Part II:
The Birdhouse is Enter Play Sports’ headquarters and home of the Birdball. It’s a 100 year old grain mill that Brad Jamison, Inventor and Creator of Birdball and also Terri’s husband, had renovated over the years. The Birdhouse is located in Warrensburg, New York. After about a week of exchanging emails and chat messages with Terri, I finally had the means and time to make a trip out to The Birdhouse and play this new sport.
I was in total awe at my first impression of The Birdhouse. Nice wooden beams, high ceilings, and very well lit too. I am a sucker for nice woodwork and old renovations.
When I walked into The Birdhouse I met Brad Jamison. He was the man behind this whole venture. I shook his hand firmly, and introduced myself. He first showed me around a little bit, including his workshop where he made all the Bird balls himself.
Birdball’s are almost like large badmintons, the tails are made out of woven fabric. The head is made out of a semi-soft foam type material. There are two sizes; the Bird Ball is medium sized and approximately 5x the size of a badminton ball, and the Turkey Ball, which is about twice the size of a Bird Ball.
After a short tour we quickly jumped into a game of Birdball. We began to volley the Birdball back and forth, using our hands casually at first while I began to figure out the physics of the game. We decided to play without keeping score, at least for the first few sessions we had. He explained the way the rules worked and the circles that each player would stand in for a real match. Basic rules applied, if you land the ball in the other players circle, you are awarded 2 points. If you hit it out of bounds, the opposing player is awarded 1 point. You must score within one hit of the ball for it to be worth any points.
We didn’t go into the rules much; I was more focused on learning how to play and how to strike the Birdball. I felt that I did pretty well for my first session, after some practice I began using my feet as well. My freestyle footbag instincts were setting in, and I quickly realized how important it was to use both sides of your body and also all four limbs when playing Birdball. I was used to using both of my legs because of footbag, but my left arm could definitely use some work.
After about 2 – 3 hours of playing Birdball and kicking around the larger Turkey ball, my body was shot, especially my legs. I hadn’t felt this kind of workout in a long time, since I had been training footbag for the World Championships. I knew right then and there that I wanted to conquer this sport. If Birdball was intense enough to leave me with this sensation, the sensation of completely exerting all of my energy until I couldn’t anymore, then Birdball was the sport I wanted to be playing.
The most fascinating thing about Birdball is that it tests and challenges several of your senses and muscles, rather than a select few. Birdball requires Strength, Speed, Accuracy, Timing, Reflexes and Technique; it also makes use of your Arms, Hands, Elbows, Knees, Feet, and Head.
Birdball has a martial arts like sense of decorum, almost as if we were in the dojo practicing our fighting styles. I began to find myself using front kicks, spin kicks, and palm thrusts to return the Birdball during our sessions. Birdball is also very Zen like, in the way that it is peaceful. It is a passive way to practice martial arts techniques, get in shape, and also have a lot of fun doing it. Birdball is a massively rewarding sport in many ways.
Brad gave me a couple Birdballs to train with at home. I worked on the biggest kicks and trickiest returns I could think of, something that might impress. I continued to drive out to The Birdhouse for practice sessions, improving my skills and stepping it up a notch every time I went back.
Eventually Brad and Terri had hired me to promote and play Birdball full time, as a representative for Enter Play Sports. I brought as much energy and as many ideas to the table as I could. Soon I began ramping up their social media’s, Facebook, twitter, etc. in order to get the word out to new potential players and friends/family. I made a new Birdball video from some of the footage we had shot over the past few sessions.
This was really a dream come true, I had always wanted to support myself from the use of my talents. Not to mention my passion for new and underground sports was so immense that I would stop at nothing to make a scene for Birdball.
Now this brings me up to my current position in life. Here I am, living in Lake George, New York promoting Birdball and Enter Play Sports. Life couldn’t be better, and Birdball is on the rise. If you think you’d like to play Birdball, or have what it takes to beat the Birdball Champion, contact me or leave a comment. We are always looking for serious players to train and sponsor.
Will Digges
@Enter Play Sports
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