I've changed my filming strategy just a bit the last couple of sessions. I was usually recording 3 rallies in a row, kinda when I felt like it. Now, I'm recording just the first rally, starting at the beginning of each new song. It ends up being about the same amount of recording (15 mins over 2 hours) but it sure feels different. There's tons more pressure to "present," and when that one rally sucks, well, it really sucks.

A dream of mine is to get a single rally for an entire song on tape, and send that to the artist. Fat chance of that though; my average rally is less than 30 seconds, and the average song is 4-5 minutes. Still, always good to dream, eh? If I keep at it, I might get lucky and pull one off.

Most of the time, there's a clear winner for the "best rally on tape" that I post for the session. But sometimes, it's tough to decide. Do I go with the 29-contact rally with a good add ratio and a couple torques, or the much longer 60+ contact rally with the much lower add ratio? OK, yeah, I'll usually post the shorter one with the higher add ratio.

I'm past the halfway point for my footbag goals. Another 2 hour session Thursday, for a total of 30:30 for the year. Yee-haw! I'm staying healthy and having a great time.

Thanks for tuning in!

In the summer of 1980, Derrick Fogle,17, went to a party while visiting his older brother in the mountain community of Dillon, Colo. A group of people were standing in a circle, all working together, as they kicked a small bean-filled bag and tried to keep it from hitting the ground. This was the first time that Fogle was introduced to the game of hacky sack, or footbag.

Curious about the game, Fogle joined the circle and tried to get in on the action. “I totally sucked the first time I tried, but nobody cared,” he said. The hacky circle welcomed Fogle and even though it was only his first time, he was encouraged to join.

Before this party, Fogle’s life was a little different. “I wasn't exactly a saint when I was a teenager. I had gotten into a couple brushes with the law already and was likely headed for more,” he said.

After Fogle experienced hacky sack for the first time, he was hooked and he soon got his own hacky sack to start practicing.

“Within two years I had come totally clean, quit the partying and quit the stupid stuff. I was spending my time getting better at footbag,” Fogle said. His partying habits led him to a hobby that changed his life.

Hacky sack showed Fogle the importance of dedication, as he had to work hard to excel at something. “Footbag gave me a spark of passion and a positive direction in my life,” he said.

Fogle grew up in Lawerence, Kan., and brought his passion of footbagging with him from his trip to Colorado. At 19 years old, he won his first freestyle competition, which would be the first of a long list of accomplishments in the sport of footbag.

Competing domestically and on foreign soil in worldwide competitions, he pursued his passion for the sport and avidly wanted everyone to experience the creativity and beauty of footbagging. “I’ve competed in World Footbag Championships [from] roughly 1985-1995; held in various places over the years,” Fogle said. These competitions include places like Boulder, Colo., San Francisco, Montreal and Chicago.

In 2005, after more than twenty years of competing, Fogle was officially inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame. “It was both gratifying and humbling to be recognized by my peers in this way. I love being able to tell people that I am a member of the Footbag Hall of Fame when people stop and ask,” Fogle said.

Today, Fogle lives a simple, quiet life as a Systems Administrator for the University of Missouri. At the age of 47, he no longer competes in freestyle footbag competitions, however, in no way does that mean one cannot find Fogle “dancing” with his bag on the university’s campus. Known as the “Hacky Sack Guy” around MU, he is a living icon of the sport and displays his skills for students to watch about once a week.

“He is amazing at hackysacking and he is very concentrated out there. I am always impressed when I see him displaying his skills,” said Blair Felter, an undergraduate student at MU who is familiar with Fogle and his hobby.

In his basement office, surrounded with computer wires, Fogle sits at his desk, wearing a long sleeve plaid shirt as he goes about his ordinary day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  His work life is far different than his hacky sack life, where he is often shirtless in the middle of a college campus, sweating to his upbeat music as he “hacks the sack.”

Although Fogle leads an average life, he uses his passion of footbag to display another personality. “In 'normal' life, I'm fairly quiet and unassuming. Playing footbag in public is kind of like an alter-ego,” Fogle said.

He added, “Kicking at Speakers Circle is a very flamboyant activity. A couple hours a week balances out the quiet nerd of work life.” His random appearances on campus provide not only entertainment, but more importantly a subtle inspiration for students that encourages hard work and passion of hobbies.

Fogle set a world record in one discipline of footbag and although it has been broken, it still proves his dedication to the sport. He even inspired his wife to become an active footbagger when they first started seeing each other. She currently holds a world record in the women's 5-minute timed consecutives event.

Spending years of his life promoting hacky sack, Fogle never stopped pursuing his enjoyment for the sport. “I wanted to share what footbag had done for me. But at some point in time, I realized that not everybody was going to find their salvation in footbag,” Fogle said.

Fogle and his wife have two children, a daughter, 14, and a son who is 11 years old.  Although hacky sack is such a significant aspect of Fogle’s life, he encourages his children to find their own passions.

“Different people are inspired by different things,” Fogle added when talking about his children’s different interests. “I care far less about specifically what might inspire my children. I care far more that they do become inspired by something, and accomplish something,” he said.

At his age, a healthy lifestyle is important and Fogle’s physically demanding hobby keeps him motivated to continue kicking for as long as possible. Along with the physical benefits, Fogle mentally benefits from his hobby. He is merging a blogging and documentation project about footbag. “[This project] includes the issue of aging, and that helps keep me inspired too,” he said.

Hacky sack is not only a hobby for Fogle, but something that shaped his lifestyle.

Footbag started for Fogle in Colorado, and it persistently stimulates his life in Columbia.  He has been dedicated to footbag for nearly 30 years and he continues to practice his love for the game.

“Just getting out and kicking to some music is pure and simple joy,” Fogle said.

2:25 / 28:30 Thanks for tuning in!

