Hackin’ the Sack

Hackin’ the Sack. If you are a slow runner or can’t jump to save your life foot bag is the game for you. Foot bag, known today as hacky sack, was invented in 1972 by John Stalberger and Mike Marshall of Oregon City, Oregon. Recovering from knee surgery, John Stalberger decided he wanted to find a fun way to rehabilitate his knee. Mike Marshall is the one who actually created the first hacky sack. He created a hand-made bean bag and was kicking it around. During the time of John Stalberger’s recovery the two decided to kick around the bean bag for fun. They ended up turning it into a game and calling it Hackin’ the Sack.

Later on the two men collaborated and marked their new game under the trademark of “Hacky Sack®”. Different varieties of the sport of Hacky Sack have now came into play including “Freestyle Footbag” where players stand around in a circle and pass the hacky sack while doing tricks and there is also “Footbag Net” where players try and volley a Hacky Sack over a 5-foot-high net. The rules for playing freestyle are 1. No hands (except when serving) and no arms – shoulders are allowed in the average circle but are technically forbidden. 2. Always pass the sack to someone else when serving (unless you are playing alone). . Don’t hog the bag. This is a co-op game. If there are others playing please share. 4. Never say sorry! When you are passing the hacky sack and another player misses do NOT under any circumstances apologies. Everyone makes mistakes. 5. Don’t pass from the knee. Most likely if you try and to pass the sack from the knee it will go straight to the ground before the other play can get it. 6. Don’t play with a drink in your hand. It is nearly impossible to keep your hand and eye coordination going and you will only get frustrated and possibly lose the hacky sack.

General tips while “Hackin’ the Sack” starts with proper foot wear. So ladies please do not try and play in high heels someone might get hurt. The most common footwear would have to be a nice snug, mid cut sneaker. Although preferences do vary from bare feet to boots. The second tip would be using the perfect service to play on. If you are playing out in the street on the pavement make sure you are paying attention to your surroundings. There are a lot of cars out there that you will have to dodge and make sure you stay away from all sewers you really don’t want to lose your sack down one of those.

Grass is also a good ideal for playing freestyle even though it is a little more difficult to play on, but eventually you will grind away the grass and have a nice area of dirt to play on. Mike Marshall died of a heart attack in 1975, at the age of twenty-eight. Stalberger continued with the “Hacky Sack” cause and formed the National Hacky Sack Association. He later sold the rights for the Hacky Sack® Footbag to Kransco (operating under the Wham-O label), which also manufactured the Frisbee flying disc.