In 1971 two friends in Oregon came up with a game to help one of them rehab a knee injury; this game became a staple of the college community. Hacky sack is a simple game played with a small bean bag in a circle of people.
The goal?
Everyone must touch the bag using anything but their arms and without letting the ball hit the ground. Hacky sack quickly spread around the US, due to its easy-to-learn rules and friendly atmosphere. The only issue is that the game’s popularity has been decreasing since the 80’s. Tabor Academy needs to bring it back.
The only equipment needed is a hacky sack (capitalized only when referring to the brand name, not when referring to the activity in general—we checked) and a beautiful day, so playing on campus in the spring or fall should be mandatory. The lack of rules also makes the game extremely easy to play. Besides not being able to use either arm, people can hit the bean bag with anything they want, provided they do not serve themselves. There is also no limit on the number of hits you can have, how spread-out people must be, or even how many people can play. The game is truly welcoming of all levels. Given that moves are easy to learn, people can pick it up in moments.
However, the game isn’t always simple. There are many tricks you can learn to increase the level of play. One of the common moves is a stall, where the player holds the ball with some part of their body mid round. Common stalls include the foot stall, chest stall, and shoulder stall. For those at the even higher level, you can use hat stalls, back stalls, and even face stalls.
Hacky sack is truly a welcoming game that embraces friendship, teamwork, and the outdoors to create a positive experience for all players. Furthermore, you can choose your level of difficulty so it can be super relaxed and chill, or a chance to show off some tricks. Whether you have played before or are new to the sport, hacky sack is an amazing way to spend some time with friends.
