Camille's Footblog

[Camilleon]

Hello All!

I have enjoyed reading some of the footblogs here and thought it would be cool to start my own. I am quite unhappy with my dedication to the sport lately, as although I have been spending more time online, I have not been playing very frequently. I think that by creating this footblog I will push myself to skool my game and therefore have something to add to this. I just need a little motivation...

I guess I'll start with who I am... I was born on February 12th, 1985 in Toronto, Ontario. I have spent my entire life in this city and I absolutely love it! Canada is amazing!

I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers... I live with my parents and younger sister and younger brother, and our dog, cat, bunny, newt, and at the moment, my boyfriend Andrew's pet snake. I went to York University last year for philosophy, but I am taking a year off to work so that I will have enough cash for school and footbag events. I really want to go to World's next year!

I have been dating Andrew for over 5 years now, and he plays footbag too. I love being in a footbag-relationship because we have fun playing together! It's cool because I always have a shred partner as well as someone to travel to jams with. Our relationship motivates me to play and I like that we share the same passion. I also think that I would never be able to date someone that didn't footbag because they would never truly appreciate the intensity, dedication, and beauty of this sport.

I plan on going back to school next year, but I would love to go into film or photography, or writing. Or theatre; I love drama. I don't know what the hell to do with my life, but I am 19, so I don't think I should know...
What I do know is that I want to footbag till I'm too old to move my legs!

And so, my footbag history...

I was introduced to footbag by Paul Toews. Well when Andrew and I started high school he met Paul (they went to a different school than I) who had been playing for about a year or two. Andrew didn't pick it up right away, but he seemed interested so I bought him one of those crappy crochet bags. That summer I remember being able to do consecutive right toe delays, but I didn't even kick it, and all he could really do was delays and pendulums. We knew nothing of videos or sites, really. That year he got serious about it and played all the time with Paul, and I seemed to forget that I could even do anything with my feet besides walking...

I was basically your average "footbag groupie"; I chilled with them all the time and just sat around watching...watching them play, watching videos, and watching them speak a totally different language that I could in no way comprehend. I learned a lot, but it was SO boring! They BEGGED me to play..."Camille, you would be so good at it!"... "Your shoes are so perfect!"... etc., etc... But, for some stupid reason, I resisted. I guess it was because I was afraid that I would really suck and just waste their time, and completely embarrass myself.

About a year later I joined the school play and I had a few hours after school before rehearsals. By this point they didn't really bug me about playing anymore, they were getting a lot better, and I was getting more and more bored sitting around watching. The thing was, I knew that it wasn't boring; they always seemed to have so much fun! I thought that footbag was really cool and I liked how welcoming and amazing the community was. I had the free time, so I FINALLY decided that I wanted to learn to play. They gave me some pointers and Paul lent me a bag, so after school I would practise by myself, trying to kick it more than twice! UGH! It was so frustrating!!! I even remember teachers razzing me that I needed to get better! I played with the guys once in awhile, but because they went to a different school and took weekends off from playing, I was flying pretty solo... I got my guy friends at my high school to start kicking it around again, so I practised with them. But even that was challenging because they were just "hacky-sackers" and didn't understand that the point was for me to do as much as I could without dropping, and once I dropped, THEN I would pass. They'd call me a "hack hog". It was cool being a girl and yet being the best "hacker" at my school, though. I eventually got Lavers, but I hated them at first. They were a bit too small and really uncomfortable, but I got used to them and they helped me out, of course.

I got a bunch of my girlfriends into it, and they would kick with me sometimes, going as far as to even borrow my lavers during lunch when I was too busy to play. Unfortunatley, none of them wanted to stick with it. I was never one of those girls that needed others girls to do something in order for me to do it, though. I never really minded that very few girls footbagged. In fact, I liked that I was a part of a very tiny, unique group of people. I was the only female footbagger in Toronto, and in Ontario, that we knew of. It was cool. It's not like I didn't want girls to play, I just didn't care if they did or not. I always hung out with the guys anyway. Footbaggers or not, most of my friends are male. I tried to get other girls into it cause I thought that it would be good for them. I got friends' little sisters playing, and my sister, but none of them really seemed interested enough...

We only had a few members of our crew back then. We were the only footbaggers we knew of in Toronto. We thought, "Surely, in such a large city, there must be more of us!" We played at concerts and public events and rallies, and we've found several players, but not enough; this city has so much potential to have a very strong footbag community. We started the Footbag Association of Toronto (FAT), and we're now the largest freestyle-footbag club in Ontario. I love our crew. I just wish we played more... Ontario itself is proving to be quite strong! Keep it up guys!

