Rye High School students are kicking footbags in circles of five, eight or more during lunch and free periods.
The activity grew popular enough in May that Assistant Principal Cody Blume sent a message to students praising the trend. Blume wrote that the school appreciated seeing students active and social during community lunch and asked that footbag be kept to outdoor areas and free periods, not classrooms and hallways, the Rye Record reported.
"Hacky sack" is a trademarked brand name. The generic term is footbag, the way Kleenex is to facial tissue.
The Garnets baseball team picked up the habit before it went mainstream. Players kicked footbags around before games to relieve stress and build chemistry. Rye won the 2025 Section 1 Class AA title. The Garnets repeated on May 31, beating Mahopac 5-2 at North Rockland High School in Thiells. No player or coach has publicly connected the footbag routine to the championships, but the team's bonding ritual and its results lined up.
The national footbag revival traces to social media. Greyson Herdman, president of World Footbag in Steamboat Springs, Colo., told the Rye Record the trend exploded on April 21 when young people began posting "hack of the day" videos online.
"Within two weeks of that night … our standard supply of inventory – which would normally last us a year – was sold out," Herdman said. "Our business is nuts right now."
Google searches for "hacky sack" in the U.S. rose 1,700% year over year between April 15 and July 15, according to Modern Retail.
The trend started in the Northeast just after spring break, with early activity in Massachusetts and Connecticut, Business Insider reported.
The game has two rules: you cannot serve to yourself, and if you make a mistake, you are not allowed to say "Sorry." Anyone can join a circle at any time.
A footbag costs about $10.
Rye High School enrolls about 887 students in grades 9 through 12. The 2026-27 school year is under way, and Blume's message still stands: keep it outside, keep it to free periods.
