What’s that? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a hacky sack soaring through the hallway. This is a situation Edina High School students know all too well, as the popularity of the sack has grown over the past four years. It’s a don’t-let-the-ball-touch-the-ground style game revolving around a small crochet sack filled with beans or rice. Once a ’90s college sensation, hacky sack has surged to new heights, reaching schools across borders, all united through the love of the game.

“It’s more than just hacky sack, it’s the community, it’s a social outlet for everyone to interact with more people [and] get to know each other,” senior varsity sacker Ryan Sullivan said.

Until recently, students could be found in clusters around EHS any time during school hours, enjoying a quick game. Hacky sack fosters teamwork, agility, and most importantly, connection.

“The main reason I like hacky sack is the community. I’ve never been in an activity where all the people love each other so much,” senior varsity sacker Henrik Mills said. “One of our favourite rules is no ‘sorry’s, because there are no mistakes in hacky sack, only happy accidents.”

While the values of the sack foster the ideals and principles of EHS, the administration has banned playing it. On May 8, they circulated an email explaining that hacky sack is no longer permitted within the walls of the high school. Now, the game can only be enjoyed outdoors.

“I was shocked. A ban. For what?” Mills said after hearing the news. “I found out a couple of small reasons why there was a ban. I don’t think certain isolated incidents should be affiliated with the entire hacky sack community.”

Administration cited concerns over people getting injured from stray sacks and interruptions to hallway traffic as cause for the ban, yet members of Edina Sackers believe simple precautions can eliminate this risk.

“I think if we ban hacky sack as a whole, we are just stripping away this new, important social outlet that all high schoolers have now, but if we strip away one part of it, like pelt, I think we can come to a good compromise,” Mills said.

Pelt is a style of game where, after a certain number of hits, players chuck the sack at someone, and it is more popular within unofficial sack groups that have developed around the school. However, the Edina Sackers do not condone this practice and believe it has resulted in accidents where a stray sack has hit a bystander, resulting in the restriction.

Despite the ban, students have stayed consistent, and protest efforts have begun within the hacky sack community. Posters have been put up throughout the high school with slogans like “Peace. Love. Hacky sack,” and “Hacky sack banned? I guess I’ll just scroll on my phone instead.” Ideas of dramatic initiatives, such as a walkout, have also circulated but have yet to come to fruition.

“I don’t think the administration can just turn off the switch [and say] that there is no more hacky sack,” Sullivan said. “I think I knew from the beginning that there was going to be some sort of push back from the hacky sack community.”

Resistance against the ban is proof that it has hurt more than just game play; it has broken hearts of those dedicated to the cause.“I was devastated. I was on my way to the normal hacky sack spot when I found out about [the ban]. I almost shed a tear,” senior varsity sacker Max Grayville said.

Even with the heightened emotions among players after the ban, the Edina Sackers have a lasting message they want to leave.

“I think it’s important to let the students and staff know that we will sack,” Mills said. “This is our game, we can’t stop sacking because of the ban.”