When I went on to university I found Jared. He was playing on campus, wearing Lavers, and all I could think of was "THANK GOD!!!" We played a lot and I got a lot better. Then Jared introduced me to Joyce. She was just starting to learn freestyle, but she's come along really nicely. Now there's two girls in Ontario, that I know of anyway. She's super cool, and one of my best friends.

Now I seriously care that girls footbag. I want more girls to experience such a rewarding sport, and that's not going to happen until the girls that already play step up and show others the way. I introduced my twin neices to footbag over a year ago, and they love it! They're 15 but very small for their age, so I think it will grow with them. I got them Lavers and bags and everything. TWINS! GIRLS! Isn't that awesome?!

It's too bad that they live in Wasaga Beach and I rarely see them. But I'm going up there on Sunday, so we be shreddin!

Wow... this was certainly one long ramble... I guess I'll go for now and write about where I'm at in my game later...

Hope you enjoyed and continue to... And feel free to post here as you like... I don't mind replies at all! (As long as they're somewhat related.)

Peace!

[Atom]

hey camille...do you think you would have gone all out, gettting into footbag if you had a female shred guru to start you out? or would you say that you would have stuck to your same mind set as long as you did with the boys? oh and WOW, twins shreditas would be crazzzy!

[mosher]

I just love hearing peoples footbag backgrounds, especially long ones like that.

thanks for taking the time to spew it all out.

I am glad to see you are wanting to find a way to help your game progress.

Hope to read lots more posts in this thread from you!

[Posi-Cole]

Awesome background story Camille ...

I really hope you start playing more, and keep us all updated through this blog.

It was a ton of fun meeting you and shredding with you at Worlds ...

Take care, and start shredding

[Muffinman]

Hey Camille.
It was awesome jamming with you in Toronto! I look forward to reading your blog. You guys should go through with that weekly meeting idea -- you'll end up playing a lot more and more people will come out, guaranteed if you're all at a set location and set time on the same day once a week.
Good luck!

[canadian girl]

Hey Camille!! LOOOONG time no talk! How are you doing!? I came onto the forum and right away saw that you had a footblog, and I got so excited! At first I thought that you had always had one and I didn't see it before.

Anyways, I haven't been able to play much at all, because of being really busy with school, but I would still really love to get together some time after my schoolwork and exams are less hectic, if that would still be cool with you. I think that once I have more time, playing with you would really be awesome and would help me improve so much.

Anyways, I'll hopefully talk to you later, and say hello to everyone for me, take care!

[Camilleon]

Wow, thanks for all the replies! It's so nice that you're all Canadian, too! (Not that I have anything against any other country, I love everyone .)

hey camille...do you think you would have gone all out, gettting into footbag if you had a female shred guru to start you out? or would you say that you would have stuck to your same mind set as long as you did with the boys? oh and WOW, twins shreditas would be crazzzy!

I'm not sure what you mean... Would I have thought the same way, that I didn't care if girls played? Or would it have helped me to play sooner?

I don't think that it would have helped me. But that's just me; it will most likely help most girls. Like I said, it wasn't about a girl playing with me or anything. I remember Paul demanding a reasonable explanation for why I didn't play, and I said "Cause I'm lazy." He argued that he was lazy too, and it doesn't matter if you're lazy, you can still play footbag. Thinking back on that now, I really don't see how that is true, because footbag is hard and takes a lot of work. But I really was lazy.

If I had had a female shredder encouraging me to play I might have played sooner, but only because playing with her by ourselves would have been a bit more comfortable, I guess. But that might be just be the "by ourselves" part... One of the reasons I didn't play with the guys for so long was because they always played in public. Once I started, we would usually play one-on-one in private. And when we did play in public, I would be a mess. I would suck really bad, and then I would be embarrassed that this crowd of people that they had lured over was watching me suck while they were all so good, and as a result of being so embarrassed and frustrated, I would suck even more. It took a long time for me to feel comfortable playing in front of people.

You know, I just realized that if I had a "female shred guru" I would have been even more uncomfortable. I would have felt worse, cuz here would be this girl around who was AWESOME at footbag, making me feel even more inadequate. This is going to sound horrible, (please keep in mind that it was the way I used to feel, and you don't really control how you feel) but when I played with the guys, it felt somewhat ok that I sucked and they were way better, because they were males. They are better at almost every sport. I was a girl, so of course I sucked. When people told me that I was good, I would say "For a girl..." That really pissed the guys off... And it would probably piss off most girls too. I don't know why it didn't piss ME off... I guess I just had very little confidence. It was of course a terrible way of thinking... I'm happy I don't feel that way anymore. What I should have been thinking was that it was ok for me to suck so much because I was a beginner, not because I am a female.

