At McCarthy Quad, new hacky sack club is born

On a sunny day before spring break, Adam Novak sat on the lawn of McCarthy Quad reading a book which caught the eye of Ryan Lavin, a fifth-year student majoring in computer science and business administration. After introducing himself and chatting with Novak, Lavin soon left and began playing hacky sack by himself nearby. 

Novak, who also enjoys hacky sack, jumped in and practiced with Lavin. They talked about the hacky sack clubs they each formed in high school and decided to co-found Happy Sack at USC. 

“We weren’t early enough [in the year] to become an official club, but we thought we would still bring the community together,” said Novak, president of Happy Sack and a senior majoring in computer science and East Asian languages and cultures.

Lavin, vice president of Happy Sack, has been hacky sacking since fourth grade. He said it is a collaborative, freestyle sport where players kick the hacky sack to each other in various ways. Typically, the knee is used as a hinge to allow the player to kick the hacky sack with the side of the foot. 

“It’s really just juggling the ball with your feet and whatever creative way you can think of to keep the ball in the air whether it be with your knee, your shoulder, your feet,” Lavin said. “It doesn’t really matter if you hit it with your hand one time … It’s very relaxed.”

When Happy Sack was formed, Novak created a website, logo, posters, as well as a GroupMe so that those interested could find the club and get updates.

Melody Mok, treasurer of Happy Sack and a senior majoring in communication, said everyone is welcome to join the club and that it is an inclusive environment.

“Every week we’ve had a new group of people coming in,” Mok said. “It’s really fun to see everyone’s skill levels and how we would move the game around to adjust to preferences.”

Happy Sack meets Mondays at 5 p.m. at McCarthy Quad.

A hacky sack game the club members enjoy playing is called Shark. The hacky sack is kicked between the group and after the third person kicks it, a player can catch it and throw it at someone who is then out of the game.

“We have also just done fun drills and throwing it between each other,” Lavin said. “There’s so many ways with such a versatile ball. There’s really almost anything you can do with it.”

The players standing in a circle within a yard or two away from each other often inspires good conversations in the group as they play. Lavin said the hacky sack club sometimes duals as a philosophy club.

“We coined the term ‘decentralize your happiness’,” Lavin said. “It’s the idea that … you shouldn’t base your happiness off of one person. You should try and find a few people, so in case one person isn’t around or unavailable, you are able to rely on others to get you that social satisfaction that as humans, social creatures, we all crave.”

Ideas are talked about and worked through during hacky sack sessions that bring the group together. 

“A lot of times we’ll bring in new ideas to the mix, and I feel like that’s one of the beautiful parts of an inclusive and diverse group that we’ve got going on,” Mok said. 

The hacky sacks themselves are also as diverse as the players in the club. Some hacky sacks are filled with sand or metal beads. They come in many patterns, colors and some glow in the dark.

“I’ve been collecting hacky sacks my whole life,” Lavin said. “I’ve never gotten the same color twice.”

When asked about their favorite thing about hacky sack, the members agree that the best thing is it can be played anywhere.

“You can bring it with you anywhere,” Novak said. “All you need is a little hacky sack and you can all of a sudden create a pastime.”

Despite hacky sack being a niche sport, Lavin said he has connected with lots of people through it. 

“I play in public a lot so sometimes people jump in and talk to me about it,” Lavin said. “It’s a very welcoming, friendly community of people who just love shared activities. Personally, I espouse the values and I admire the values that the sport emits.”