Jugglers come out to play
A surprising new group made its debut in the Junior Lilac Parade this year: jugglers. Nineteen of them tossed rings, clubs and beanbags as they marched. The Lincoln Heights Juggling Jags and the Chase Juggling Chargers combined forces for the event, securing first place in the individual/group category.
The clubs are the creation of local teachers and juggling enthusiasts Daniel and Patty Sparks.
At a recent practice at Lincoln Heights Elementary School, the kids talked about their parade experience while they juggled. Participants said the crowd responded with cheers and applause.
“I was nervous during the parade. There were so many people watching,” said Sam Smith, 11.
For most of the kids, an audience is what propels them to keep progressing. Nathanael Ballou spun three rings through the air and said, “I like showing off.”
Lincoln Heights student Mark Gaydarzhi agreed but said it isn’t as easy as it looks.
“When I tried to juggle I almost gave up,” he said. “I couldn’t get it.”
Patty Sparks encouraged him to keep trying. Soon he was tossing several tennis balls through the air.
“When I got to three, I just kept adding. When you know how to juggle people ask, ‘How do you do that?’ ” he said. “I get to show them.”
Spencer Lee, 10, said: “Most people can’t juggle. It makes me feel kind of special.”
In addition to the attraction of an audience, the sport can be habit-forming.
“Once you learn to juggle, it’s like an addiction; you just crave learning more,” said Patty Sparks.
And yes, juggling can be a sport. Though commonly viewed as performance art, the Sparkses want the community to know that juggling is a healthy exercise. It combines endurance, concentration and agility. Patty Sparks used to be a runner, but hip problems curtailed her running routine.
“Now, I have to work hard to stay ahead of the kids,” she said.
Daniel Sparks said juggling promotes hand-eye coordination. It’s good for the brain. After a group of fourth-graders began juggling, Sparks found their penmanship improved.
A 2004 CNN.com story points to a German study that compared brain imaging of persons before and after learning to juggle. Scientists said the comparison “revealed an increase in grey matter in certain areas of the newly trained jugglers’ brains.” In other words, people who learned to juggle actually grew new brain tissue.
But mostly, juggling gives kids – and adults – an excuse to play. Patty Sparks said nowadays when kids say, “let’s play,” they usually mean “let’s sit inside and play video games.”
By contrast, juggling offers folks a way to keep both body and mind active. At Lincoln Heights, even the night custodian got in on the act. Sean McConnell is a former baseball pitcher. He casually tossed balls through the air and said a lot of pitchers juggle on the bench as a warm-up.
The activity seems to be contagious. Shaun Bavandpouri is a sophomore at Ferris. When the Sparkses got him hooked on juggling, his sister Breann wanted to learn. Breann, 11, is now the only female member of the elite juggling team. To qualify for the elite team, kids have to master 60 juggling skills. As she performed a beautiful trick called the “shower,” brightly colored beanbags cascaded through the air, propelled by her agile hands. She in turn taught younger sister Britney, who at 8 is the youngest member of the Juggling Jags. However, the trio’s talent may be genetic. “Our grandma knows how to juggle,” Breann said.
Charts posted on the wall of the school gym map the children’s progress. Containers filled with clubs, rings and balls rest underneath the chart. Plastic drawers overflow with coveted monogrammed beanbags.
“They call them ‘happy sacks,’ because it makes you happy to juggle, and it makes me happy to make them,” Patty Sparks said.
Once a juggler masters 16 skills, they’re awarded a happy sack. Patty Sparks crochets the covers for the beanbags.
After celebrating their first-place win in the Junior Lilac Parade with a special cake, the jugglers took to the floor again. Soon the gym was filled with spinning rings, bouncing balls and flying clubs.
“It’s like an Esther Williams movie without the water,” Daniel Sparks said.
The grace and concentration the kids exhibited gave the appearance of an elegant ballet. You might think that focus could be wearing on the youngsters, but Brendan Grimm, 13, dispelled that notion. When asked what he was thinking about as he tossed clubs through the air, he answered with a mischievous grin. “Girls,” he said.
The Sparkses said the kids’ parents have been very supportive. Diane Parr is one such parent. She watched her son Logan toss rings through the air, then spin and catch them behind his back.
“What I like about this is anybody can do it,” Parr said. “You don’t have to be the tallest or the fastest.”
Patty Sparks said she and her husband dream of a gym overflowing with boys and girls tossing a rainbow of colorful props through the air. Their recent award-winning parade performance has moved that dream one step closer to fruition.