God, this is like "The Innerworkings of The Shredita's Mind". I don't know if other girls felt this way when they started. God I hope not.
Any Shreditas reading this? How did you feel when you started? Marita, if you don't mind me asking, how does it feel beginning as a female? It's of course different for female beginners now, because there is Shreditas.com and so many more women in the sport. But I am curious.

You know, it's not like NO females encouraged me. I saw videos of Carol and they allowed me to believe that it was possible for women to be amazing at footbag. She was/is a definite role model for me, and I had/have so much respect for her. And now there are so many more women that I look up to. I just don't think that if, let's say, Carol, played with my crew, it would have pushed me to start playing. I in fact would have been terrified to start! What girls really need to start playing are other players (male or female) that are at their same level, that start with them. It's not like it's impossible to get a girl to start playing with shredders that are far more advanced than she is, but it makes it a million times harder. If you're trying to get girls (or guys) into the sport, maybe try to recruit several girls/guys at a time, invite a group of friends to try it out together. That way, the pressure is taken off of them and they can focus on having fun while learning, which is the most important part of the sport.....

Phew.... it seems that I spend my whole day on these things!

Marita, I would love to kick with you when you've got the time! I work Mon-Fri, 10-5, but anytime after that or on weekends I am totally up for kicking. Then we can get an actual circle of shreditas together, instead of a line. Well I guess it's actually a triangle, but 3 people is just right.

Anyway, I hope to get some of your responses to this post. I really appreciate all the friendly comments so far.

Camille

[Atom]

yes I was wondering if you would have said no for the same reasons... or if you would have played sooner.


P.S. I like your idea about begginers starting together. Me and Dex started at the same level.(except he had clippers, and I had toe stalls)

[Camilleon]

Hey there! Remember me?

It is absolutely ridiculous that I have not written in this thing since I created it in NOVEMBER.

I am sorry, modified. I am sorry, legs. I am sorry, Camille.

I still have a G.L.A.S.S. report like 90% written that I want to post. I was going to post it a long time ago but then my life fell apart...

Shall I explain a bit of that? Things are certainly better now, which is partly why I'm here writing this. I hate to complain or discuss the unpleasant things of the past month, but this is my blog and I feel that writing about these things will bring me some sort of closure...

First off, Andrew and I broke up a few weeks before GLASS. Although we have remained best friends, it was obviously very hard. It has been a real struggle, and only now (like this week) are things starting to look up. We are getting along a lot better now and I think there is a chance we might get back together... I'm not going to go into details, but I'll just say that Andrew and I have broken up several times and always found a way to work things out... This time is very different from all the other times, but in a much better way.

And besides that, so many other things have happened…

Right before GLASS I was totally stressed out and super busy, and once it was over I thought I would be a bit relieved. But like 2 days later one of my best friends (who has also been dating my sister for like 1 1/2 years) lost his mother to cancer. I wasn't that close with her but it really hit me hard and I felt so horrible for his family. I chilled with her a few times and she was a truly beautiful, amazing, artistic, inspiring, and creative woman. One of the coolest moms by far. We are all so young, the reality of losing a mother is atrocious. Then like 2 other people I know (though not closely) passed away too. Then a family member was hospitalized for a critical illness. Today I found out that a very close teacher from my elementary school just died. I know that death is a part of life, but man! This is getting crazy...

So, as you can imagine, the past few weeks have really taken a toll on my emotions. I was in no way capable of playing footbag. Prior to and immediatly after GLASS my biggest concern was that I was turning 20. Once all this shit happened, age or numbers ending in "teen" seem so insignificant. I spent my birthday at a funeral home, Valentine's Day at a funeral. I have learned that pain is a big part of life, and you have to embrace and appreciate it... and truly... savour it... If there was no pain, there would be no pleasure.

Sooooooo this week was a good week. Finally. On the weekend I managed to party with old and new friends, mend broken friendships, get along with Andrew, and feel the footbag vibe again! Matt Cross called me on the weekend cuz he was in the city, and the difference it made in my life is unbelievable. I was just what I needed, and the timing was impeccable.

