At lunch, throughout the halls, and even at prom, groups of Bulldogs have been found gathering in circles and kicking around what is much more than just a small bag–Bulldogs are bringing back the old-school hobby of playing hacky sack.
As students continue to help fuel the rise of playing hacky sack, the trend has become more than a casual pastime. Students have found that the activity helps them get movement throughout the day, socialize, and relieve stress, especially during the busy, end-of-year weeks of final projects and AP testing.
The game has become a common sight around the building and continues to attract new fans every day.
“I first saw stuff online about hacky sacking,” sophomore Keeley Billings said. “Then it seemed like everyone was talking about getting one, and then everyone at school was out in the hallways playing. I started playing recently, and even though I wasn’t really good at it at first, it wasn’t hard to pick up on and was really fun.”
The rapid growth of the trend among the school is a mystery to many as it progressed at an unexpectedly quick pace, but the universality of the game makes it easily accessible for many different groups to get together and play.
“I think a lot of people are enjoying playing because it can include a lot of people so it’s really inclusive,” junior Michelle Scully said. “I also feel like since it’s the end of the year, people are kind of bored at school, so it’s something new and fun for everyone to do together.”
Although many students see hacky sacking as a new trend on the internet and at the school, the game has actually gone through many waves of popularity. Its recent comeback to the younger generation mirrors the popularity the game held in the late 80’s to early 90’s and has teachers remembering familiar game from their high school and college years.
“Hacky sacking is not a new thing,” history teacher Alice Arnold said. “It’s totally something from my generation, a total 90s thing. It’s interesting to see how old trends come back around again.”
For some Bulldogs, their introduction to the hobby began through their team, with the baseball team widely known around the school for their hacky sack expertise. At first, it seemed like the baseball team was partaking in a new game that would remain underground; however, it would soon expand across teams and other groups after its popularity among the team.
“I was introduced to hacky sacking from my teammates on the baseball team,” sophomore Daniel House said. “Our baseball team plays hacky sack before practices and games because it’s a fun team bonding activity that also gets us warmed up and makes everyone laugh.”
Even those who do not own their own hacky sack or who have not played regularly have been able to see the game’s growing popularity among the school and enjoy seeing how something can bring groups of people together and keep kids off of their screens.
“I originally saw the hacky sack trend online,” sophomore Collins Fullterton said. “I talked to some of my friends about how it seemed cool and one of them bought a sack. We started playing and more people started to join in.”
With what seems like more and more students joining the hacky sack circles every day, the trend appears to have secured its place alongside Nee-Dohs and flip flops as a memorable moment of the 2025-2026 school year.
“I wasn’t expecting a hacky sack to make it past the baseball team,” sophomore EJ Belknap said. “I’m hoping the trend lasts because it seems to be encouraging teamwork and physical activity.”
