Canberra, Australia via SCL - Daniel Boyle

[boyle]

Just had this one come up on my Facebook memories. Footbag outside Parliament House with Juho and Caroline. Another clip from Juho came up playing in the driveway of my old house. I was like, oh I was in pretty good form back then, only to realise the reason for the form was it was from a much better player than me.

Although in saying that, these days I can hit most of the tricks in the run he was doing.

We're getting well into the end territories for the Joulu. I still need to film a final day trick for the Link of the Day, but I was able to do everything else within one session. I set down my ideas the day before and then had my list as was able to go through that fairly methodically.

It's the school holidays now, that's very good news for me. We'll go down to Bega for Christmas and stay about a week, then we'll have some days in Sydney the following week and soon enough it will be time to go back to school once again. Looking forward to spending some time at the beach.

They've just announced that the Under 20 World Cup will be on in Chile in 2025. Might try and arrange things to be there at that time.

Looks like I'm due for a top post painting also. Here's "The Big Picture" by Tom Roberts.



It's from Day 1 of the Australian parliament, which was in Melbourne in those days.

[boyle]

Speaking of

Also from morning session this morning. I usually try to go to the gym really early on Tuesdays. I get up pretty much every day around 5:30, a lot of the time not so much by choice, but I try to make use of that. Did a few good tricks along the way.

[boyle]

Alright. Another Joulukalenteri in the bag. That's 3 in a row now and 4 in total. Hopefully someone else will do it this year.

We're into the new year. I haven't done any footbag today. I did a fair bit while we were down the coast. The first day we were there I got a huge graze on my leg at the skatepark.

I was having some decent sessions down there despite the leg. It was good to put a bit of time into kicking. Something I plan on doing this year is working on other kicking sports too (takraw, jianzi, freestyle football). I did do some jianzi today. That's pretty hard. My best was 25 kicks. I did a few tricks like ATW, butterfly kick and a few others.

Worlds will be in Montreal, there's also going to be a footbag event as part of Superball. Both of those sound kind of interesting but they're not really in the school holiday window. I'm not sure if overseas travel is going to be in the budget for this year, though the budget will increase thanks to a payrise, which is good.

I think I've had a decent year footbag wise. It was good having Khoa around for a while. I'd like to get back more involved with the freestyle football scene but I very rarely find out anything about events until after they have happened. That event in the gallery in Tasmania sounded really cool. Just to be playing at all when pretty much all of the other players in the country have packed up their shoes is a good achievement.

I don't know if I've hit too many new tricks but sometimes I had some pretty good runs with a bit higher density than previous years. Much of a muchness though. This year I'm going to turn 40 so it's good to still be going at this age.

Happy new year to all the people using Modified also. There's not so many but it's a nice thing to have.

[boyle]

There's been a bit of talk on the Facebook group about the badges.

This is an interesting one in various ways, because I went down the rabbit hole trying to find the original conversations and changes to Modified and footbag.org over the years haven't been great in keeping this information up to date.

The best information I found was actually from the Internet Archive

https://web.archive.org/web/20150503042 ... ag/badges/

I will try and get this back working again but I'm not sure it's within my capabilities.



Also, here's me doing a few of the badges some numerous years ago. 2015, around this time of year actually. I would have been ramping up for a big year with Worlds as a destination.

I've had a message or two asking if I will go to Worlds. I think it's fairly unlikely, although I would really like to go to some competition somewhere this year. The timing of Worlds is right in the middle of the school term which makes things difficult. If I was to go, it would probably be just going for a few days - probably not worth it for the thousands of dollars it would cost.

I started this post last night but didn't finish it off. Something I was thinking about with the badges, is that in the footbag world, we have a lot of people starting very interesting projects but then it kind of fades away and it's often not passed on for someone else to run with.

I haven't played that much to start the year. Bits and pieces here and there, but no real proper sessions. I usually go to the gym early on a Tuesday morning (Eg now). We've got my Grandma visiting and we had a birthday celebration for my wife yesterday so I will just take it easy, I might go later.

We just had a trip to Sydney over the weekend. We ended up visiting some friends and meeting up in a park I've kicked a few times with Dyalan. He wasn't available but we might get to kick together next month.

[Asmus]

I started this post last night but didn't finish it off. Something I was thinking about with the badges, is that in the footbag world, we have a lot of people starting very interesting projects but then it kind of fades away and it's often not passed on for someone else to run with.

Isn't this the world in general? This happens a lot at my job at least hehe.

The badges was definitely a cool idea.

I have some problems with posting on the forum in general. I get a 403 forbidden error a lot. Is it you who looks into this kinda stuff? Not sure why this post works, but I can't post in my own footblog for example.

[boyle]

I can take a look at that. Is it in your footblog (like this one, eg just making a post to the forum), or on the Wordpress based one? That may be a bit more complicated to sort out.

[Asmus]

This one. The forum is also running extremely slow.

[Tjuggles]

Hey Asmus,

What is slow; the loading of the site? Posting something? Both?

