Juggling Footbag and Life

[jon]

I have been thinking, always a danagerous thing to do ...
How can one aspire to be successful in footbag while having a productive and well rounded life? The older I get the harder it seems to be able to balance footbag and my choosen life style and I can forsee a time when I will have no space in my life for this game.

To be good at footbag, or in the hopes of becoming good I figure the average player needs to spend at a minimum 1 hour a day practicing. A while ago when I had this free time it would have been no problem but as time passes that one hour become increasingly hard to find.

When I look at other sports that require a lot of practice, I can't see many professionals or working people at a high level in their respective sports. In footbag it seems to be even more so, as there are few successful, or what would be considered successful by traditional western standards, players that shred at a high level. Having a significant other, kids, a job, hoobies outside of footbag, friends outside of footbag, leave little time left in the day. Even now without a family and a 'real' job I find it hard to make space for footbag in my life.

Eventually I would like to be in high paying professional career, have a family, kids, the whole nine yards. Being 22 at the moment I hope to have achieved this by the time I am 30. That is does not leave much time. At the moment I commute 2 1/2 hours a day, work 8 hours, try to get to the gym three times a week, hangout with friends, gf, and have time for the rest of the daily tasks everyone must deal with. In order to shred I need to get in the car, drive to the university gym (15 mins away) change, shred, change, drive home. This normally means that I don't play.

One solution I see is living at a location where you can shred. Playing at home seems to eliminate a lot of hassel of traveling to play, which at the moment is a major hurdle for me. Beyond this step I don't really see much that can help. A life with responsibilities family/job does not mesh with footbag.

Modified, does my attitude suck or is my viewpoint valid? Can being good at life and being good at footbag be possible? Or more correctly stated can having a successful well rounded tradition western lifestyle be possible when one is trying to make time for footbag?
If it is possible, then I have to ask why there does not seem to be many players that have achieved this feat?
Thanks Modified.

[fidottio]

There's only so much anyone can do in a lifetime

.. i got stuff to do right now so I can't make long post

EDIT: that smilie looked ugly

[NotHisRealName]

I know what you're saying.
When I first started playing footbag I wnated to be the best in Australia, if not the world. Then, as time went by, my demands and responsibilities began to increase untill I realised that there was no way I would have the commitment to stick with the game and be good.
Now I settle for a two to three hour session a week on a Monday night. I've dedicated that time and a place for footbag. Also, if I have any other free time and someone is keen to play, then I'll shred then, too.
To be good at footbag takes dedication and support. If you want to be among the best for a long time to come, you need to dedicate your life to playing. And you need the support from your family and friends to keep doing so.
The only other option is the one I've taken... to play to have fun and see how good I can get. With smaller goals in footbag, and more responsibilities in life.

[Just call me hagesy]

Totally what gareth said.

Your viewpoint is totally valid.

To be good at footbag you need to dedicate yourself to it.

If you wanna be awesome it is going to be your life i guess.

So i suppose i agree with you. I don't think it is impossible to be good at footbag, and have a balanced and complete lifestyle, but it is most likely improbable.

Good topic.

[Skippy!]

Footbag as a hobby is like anything else as a hobby: you do it when you have time to do it. Although I don't know anything about becoming a total pro..I dunno.

I didn't catch why you can't shred at home? No space I guess?

[BalinorNZ]

There is a good reason why the trend over the last 20 years has been younger and younger world champs. Went from Ken Shults and Peter Irish to Erik Wulff and Scott Davidson and then Ryan and now Vasek, the ages just keep getting lower.
Why is this? Young players have way less responsibility so can afford to play as much as they like.

Your absolutly right in that often, no matter how important footbag is to you, there is no time for it. I have been doing 4 papers at uni this semester, and though I tried a few times to get just half an hour a night in, I just can't, even though I can shred at home. The continuous flow of responsibility (assignments, study etc) means that there is always something else you 'should' be doing when you want to shred, so footbag has to wait till 'after this assignment' which ends up being when semester ends. I guess with a full time job and 2.5 hours of commuting, that leaves very very little time for footbag.

I realise that by the time i'm 22 I won't have much time for footbag, but the time I do have, I want to be able to play well, so the plan is to get as good as possible before I lose my 4 months of holidays a year. That way when I get really busy, I can still bust out without any real practice .

The most frustrating thing is looking back at your progression over a busy time. This semester, I have school my flip fairy, AND THATS ABOUT ALL! Man, it sucks I haven't gotten any better at footbag in the last 5 months because of uni.

So Jon, I feel for u brother! I think the only thing for it is try to cut other stuff out where possible. Be resiliant that you won't work so many hours u can't play, maybe drop the gym, footbag is good enough fitness as is , but definatly maintain relationships over footbag man, your family, friends and Laura all deserve to see more of you than your 32 panel .

Remember, Love > Footbag.