Saturday, April 07, 2012

Anyone Up for a Game?

I get the feeling that people are hungry for something new.

They want something that is active, that isn't mean.

This morning, I discovered a whole slew of web sites about a sport called Pickleball. Pickleball is a cross between badminton and tennis. The game uses paddles and slow balls; so the game is not as fast as tennis, but involves more strategy.

Because the game values strategy over speed, people of all ages can play the game.  In the videos I viewed, people appeared to be having fun.

Because more people can play, pickleball can become part of a more dynamic community than football, basketball or other traditional team sports.

This sport was created in the 1960s. I remember coming across it a long time ago. Wouldn't it be fun to be part of the group that created a new sport?

Way back in the 1980s, I invented a game called juggleball. Juggleball turns the entire concept of a team sport on its head. Most team sports are about vanquishing the opposition team.

The most interesting part of juggling is learning how to toss balls with others. In a toss, both people have a ball and toss it in the air at the same time. Hopefully, the other person will catch it.

You don't have to know how to juggle to play juggleball, you just have to be able to coordinate a toss with another person.

Basically, the sport involves juggle relays. In the sport, you would run with a ball to a base. Coordinate a toss then run to another base. Whoever is best at coordinating tosses with others wins.

In juggleball, people compete to see who is best at cooperating.

I live in a place where people are notoriously close-minded (Utah). In the thirty years since I came up with the idea, I've never been able to find anyone interested in actually living life.

I hope to hit the road this summer. If anyone is interested in taking a leading role in inventing a new social networking sport ... they can contact me.

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