[Asmus]

Loading is slow. I am not allowed to post in my own footblog. I get an error:

403
Forbidden

Access to this resource on the server is denied!

[boyle]

Seems weird you can post in here but not in there, that seems quite strange.

[boyle]

I had probably my first session by the pool yesterday morning. There's a little bit more to go of school holidays so schedule has been kind of off.

It wasn't really a great session, but it was great to have a session. I also played in the backyard the day before so I've been at it a little bit.

There has been some kind of old school play get together in New Zealand in recent days. Scott Davidson and Tuan Vu and a few others went out, I think it was hosted by David Leberknight, they also went to Adrian Dick's house at some stage. I might be a bit young for the target market, but I have a feeling they're doing it as a yearly thing. I know Caroline was talking about going last year.

I didn't take any footage yesterday, I've got plenty of videos of me dropping the bag nearby the pool. I felt my tricks weren't quite going in the right zones.



I'm going to see The Butterfly Effect a few times in the coming month. They're doing a 20 year tour of their first album (which came out 21 years ago...). I'm looking forward to that. I will go to the shows in Sydney and Canberra and two in Melbourne. I hadn't realised but they are playing the same weekend as Taylor Swift in Melbourne. I was a bit worried as I hadn't organised many travel plans - I did have a flight down already but I've changed that for another time. I've ended up hiring a car and staying somewhere out in the burbs, it should work out a reasonable price, otherwise it was crazy prices for a 20 share dorm to stay right in the city. I stayed a while ago in a cheap place and they had a pancake machine in the morning as part of the breakfast which was fun, I think I'll try and stay there in a following visit to Melbourne.

I went on a little trip last week to Wollongong. Not too much footbag along the way.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2BC8PvhQPm/

I did have a swim in this area above a waterfall, I'd like to visit that area again in the future.




It was quite refreshing.

I brought up the idea of going to Worlds to my principal and he seemed positive about it. Just have to make it make $ sense and also convince the family it is a good idea.

[boyle]

Came across an interesting thread on this very website - https://modified.in/footbag/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6535

"When we're 40". A few Australian players talking about what they're going to be up to when they are 40...might have to follow up on this.

Topical because I will be turning 40 this year. Ian and Jeremy both posted in that thread, they are the same age as me too but I don't think either has played in a long while.

I played yesterday in the backyard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C2T9CQArY8z/

That jam in LA looked like a pretty good time.

Speaking of good times at footbag events, Worlds is looking a decent possibility for me. Just started looking into flights and they're not really very cheap, but it's a fair way to go. I might keep an eye on things for the coming months and try to get some good deal.

[boyle]

I didn't realise it had been so many months since my last post.

I've been playing a fair bit. I had pretty much committed to going to Worlds but now I'm thinking against it. The time cost is my main concern. It's a long way to fly to Montreal.

[Tjuggles]

I didn't realise it had been so many months since my last post.

Ha yeah I keep thinking that, and continue to not post... but funny that all it takes is someone to post something for me to actually get here and post something (even if it is a reply).

I've been playing a fair bit. I had pretty much committed to going to Worlds but now I'm thinking against it. The time cost is my main concern. It's a long way to fly to Montreal.

Oh? Have you bought tickets already? Was the time cost not something you factored in to the planning? I assumed its a good 25 hours or so from you to there eh?

I would love to go to worlds, but I'm still in family mode/get the home base settled phase of my family life and need to prioritize that first. Once things get settled on that front, and child gets a little bigger and more independent, it will be easier to travel.

[Cass]

Hi Daniel!

That “when we’re 40” thread is interesting. The only player I could see that posted in it that is still playing strong would be Dustin. I don’t think he will be 40 for a while but I am fairly certain he will still be shredding at 40. Most of the freestylers at the jam I just attended are pushing 40 now and while many of us have some issues I am optimistic a lot of us will still be playing beyond that age. I know I have certainly been working to adapt my style and trick selection so I can hopefully keep it up for a bit longer without too much damage.

Too bad you might not be able to swing worlds this time but understandable. I would not want to travel that far either haha

[boyle]

Nice to see you posting Cass! I think Dustin is a fair bit younger, maybe still early 30s. Funny thing in that thread is it showing a super strong Aussie scene (not quite there now).

I think I've decided not to come this year, hopefully next year I can go to a footbag tournament, not necessarily Worlds. Montreal is pretty far and I'd like to go for a decent trip around, not just to the tournament. A friend of mine was going to get married in the US the same weekend as the US Open (though on opposite coasts), I had thought of a crazed trip for that - but that has been postponed, so I'll save my coins.

I don't really feel I have changed my tricks up much - maybe just got a bit better at doing them (smoother landings etc). I remember Ken had a big changes in his style from his early years and often posted about relearning etc.

Looked like a good turnout in that jam, I think you've got a post there in your blog so I'll comment on that.

Speaking of trips, I just went to Sydney and Melbourne to see this band Svalbard. I only heard of them recently but they are quickly becoming a favourite.

