Major: Political Science
Year: Junior
Hometown: Ballston Spa, NY
Extracurriculars: Model UN, Red Cross
Favorite Animal: Wolf
Most influential book: Harry Potter
Everyone on campus knows exactly who you’re talking about when you say these three little words: Hacky Sack Kid. Without a doubt, Dan is one of the most recognized students on campus due to his mad skills when it comes to playing foot bag, as it is technically named. If you’ve never been witness to his incredible talent, you might be able catch him on Padua beach, if you’re lucky!
Her Campus Siena: How did you get started with foot bag?
Dan: I actually got started in high school when one of my friends in gym class brought a hacky sack and I was like “Oh, that’s cool, I should start doing that”, and I’ve been doing it ever since. One of my friends, Matt Kemmer, who introduced me to a sub-branch of Hacky Sack called freestyle foot bag, which has a lot of tricks and different movements involved, and he has been teaching me since May of last year. He really acts as my mentor with foot bag; he graduated from here two years ago, and still makes regular visits. I’m a mentor to a student named Natalie, she’s an RA in Ryan and is just getting started with kicks and things.
HC Siena: How many hours in a week would you say you practice?
Dan: It varies, but I would say about seven hours a week.
HC Siena: Are there competitions and conferences for foot bag?
Dan: Yeah, there are world championships and things like that, the most recent world championship happened in Paris, a few weeks ago, and the winner was a US competitor, Evan Gatesman, who I met recently in New York City in an East Coast Foot Bag competition.
HC Siena: Did you compete in this competition?
Dan: Yeah. There were about 30-40 competitors. It was my first formal competition.
HC Siena: What are your goals for foot bagging?
Dan: I have a lot of time and energy to put into it, and at the competition I was at, most competitors were graduate-level, 25 or 26ish, so I have the time to put into it to become basically an expert, and be really competitive.
HC Siena: That’s really cool, I had no idea foot bag was that in depth. For a person wanting to start out foot bagging, what advice would you give them?Dan: I would say take the time to really master the foundations, basic kicks and stalls, that kind of thing, before moving on to tricks.
HC Siena: Very cool! So what are your plans after college?
Dan: I’ve been looking into graduate schools, hopefully to get my masters degree in international affairs, humanitarian efforts, that sort of thing. Career wise, I’m looking into working in NGO’s, maybe going into the peace corps, that kind of thing.
HC Siena: What would you say has been your favorite class at Siena so far?
Dan: That’s hard… I would probably have to say my First Year Seminar class with Kevin Olbrice, he’s a philosophy teacher.
HC Siena: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Dan: I really like it here in the US, but if I had to choose somewhere else, I would probably go to a scandinavian country. I haven’t visited any, but from what I’ve heard, they seem to be doing pretty well.
HC Siena: If you could offer advice to an incoming freshman, what would you say?
Dan: Don’t be afraid to experience new things and get yourself out there and get involved.