The Sack is Back: Hacky sack craze sweeps Connecticut high schools
At Staples High School in Westport, the weather is heating up, and so are the baseball team’s bats.
The Wreckers are 13-5, and their recent offensive surge may be connected to a new but old trend taking over the school hallways.
“If you had told me that hacky sack was going to be a big thing a month ago, I would have probably called you crazy,” said Jules Cicero, a Staples senior second baseman.
The hackey sack is a small beanbag ball that some may remember from their time in school in the 90s or early 2000’s. Now, the craze is back and catching fire in high schools across the country.
“Honestly, I saw some great tricks online, and I just was like, can I do that?” Staples senior third baseman and relief pitcher Mark Kelly said.
If you’re a four-star talent, like Kelly, then the answer is yes. At least according to the Staples hacky sack social media page, where players earn ratings and can show their highlights.
Staples is not the only school seeing the resurgence of the hacky sack.
Accounts dedicated to the sport ranked the Wreckers as the fifth-best hacky sack school in the country.
Competition is stiff because everyone is trying their hand… foot… at it.
“I kind of learned it from our lacrosse team, that they got on it first,” Cicero said. “And then we picked it up, and now everybody’s picked up on it.”
Staples Athletic Director VJ Sarullo said the hacky sack trend is having kids being more active and outside, “like we enjoyed 25 years ago.”
And for Staples baseball, this trend may be paying off.
“It’s become a superstition for me now,” Kelly said. “It’s a way to get the competition out of the way, get the nerves out of the way.”
Coach Jack McFarland said it’s great for his players’ hand-eye coordination and improves their eye movement.
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