Emergence of the footbag originates in the 70th years of the 20th century. There was it, one may say, almost accidentally. John Stalberger from the city of Oregon, the USA, initially just used the small meshkoobrazny ball with filler to develop the sore knee. Then he and his friend Mike Marshall thought of popularizing this game. At first the game was called "Hack the Sack". In the 90th years it found mass popularity and became organized sport.
At the moment there are 2 main types of the footbag.
Freestyle the footbag – single sport: during the competitions the player carries out the demonstration performance consisting of various combinations with run. Referees estimate choreography, the variety and complexity of combinations, feeling of the rhythm and also agility of the player.
Netgeym the footbag – team sport: the team of players legs throws the ball over 1.5 meter goal net. This game is mix of big tennis and volleyball. For the game use the small shapeless ball from materials of suede or leatherettes filled with any substance – whether it be salt, sand, granules from plastic and other fillers.
Than this sport is useful?
Game in the footbag contributes to the development of coordination and fast reaction, develops muscles of legs, improves the all-physical condition of the organism, normalizes breath, leads to blood circulation improvement. This amusing game not only is interesting and entertaining, but also is useful to all organism in general.
How to begin?
It is possible to begin to be engaged in the footbag independently. Now the mass of materials is available to training. The ball for the game can be bought in specialized shop or to sew most. The clothes should be chosen convenient, not constraining the movement at the game. For occupations the footbag it is very important to pick up footwear correctly. It has to be, first of all, easy and have the wide sock and the wide internal part of foot – it will provide ease of the movement and will allow to catch the ball more simply. Having learned the number of tricks and having reached the certain skill, it is possible to participate in competitions which are held annually in the different cities.
You shouldn't confuse the footbag with hacky sack. Hacky sack became popular in our country in the 90th years while the footbag became known at the beginning of two-thousand. Hacky sack is very similar to the footbag, but, in fact, it isn't sport. Hacky sack is the game which doesn't have accurate rules, the system of the sudeyst and not demanding the certain preparation. Group of people, standing in the circle, just throws among themselves the small ball and enjoys process of the game. The footbag is recognized sport and has the number of accurate rules.