Man.... 23 days since my last post. That suxorz. Of course 4 days of that was because I forgot my camera at a friend's place south of town when I went there after my session last Thursday. Just remember: only users lose cameras.

I was WAY ahead on my kicking goal, but now, I'm just barely ahead. I've been busy with work, family, and stupid distractions, and ended up missing 2 weeks in a row. In that time, the chilled water pipe construction project on Speaker Circle has begun. I won't be kicking there this summer, and I have no idea how it will be reconstructed when they finish. My first "after speaker circle" session is in Walnut Street park in downtown "The District" Columbia MO.

The session was barely an hour, and kinda shaky at that. At least I managed to get a pair of torques (one sealed) on tape. Boo-yah! I'm just worried that the destruction of Speaker Circle will sap my enthusiasm to kick. So my plan is to do a "tour of Columbia" thing this summer; each week a different spot. It's just weird acclimating to new kicking venues. I'll be trying out the new area in front of our new City Hall soon. Maybe I'll even get video of being chased off.

I will be posting another article a student did on me for an assignment soon. So stay tuned!

I've never felt so un-affected by the wind before. I guess I've just gotten used to it? I won't claim to have been shredding the high add stuff (although I did hit my torques, blenders, and a paradox whirl) but it sure felt good. I was keeping the bag off the ground, and gettin creazy with the dance hacky stuff. I like it that way!

Both Pandora and Last.fm fail me again, insisting on feeding me ambient and slow stuff, when I want the rockin funky beat for footbag. I swear I've never favorited or recommended any of the tunes I get when I select "my recommended" last.fm station. That feature is really just a corporate sales tool. Speaking of which, I really need some new stuff for my own library too. Just not the crap last.fm is trying to sell me. In the meantime, I hope Timbuk 3 is obscure enough; I don't think I've posted a video using that tune before now.

I only got in 1:45 before my muscles started cramping up this time. I was really going hard at it the whole time, but I can usually make it past 2 hours. What's up with that? Oh well. I think I need to drink less coffee, and eat more bananas. Still not bad considering I was only planning to do an hour in the wind.

The sad part is, this may be one of my last Speaker Circle sessions for a while. The area will be closed off and torn up in a couple more weeks to install new chilled water lines. Once they shut the place down, it may be next spring before I can kick there again. I hope they don't change / ruin it when they put it back together. I think the circle is just right the way it is. When the semester is over, and the circle is closed off, I'm planning to switch back to evening sessions on Stankowski field. The field has lights; I can kick after dark!

25:05 - Thanks for tuning in!

71 contacts on this one (I think). I had some crazy awesome rallies today - like hitting both torques and both blenders without a drop, and just keeping the bag off the ground for a few. This is more like the springtime shredding I've been imagining!

I got down there early. Public performers know how intense turf competition can be. I stakez out my spot!  I started off listening to Pandora, but was disappointed by it, and then Last.fm too. Oh well. Back to my personal library, I guess. It's always good for some jamz! A couple other guys came by and kicked with me for a bit, too. After almost 2-1/2 hours, my legs were cramping up on me, and I was 'saved' (from over-shredding) by Mr. Bible Science Theater guy.

23:20 total, and a great time on Speaker Circle today!

It's been a great spring so far. Lots of good weather. I drilled some garden seeds the first warm weekend in early March; those puppies sprouted and are growing like crazy! I dream of springtime bringing out my shred, but...

Not so. Maybe this time it was being discombobulated from the Speaker Circle thing, having to go somewhere else. Maybe it was the wind again. But I'm still really struggling to ratchet up the shred factor. Am I really that old? (don't answer that).

2:00/21:00 Thanks for tuning in!

v

A couple people I know stopped by to say hi, and another guy I never met before stopped and hacked for a bit. I wasn't getting squat going on the shredding; I will blame the poor lighting, and the wind. But... I had a great time hamming it up for passers-by, getting a few people to stop and check me out for a bit.

Now for  the heartbreaking news: I apparently lost one of my footbags! I had been breaking in 2 Abshire bags, and had been developing a bit of a preference for this one. I swear I'm so careful, always making sure I've got my footbags before I leave! I swear I double and triple checked to make sure I had them. But, my footbag was missing the next morning. Sad Face!

I don't even know how long I played. I forgot to check my watch at the start. I'm calling it an hour twenty, for 19 total hours this year.

Thanks for tuning in!

"It's like a carnival out here today!" one girl said.

The big MU Blood Drive is going on this week, and today they had a big tent set up and tables and all in the middle of speaker circle. I had to kick off to the side. Good deal, had a great time. I got this 43-contact rally on tape, and had a couple even better rallies off camera.

Two solid hours out there today. Forgot the sunscreen again, I'm fried! Physically, mentally, and on top of my bald head. It's kinda funny sometimes, people will tell me I'm the best hacker they've ever seen, and I've got to admit there are guys out there that make me look like I got broken legs. "There are guys that can go around the bag twice or more for every time I can do it once." I say. They're usually less than half my age, too.

Sessions will be irregular for now, happening whenever I can get a nice day. But I'll be sure to vid and blah about it.

Thanks for tuning in!

Springtime is finally here - I can say less, and show more!

Presenting the first outdoor session of 2010, complete with as-promised "first rally" - plus more! Teh h4x0r is s0 plz w/weath0rz!

I definitely didn't realize the camera was rolling when the student from the Missourian caught me for some questions. One of their photographers was there, and The Maneater was there snaping shots too. I had a couple awesome rallies today, got some genuine props from the audience, put in an hour and a half, and best of all, I'm "marking my territory" by the first of all the speaker circle freaks to bloom!

Thanks so much to the peeps that hung out and watched today - l0v3z teh energies!

Thanks for tuning in, hope there's more outdoor next week!