As finals start to roll around and everyone starts to get excited for the summer, the dread for finals comes looms over all of the students. With procrastination and stress merged, hacky sacks, or foot sacks, have taken over every corner of the school. Similar to q-tips or cuties, the name “hacky sack” is a brand name and the sport is originally called “foot sack”. Foot sack is traditionally a game that takes a weighted ball kicked up in the air using a person’s foot or any other body part excluding the hands. Players can rally, which is hitting the sack trying to get the most amount of hits, or players can play games like red dot. Cooper Mills (9) explains, “Red Dot is when you set a certain goal of hits or people that touch the hacky sack. And if you meet that goal, then someone gets to catch it and throw it at someone.”
This game became popular towards the end of the school year. One reason it became so popular was the social aspect of it. “You just show up and hop in; and everybody’s willing to let you join pretty much. It’s a really nice community building,” said Henry Walker (10). Since hacky sack is a game that is usually played in a circle of people, it’s a natural way to bond with new people in the circle. Even if the people in the circle are people that have never interacted before, if they are in the same period or even just stopped by, they can socialize and decompress from the stress. “I would say [I] usually [play hacky sack with] people who are in my lunch. There’s not really a set group. That’s what I love about hacky sacking. You can go in and out. It doesn’t have to be a set team or anything,” said Portia Richards (12).
Many people think that hacky sack is helping kids stay focused and stay off their phones. Henry Holderman (9) said, “Kids have gotten their heads out of the gutter and into the sack.” Spanish teacher and hacky sack lover Edgardo Parada also feels that this wave of hacky sacking has been for the better. “Definitely a good thing. I’ve seen so many less phones out. People are actually having fun laughing, enjoying, and learning something new,” said Parada.
Although many are loving this recent increase in hackey players, “sacking”, as its called, doesn’t appeal to all people, including Kelsey Kiernan-Johnson(10). “Having crowds of people playing hacky sack in the hallways is unsafe because this group shoved me into the lockers once… I also don’t like when people take off their shoes to play hacky sack, especially with the flip-flop epidemic as well,” said Kiernan-Johnson. Aiden Nelson (9) argues the opposite. “[Hacky sack] is Not at all [dangerous], it’s just a fun game with friends,” said Nelson.
Stay on the lookout for hacky sackers all over the school. “[We play] in the student center in the little locker outcoves or outside” said Cooper Mills (9).
