What is a Hacky Sack?

Hacky Sack is the name of a footbag and the game that is played with it. The game was developed from therapeutic play with a handmade beanbag. The sport incorporates principles of volleyball, tennis and soccer in different versions of the game.

History

Hacky Sack was invented in 1972 in Oregon City, Oregon, by Mike Marshall and John Stalberger.

Significance

Marshall was kicking a beanbag around as therapy after knee surgery. This is how Stalberger met him, and the two brainstormed and developed the concept of the Hack the Sack game.

Identification

The handmade beanbag ball was later designed and trademarked by Stalberger and Marshall. They named it Hacky Sack.

Considerations

They also changed the name of the game from Hack the Sack to footbag so it would become easily known.

Time Frame

Stalberger continued to promote and market both Hacky Sack and the footbag sport after Marshall died of a heart attack in 1975. He developed the National Hacky Sack Association, then later sold the rights to the Kransco company.

Types

There are four types of footbag games. Footbag Consecutive is played with the objective of keeping the ball off the ground using only your knees and feet. Footbag Net is played as singles or doubles over a 5-foot volleyball-like net. Footbag Golf is won by the least number of kicks to reach the goal. Footbag Freestyle is an artistic competition of footbag routines.

Features

There are nine divisions of the footbag game: open, women's, novice, intermediate, under-12, junior, master, grand master and senior grand master.

Resources

• Official Rules of Footbag Sports
• International Footbag Players' Association
• Wham-O