We played Tuesday night and last night. Tuesday we played with Billy Hladik and Wednesday we played with Adam Greenwood and Paul Toews (who should not be playing due to injuries ). Last night was one of the best nights ever! We played for a few hours and then went to Einstein’s Café & Pub. Andrew stopped by for a bit too. I love chilling with footbaggers; I love you all so much! All my best friends really do play footbag! (Like no joke, I was best friends with footbaggers before we even started playing.) We had so much fun! And I think Matt Cross is Toronto’s lucky charm .

Last night I finally hit something new! Whirl!

And now the longest whirl story ever:

I know that whirl is so small, but it was so awesome, just the way it happened. On Tuesday night I said “I need to do something new… I’m gonna learn whirl.” Now I hardly play (especially lately), and I never skooled whirls. EVER. I simply tried them a couple of times a few months ago, but was nowhere close. So Tuesday I started… I had the motion down, but I was still a bit off. Matt was giving me some tips. Just the fact that I was so close made me feel really good and I said “I’m going to do it tomorrow.” It was a good sesh overall, I was last man shredding, even though I’m not a man and I usually am the last to stop. Then last night when we were shredding I tried whirl a few times, but didn’t work on it too much. When the guys were pretty much done I just started going for it. I tried it over and over and over again. I had a pounding headache so I lied down for a minute. Paul hooked me up with some of his children’s Motrin, so as soon as it kicked in I jumped right back into it. It was like try>drop>try>drop> rpt rpt rpt. I just kept saying “I can do it! I’m going to do it!” The guys were just all standing their watching, all excited with me. Every time I came SO close, but it rolled off my foot or I just missed it, they would groan just like I would! We had planned to smoke a J right after, so while I was trying, Matt said “Earn the weed”. And the next try- I NAILED IT! It came perfectly up and I sealed it with a hand catch! They freaked! It was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so good about hitting a trick. The fact that it happened after the dope comment was so bad yet so hilarious… sigh…

The whole thing felt like when David Clavens was trying double swirl one night in the elevator room at World’s, and we were all watching him; he tried like a million times but did not give up until he sealed it. I know whirl is peanuts compared to double swirl, but regardless, it felt so cool.

Sooooooooooo then we went and indulged in drugs and alcohol! Haha… such a great night. I took some wicked pics and short video clips, I’ll post them in the next couple of days. I’ll post the GLASS report in a bit too.

Now my footbag career needs a lot of work. I know I am not very good, but I know that I can get a lot better. And I am going to fucking do it, dammit!

Adios Amigos!

[Johnny]

Hey Camille! It was nice to read all of that, especially the Whirl story. :d Even I was getting excited at the end... You should definitely play as much as possible even if its only for like 15 mins a day.

And that comment about you being the last 'man' shredding is completely true! Weren't you the last one shredding at GLASS too? I miss GLASS and shredding with everyone soo much.

I'm going to make a trip to Toronto again, one weekend soon. When do you normally session?

[junkyardjew]

Hey Camille, I just wanted to post some encouraging words in your blog. I know shit can get rough, but you've just got to shred the pain away!

It was so much fun shredding with you at GLASS, and I can't wait to do it again. I've got myself a nice 9-5 weekday job this summer, which means i can totally boot it down to toronto for prolonged shred sessions on the weekends. Sound good to you?

Oh yeah, and congrats on hitting twenty! One more year and we can go drink in the US with Matt, eh?

Well, nothing really important to say, just wanted to tell you how cool it is to hear about other people coming back to the footbag after breaks long or short...

[Camilleon]

Aw, thanks guys

Johnny wrote:

And that comment about you being the last 'man' shredding is completely true! Weren't you the last one shredding at GLASS too? I miss GLASS and shredding with everyone soo much.

Yeah I am almost always the last one kicking, but that's probably just cuz I suck and can't do anything serious. When you guys are all done and tired, I'm still up and ready to shred...

I also miss all of you so much! Johnny, you have to come to Toronto! Isn't your March break like super soon? You should spend at least a few days here! Please come, we love you!

You too Jared! I had a lot of fun at GLASS with you as well. My job is 9-5 too, so if you wanna come here any weekend, you can totally crash and shred! Thanks for your encouraging words .

And we don't normally session . If I call people up and bug them enough, we'll end up playing once in a while, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays or Thursdays. I am up for playing any weekday at 6pm or later, and on weekends anytime. ANYTIME. Will someone please play with me?

I'm gonna skool by myself tonite in my living room. It usually pissess my siblings off, so it should be fun .

[mosher]

I think a helpful thing is to have a dependable time that you know people will be meeting and stick to that each week.

That will make it easier for people to plan around your thing as opposed to the other way around.

