What Does Footbag Mean To You?

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boyle
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What Does Footbag Mean To You?

Post by boyle » 29 Dec 2020 14:33

Part of the scavenger hunt is to write an essay about what does footbag mean to you. It's 500 words for the Open category and a bit less in the other ones. I thought people might like to share their thoughts on here - maybe you might just want to put a comment rather than a full essay.



This is what I wrote for mine.


What does footbag mean to you?

Footbag has been a part of my life for such a long time, it feels almost like a part of me. I always carry around at least one footbag, sometimes more. I try to share the passion for the sport through to the wider community.

This may be through explicit teaching, to simply playing in a public area or sharing videos online. That community, both in person at events such as national and world championships, or at jams, or communicating online is such an amazing part of the sport. I have had the chance to stay with other footbag players around the world, and to host them in return.

What is the meaning of it all? It is over 20 years since I first kicked a Guatemalan style crochet bag. I was able to do 3 kicks. That’s one of the main things - challenging yourself to continually improve. That may be through individual goals, such as repeated performances of kicks or tricks, through performance results in competition or improving the style and flow of how you play.

There are many opportunities in footbag and I have been able to take some of these, including to travel overseas or to organise events. There is much more opportunity. Some of us pine for glory days involving big prize money, touring teams and kicking circles in every playground. What I am more hopeful about is having players who have been active coming back again. I think having major online tournaments gave this opportunity, as not everyone has the ability to travel all the time.

For me, footbag can be a fun game played with friends, it can be a source of frustration trying the same trick thousands of times without success, or a source of joy when you finally have it land on your foot.

I love the competitive side of footbag. I may not be the best player, but I love the opportunity to get up on the stage and give my best shot. Some people prefer to just flow at leave the competitive side of things alone, but it’s something I really enjoy.

I have had the opportunity to share footbag with primary school students in some PE classes this year. Hearing things like “Mr Boyle, can you give me a hint on doing around the world” is something that sparks joy. A fun day was having these students share some of their skills with students from the preschool.

The beauty of footbag it is so portable, can be played anywhere with anyone and I greatly enjoying sharing this sport with anybody that I ever meet. I have great memories of travel with footbag players and sharing not just the sport but that sense of community. Here in Australia we are just a few players but I still feel a sense of connection to others who have played before and others across the world.

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Asmus
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Re: What Does Footbag Mean To You?

Post by Asmus » 05 Jan 2021 04:44

What a great read! Thanks for sharing.

I haven't joined the scavenger hunt, but I wrote something related here a while ago:
https://modified.in/bsos/2014/04/08/footbag-zen/

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