reach, with few element including in each level. so beginner would have easier short term goal then only ''being guitless''. Being guiltless isn't something for ''Beginner''... I mean, mort of the people need 1 year or more to get guiltless, and before that, they kinda feel that they don't shred. It's a bit like if you would need 1 year of training 3-4 times a week to be able to a single ride of snowboard. No one would... So the idea of Ianek was to create some short term goal, to keep the new players more motivated to try to reach level and have a better recognition. As far as i know, those ''level'' would be based on progression that you should have (even if there is not only one way to progress). Anyway, if he pass by this post, he will probably explain the idea better then i do.
Mat
...
Have it divided into modules and each module would cover a basic move all the way up to some advanced tricks, but not to the point of intimidating.
quote]
Last i heard, Ianek was working on something like that. With kind of ''level'' that you could reach, with few element including in each level. so beginner would have easier short term goal then only ''being guitless''. Being guiltless isn't something for ''Beginner''... I mean, mort of the people need 1 year or more to get guiltless, and before that, they kinda feel that they don't shred. It's a bit like if you would need 1 year of training 3-4 times a week to be able to a single ride of snowboard. No one would... So the idea of Ianek was to create some short term goal, to keep the new players more motivated to try to reach level and have a better recognition. As far as i know, those ''level'' would be based on progression that you should have (even if there is not only one way to progress). Anyway, if he pass by this post, he will probably explain the idea better then i do.
Mat
There will never be a demand from the general audience to watch footbag. Ever.
Face it, the sport just doesn't lend itself well to anyone not doing it. For most people it will be a 'holy wow best hacker in the world' moment and move on. You can't get behind a single guy doing his thing and not dueling it out (in an obvious way) with another person.
I say forget the maintstream thrust, if it happens it happens. The focus should be on developing and maintaining the community, because that is essentially the best thing about footbag (besides playing itself).
BBQs (nice lol) and demos and whatever other means we have to make sure the potential shredder is exposed to the sport is still a vital task.
Face it, the sport just doesn't lend itself well to anyone not doing it. For most people it will be a 'holy wow best hacker in the world' moment and move on. You can't get behind a single guy doing his thing and not dueling it out (in an obvious way) with another person.
I say forget the maintstream thrust, if it happens it happens. The focus should be on developing and maintaining the community, because that is essentially the best thing about footbag (besides playing itself).
BBQs (nice lol) and demos and whatever other means we have to make sure the potential shredder is exposed to the sport is still a vital task.
James McCullough
Mathieu I disagree with the idea of trying to baby people into getting better. If they want to get better, they will. No amount of coddling will make a great player.
If a person is daunted by what the best of a sport can do than they can stay home and watch other people do it. Personally, whenever I start a new hobby I examine the entire range of skill levels and see what the best are doing to get an idea of what it takes (and if i'm willing) to get there.
But there are plenty of people in the world with no ambition or motivation to learn new skill sets.
If a person is daunted by what the best of a sport can do than they can stay home and watch other people do it. Personally, whenever I start a new hobby I examine the entire range of skill levels and see what the best are doing to get an idea of what it takes (and if i'm willing) to get there.
But there are plenty of people in the world with no ambition or motivation to learn new skill sets.
James McCullough
