Hacky sack has made a comeback this year and has ramped up substantially over the past month at Grayslake Central, seemingly out of nowhere. At first, it seemed contained to GCHS, but lately it has come up on social media, in other schools in Illinois, and has become a common topic of conversation between friends and at home.

GCHS senior and baseball player Luke Eckenstahler claims to be the person who revitalized hacky sack at Grayslake Central. Eckenstahler said “It was [at] one hitting lesson with Soren Hanson and I got them from Christmas from my uncle and I brought them out, and Soren thought we should start playing” and it evolved to be “at practice.”

Eckenstahler runs the GCHS Hacky Sack Instagram account, and his friends Soren Hansen, Jonathan Malloy, and Charlie Surowiec like to help out and show GCHS students different tricks and games you can do with a hacky sack.

Students Bryce Carlson and Logan Marshall were asked about the newly rediscovered sport of hacky sack. Carlson, a varsity baseball player, said, “It’s something new and it’s an interesting sport… It’s kind of unusual, but it’s fun.” Carlson and Marshall both agreed that the people on the baseball team were the ones to bring it to Central this semester. Marshall said that the reason it’s fun is because “It’s something different… it’s like a childhood game to keep up.” This seems to be the common appeal, with hacky sack being a “throwback” from the 80’s and 90’s.

GCHS math teacher Matt Bridges said, “it’s something people can relate to… It was the thing we did when we were kids, and to see it come full circle. I believe it’s kind of the nature of life.” Bridges said that it can be a distraction, but overall it’s a productive activity that’s definitely better than just scrolling on your phone.

Senior and avid hacky sacker Jack Velez said that hacky sack is “a good way for our team to bond and it’s also fun and cool to do different tricks.”