**OFFICIAL**South Side Freestyle Day

[tuomoruutufan]

Yeah im uber pleased with the amount of locals that showed up.

My frequent kicking at the park was all it took. and alot of those kids i never seen before cause they dont skate but they got my flyer. Those kids are all really cool and i stayed until like after the park was closed just talkin with them about how much fun the day was.

now they all want lavers reall bad

[Not-so-ripped Warrior]

Nice to hear about all the interest you've stirred up Shawn. Hope you find a bunch of guys to kick with in your area. Maybe that friend of mine from Oak Lawn is on a vacation or something?? Cuz he hasn't even been online lately.

Thanx Tom for the compliments on my style. That's something I'm always a little concerned with.

And by the way, would you mind e-mailing me those pics as well??
[email protected]

Later

[Zeke]

I haven't had this much fun at a Chicago event in such a long time. Everything just went right. Even though heavy rains were expected that day it only drizzled slighty for a few minutes. The rest of the day was mostly sunny and hot. Most of the Chicago area shredders came out to this. Dozens of southside locals came and kicked with us and I'd like to think that they were blown away at the variety this sport has to offer. We kicked with all different kinds of objects, showed them some kicking and freestyle basics, told them what websites to visit for more detailed info in the sport, taught and played lots of 4 square and just had a great time playing all day. I was extremely pleased to see the more advanced kickers playing with the new ones. I was even more pleased to see the new players gutting it out at 4 square, they hung in there with the bigs boys and showed no signs of quitting... beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Most of the locals had only ever hacked with crocheted bags or some of the Revolution and Freedom sandbags that Kamil and Shawn were selling. They were blown away by some of the more unique kicking objects we were playing with.
-gigantic crocheted footbag, about 5-6 inches in width
-takraw
-chainmail
-shuttlecock kicker

I'll post more and upload pics when I get off work...

OK, on to the 4 square. Technically we played in a 10-12 foot circle that was divided up into 4 sections. There were anywhere from 6-12 people playing at any given time including 2-4 kids that just learned to play. There were so many great rounds, hack-offs and individual plays.

At one point Tom played like a man possed. He's such a great defender! It was almost impossible to land one in his "square". It was an increadible display of grace and confidence. Left foot saves, spinning outside kicks and lunging toe flicks with the same calm cool expression on his face the whole time. Then he would get the footbag back in control and make them think he was simply going to pass it back to them. They would move to try and defend on one side but Tom, with blinding speed, would kick the bag again and make it go the other way, leaving the defender often too stunned to react. It's all fun 'n games until he says, "OK, no more bullshit!"

Then there's Mike. Not nearly as gacefull as Tom to watch but just as talented a defender. But what he lacks in grace he makes up with sheer arrogance. He'll taunt you on the way in and he'll taunt you on the way out, after, of course, he's eliminated you. He gets in your head just long enough to distract you from precision shots just across the line, over your weakside or behind you but just inbounds. His akward kicking style and unpredictability make him very hard to defend against. Glad I don't play with him too often. One thing I did notice though was that he likes hack-offs... even if the vote was in his favor! The man thrives in one on one. But... there was an instance where he was at game point and he served to me (I had next highest score) and we went back and forth for several volleys, neither of us succeeding in knocking out the other, when he suddenly turned to his left and passed it to the unsuspecting newb to win the game. Accident? Or easy way out? Hmmmmm...

Speaking of hack-offs Tom and I had some epic duels with each other. More often than not it took quite a few volleys before one or the other was eliminated. I can remember two instances where I came out on top, but only because he kicked the bag out of bounds or on the line. One play where we were both close to the center of the circle and I managed to kick it wide to my side into wide open court and just out of his reach. He did manage to tip it though. Just another inch closer and the outcome might have been in his favor. I'm sure he knocked me out several times too, I just conveniently forgot

On to amazing single plays. Josh, another shredder from the southside played 4 square for only his second time. A good kicker with lots of energy and fun to watch. He had kicked it wildly and it was headed several feet out of bounds and behind the server. I can remember his arms flailing around as he darted out after it. Grunting, he lunged out with a right toe kick as the bag got closer to the ground but turned his knee outward ever so slighty as he made contact with the bag. To everyones surprise the bag dropped back inbounds right behind the server, who stood for a few seconds in total disbelief with his eyes wide open and jaw dangling from the rest of his head. Everyone else went crazy! I was jumping around in line screaming incoherently, but what else is new?

There was another Mike who provided a few amazing plays. He's about 6'3" and a decent kicker. He was defending his area from the rear edge, but the bag got kicked back to him sooner than he had expected. It was falling into his slice but near the center. His right leg was near the outter edge with almost all his weight on it. Not exactly the ideal position for this play. But somehow he managed to have the time to thrust his left leg akwardly sideways and hit the footbag back up into the air with the side of his shin, I think (my view from the line was partialy obstructed) and the damn thing landed in the king's (aka server) slice. We were all standing there like, "...wwwhhaaaat the hell just happened?" Then while he was king someone kicked it towards his right shoulder, deflecting the bag upwards and out of Mike's site for a few seconds. He bent his leg behind him with his sole facing up while his head shook wildly from side to side as he desperately searched for the bag around him. At this point the bag, increadibly, lands on the outter edge of his sole! I don't think he realized that he cought it until we all started going ape-shit after what we just witnessd. By the time he caught site of it though, the momentum of his head and upper body turning for a better view made the footbag fall. We sounded like this:
Oh shit! It's behind you- what the- WHOOOOOAAA- aaaaawwww!!!!!!

Wow, big-ass post. Sorry, but I'll have to post the pics tomorrow after work.

[CIC flurry]

South Side Jam Pics

Click the link, then right click and save the zip file, then extract it. I hope the spaces in the filename don't cause a problem. Let me know if any problems via PM.

[Reid]

All the pics worked for me thanks