Keep being awesome.

[Camilleon]

Thanks Tom .

I know what you're saying, but no one is dependable. If I plan something that everyone is just supposed to show up to, I will be there by myself .

Everyone is too busy... ARGH! I hate students!

[Johnny]

Okay, sounds like I'll be in TO sometime during March Break, now I just don't know when. What's the best time for me to go? If I get the facile in by that time I'll bring your 32 with me that way you don't have to wait for it in the mail like I have to wait for my material. BOOO. I'll have to see that whirl of yours you know that right? Have you hit any stepping stuff?

I just had a crazy idea too. We should soooo have an annual Erik Chan Birthday Shred.

[Camilleon]

Johnny wrote:

I just had a crazy idea too. We should soooo have an annual Erik Chan Birthday Shred.

Haha, I thought about that too... The only problem is that Thanksgiving weekend is a very hectic time... I missed most of the Chan sessions cuz I had family shit...

As for the March Break, anytime is good. The weekends are best. I can't wait to get that 32, your bags are sooooooo sweet. I'll hit whirl for you fo sho! I'll probably hit it flipside too...

And I can only do stepping toe stalls ... Oh well... I'll learn more...

I get my daily horoscope emailed to me every day, this is what it said today:

This is no time to fall apart, Camille. It's true, life has you working very hard at the moment. You never seem to have a minute to yourself. It's as if you were holding up the four walls of a house with only two hands! But you don't have a choice in the matter: try using your feet, your head, anything you can, because it's time to finish building that little house for yourself!

It told me to use my feet! If that's not a sign to "shred the pain away", as Jared puts it, I don't know what is!

[Muffinman]

I didn't understand why you were talking to yourself at first

Hey!! You know what else??? It's Tom's birthday around then too!! Me and Tom said that next year (this year?) we should have and Erik Chan/Tom Mosher birthday jam. I forget what we decided to call it. Erik Mosher 23rd birthday jam? Or something??? Because we are the same age, too! hey Camille -- you were there shredding whenever I was, weren't you? I can't wait to come back to Toronto again. It looks like I may be coming around at the end of April, maybe, for a week? (Maybe 3?) Possible. I don't know if I will even be playing then, but if I'm in town for a while I could film you guys and make a Toronto video (There aren't nearly enough of those!!!)

Is your horoscope true?
What's up with Jared? Do you guys play often? Was he at GLASS? IS HE GOING TO MAKE VIDEOS OF YOU GUYS??


PS: your blog is still 100% Canadian!!

[mosher]

PS: your blog is still 100% Canadian!!

Technically untrue, I have a dual citizenship, I am also American.

[C-Fan]

<- me taking an un-Canadian poo in your blog.

[Camilleon]

You guys kill me...

Eric:

Yeah, I remember talking to Tom about the birthday jam thing... didn't you guys come up with several different awesome names for it? Yes, I was shredding when you were there, but not nearly as much as I should have. I always got there late and had to leave early, which was partly becuz I was acting in one of Joyce's films... I also missed out on most of the partying . I did have a lot of fun, though... I guess I'll have to tell my family to forget I exist this Thanksgiving; I'm spending it with my footbag family . We should totally have a big turkey dinner too!

AND, it makes me feel so good everytime someone says they're coming to Toronto . I really hope you make it out here. Spend a week, spend three, it would be amazing! I hope you can play, but if not, filming would be cool. I do plan on making a f.a.t. video as soon as the snow clears and the sun shines. (I CAN'T WAIT!) I've also got a cool video idea for the Toronto Shreditas... yes, all TWO of us... haha... it should be sick .

Annnnd... oh man, there's a lot to write... Jared kinda sorta plays, but I haven't played with him since... um... I guess January? He didn't come to GLASS ... I've played with him like TWICE since Worlds. No joke. He's way too super busy with skool. This is why I said I hate students! (I don't really, I love him and Joyce and Andrew, I just miss them... And Billy is a student and he still makes an appearance.)

Yeah, my horoscope is pretty damn true, it seems that everything is falling down around me and I have to hold it all up... I have so many things I have to do for myself, with no time to do any of them.

I think one of my main problems is that I chill and party too much... Yesterday was Billy's birthday so we were partying at York U... I played for a bit, both before and after I was drinking, in my jeans... I really wanted to try out my new.......





















LAVERS!!! They are so mothafuckin cool! I will post some pics soon. I so didn't even need a new pair, I just couldn't pass them up. You'll see what I mean when I get the pics on here.

I write too much. My wrists hurt. Ta ta.