If you’ve opened your eyes over the past month or so while walking around school, there’s a high chance you’ve witnessed a game of hacky sack. Students play it outside, in the gym, and even in the halls during passing time. The first time I saw a game, I paid no mind to it. After the second time (later that same day), I was convinced I had transported into the opening credits of Legally Blonde. Yet by the third incident along with some asking around, I finally established that this was the new school trend of the year.
Hacky Sack was invented in 1972 by two men in Oregon as rehabilitation for a knee injury. In 1977, one of the men formed the National Hacky Sack Association to promote it as a fun semi-active game. In the 80s, the toy company Wham-O officially began producing Hacky Sacks. They exploded in popularity across college campuses and local parks, becoming a new cultural symbol for fun.
My first instinct was to roll my eyes, just as I had at every annual school trend. I couldn’t go anywhere for a week without watching another little huddle form and immediately erupt. I scoffed at the numerous posts about it. But then, I looked closer.
Those same people that I previously watched stare at the phones before gym class now smiled with their friends while experiencing simple joy. The same people I walked by in the hall that were glued to their screens now looked up and acknowledged those around them. I watched kids of all ages from middle school, high school, and even elementary school play as if they were all old friends catching up.
Hacky Sack was invented as a form of physical rehabilitation, but has returned to society as social rehabilitation. It has become a new universal language, much like the infamous six-seven, uniting people one kick at a time.
