Local hacky sack guru is hall of famer

by Maggie Hardwick, posted Nov. 18, 2011

'Do a Torque, followed by a Drifter, then a Paradox and finish with a Nemesis.' While this may seem like nonsense to some, this is common knowledge to any serious hacky-sacker like Derrick Fogle.

Fogle has been kicking the hacky sack at Speakers Circle on MU campus for more than 15 years. He likes the encouragement that students offer by simply stopping to watch.

"I saw him the first time during summer welcome," said Sophia Mantzios, MU freshman business major. "We were all lined up around Speaker Circle. This guy was doing the hacky sack for at least 10 minutes and the whole time he was there, he didn't mess up. I think it's really cool because I can't hacky sack at all."

"I've always played in very public spaces to keep footbag in the public eye," Fogle said. "Speakers Circle is a unique and wonderful, visually appealing, physically appropriate space for playing footbag."

Fogle is no newcomer to the footbag arena. He was first introduced to hacky sack in Dillon, Colo., 30 years ago and has been kicking ever since.

"There weren't any winners or losers, just an offbeat and inviting activity," Fogle said. "It was a really cool experience, and I wanted to get better so I could actually kick the bag in hacky circles. I bought one, and the rest is history. I was hooked."

The terms used earlier: Torque, Drifter, Paradox, and Nemesis are all tricks that footbag players can do in a routine. The creator of the move usually gets to name it. Every move also has a difficulty rating.

"The difficulty rating is based on points for stalls, contacting the bag across your body, going around the bag, and body moves like spinning, that's used for scoring in competitions," Fogle said.

Fogle was inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame in 2005.

According to their website, The Footbag Hall of Fame honors people who have "contributed greatly to footbag's growth since 1972, when it was first invented." Hall of Fame members must be involved in the sport for at least 15 years before being eligible for a nomination. Nominees are also judged on their leadership, which is based on many things, like innovation, teaching and promotion, among many other things.

"It's very rewarding to have other footbag players acknowledge that I've had even the tiniest fraction of influence on footbag, as footbag has had on me," Fogle said.

When students aren't on campus, Fogle often kicks downtown at Liberty Plaza in front of City Hall.

No matter where Fogle goes, he usually brings his music and his video camera. He posts videos of his kicking on YouTube every week. He is currently working on a project that documents how the aging process affects an athlete who participates in such a demanding sport like footbag. Fogle also uses this to keep his online followers up-to-date and develop his online persona.

The music Fogle plays is also very important to his kicking. He has a playlist with about 25 hours of music on it. The playlist includes many different kinds of music, from classic rock, R&B, pop, electronica and funk. The music is important because Fogle's kicking is about "kick dancing." This means that he tries to do his moves to the music as much as possible.

"Most footbag players are all about how technically difficult the moves they can do are," Fogle said. "I'm all about how well I can play and flow and 'kick dance' to the music."

Choosing the footbag is even more important than the music played. Footbags can be filled with many things like plastic pellets, steel pellets, tire chips and even cherry pits. Picking the right footbag is essential to good kicking.

Clothing is also another important element to being good at footbag. The kicker must choose an outfit that doesn't interfere with the footbag. Fogle chooses his outfit carefully before going out to kick. He wears nylon shorts that are water-resistant, low-cut ankle socks, his footbag shoes and no shirt. He chooses to wear no shirt because it gets in the way of the footbag.

"I grew up in an era where it was common and accepted for men to go shirtless," Fogle said. "So, I go shirtless when I kick. I'm sorry if it puts some people off. It's primarily just a functionality thing."

Fogle kicks all year around in an undisclosed location he has deemed as the "Secret Hideout." Fogle can't use his video camera in the "Secret Hideout," and admits that finding places to kick all year around can be a hassle.

Fogle isn't the only one who enjoys footbag. His wife of 25 years used to travel to footbag tournaments with Fogle and helps him run tournaments. Although she doesn't kick much anymore, Fogle said she still holds a world record in the women's division of footbag. Fogle also has a 16-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old son.

"My daughter has joined me in casual hack circles a few times, but I don't push footbag on them at all," Fogle said. "They've got to find their own thing."

Besides enjoying footbag, Fogle also enjoys his job. Fogle has more than 30 years of experience in technology and works in Audio/Video Technology for MU. Fogle has been interested in computers his whole life and saw some of the first IBM personal computers and Apple Macintoshes.

"He's rather laid back and chilled out," said Sterling Grimsley, coworker of Fogle. "Derrick actually has a pretty good sense of humor and wit, which always can make for a pleasant work atmosphere."

Footbag means a lot to Fogle, and he loves it. He considers footbag his "spark of passion" and something that gave him a challenge and drive to work hard to get better. Because of this importance, he felt the need to continue playing, sharing and promoting kicking.

"Today, I play because I still love it," Fogle said. "It's still my personal salvation. It still does as much for me, means as much to me, as it ever did."

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