[tweet]https://x.com/capitaleyes/status/1794004687206994291[/tweet]

[boyle]

It's been some months since I've written in here. A few interesting things to report.

Worlds and Superball. Didn't go to either, would have been cool. It was good to see a pretty good spread of international turnout at either one. Not huge amounts of competitors but it's nice to see some European players in North America and vice versa.

A few weeks ago, they had the Australian Championship for Freestyle Football. It was a really good event actually, there were a number of people out from Japan and Hong Kong. I entered the comp and didn't go particularly well, but I hit some decent tricks along the way, including some sitdown stuff rather than just doing footbag with the ball.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-MkJy1JXEE/

I had a bunch of footbags that have been sitting in my garage for years now. I had intended on selling them but I decided to just give them away. There were a whole bunch of kids watching the competition and during the breaks in play they were all playing. Unfortunately I can't really do much to follow up because I don't live in that city, but I also gave a bunch to other freestylers.

It was fun going to that, a few guys I hadn't seen in a long while. It was on at the same time as Worlds so it was good to get that competition vibe I was missing out on a bit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C-U4gFkyF7J/?img_index=1

I played today for a while. I've been playing a bit but not in huge amounts. I've been really exhausted most days after coming home from the teaching day. I actually went to the doctor and got a few days off. I think in that time I may look for a different school to teach in.

I don't have much footbag content to post, so here's a picture of a kangaroo.

[boyle]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/lCX1fw4ao3A?si=YZhdSZBouqJtbw9A[/youtube]

I forgot to mention in my last post, we had an international guest in Australia.

Tom KO from Chicago came out so I ended up being able to take a day off and head up to Sydney. He also kicked with Dyalan a different time. We had a good kick then dive into the beach.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/qnwpb7c4wfk?si=eNGJI6RhGWVpPg-H[/youtube]

It's not the first time I've played at that spot. Here's a video I made when I first got my gopro (which I dropped into the sea many years ago).

Funnily enough, I used a song by the same band (Radio Birdman) in both videos. We just went to see them doing their 50 year anniversary show recently, it was pretty fun.

Superball has been on, I would have liked to have gone to that. Maybe next year. I've got a lot of freestyle football people on various social media and it's cool seeing some bits and pieces about footbag from them.

Interesting to think of freestyle football as an Olympic sport (no chance from my view). Something like futsal or beach soccer would be the most likely inclusions. It certainly draws a good crowd though. I really liked the event they did in that coliseum type thing in Croatia a year or two ago.

I had a really good session during the week in the squash court. Actually I took most of the week off ~sick~. (sick of work). I started a run with fog>pixie motion, which went into about 40 contacts, a few various 5s along the way, was feeling pretty good. Much better than my (medical condition). During this time of illness I also did a walk each day, swam some laps and strongly considered the options for a new job. But I think I will look at that for next year. A few things to sort out at my current job, including an excursion tomorrow.

I've just written many thousands of words in a thread that Jorden started about problems and solutions in footbag. I got discussion this sort of stuff with Tom when he was out, and I've tried many of these things but in the end it's just me kicking away by myself. Many of these suggestions I have made I don't do myself (although I probably have at another time).

I hope footbag stays in Superball, I think that would be really cool to go to.

[boyle]

I just turned 40 yesterday.

I always try and do a however many contact run of my age pretty much straight away, though I missed the day yesterday.

I will write a bit more on that 40 stuff another day. Good to get a little kick in. I have been kicking a bit but kind of rarely filming anything lately.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_unrOkyqIS/

[Jorden]

Hey Dan, a couple of your points really piqued my interest:

Superball has been on, I would have liked to have gone to that. Maybe next year. I've got a lot of freestyle football people on various social media and it's cool seeing some bits and pieces about footbag from them.

When you say "bits and pieces", are you referring to video clips? Or are there some writeups or commentary somewhere?
Wouldn't the feedback of a neighbouring more popular sport be worth its weight in gold? That could be the key to unlock the
puzzle to bringing players through the football pipeline, for example. Also common pain points and criticisms could be considered for future
rollouts and promotional events.

I believe I have a unique vantage point, as I basically took 10 years off, allowing me to view footbag from a detached bird's eye view.
Someone such as yourself have been going steady are maybe too close to the "problem", and are more burnt out on the promotion front.
Reminds me of the book "Think and Grow Rich", where the miners quit searching for the gold and gave up when they were literally 3 FEET away from the gold vein.

Interesting to think of freestyle football as an Olympic sport (no chance from my view).

Olympic soccer uses a soccer ball.
Skateboarding has tricks with an inanimate object separate from the body.
And now, breaking has battles.

The three things that I personally think of when I think of Freestyle Football - soccer ball, tricks and battles...aren't they already in the Olympics in some capacity? Is it really that far-fetched? A little bit more on the organizational front with national committees etc. and couldn't it be off to the races?

It's easy to get pessimistic about what's been tried before. But culture as with everything else happens in cycles. If nothing else, nostalgia could play a role in a revival. Each new generation doesn't share the same sensibilities as the previous. Then it becomes an issue of marketing.

JM