JASON GARFIELD

The 1988 Juniors Champion, Jason Garfield, finished dead last out of seven competitors in his first shot at the Individual Championships in Baltimore. But, lessons learned, he's planning on trying again in Los Angeles next summer. "The main thing I keep telling myself is that I shouldn't have tried all those hard tricks, I just wasn't 100% with the material," said Garfield, a Seattle high school sophomore.

He's working on perfecting his tricks early this year, so that he won't have to worry about the many drops he suffered in Baltimore. "What I have to do is come up with a routine that's not just juggling, but more entertaining," he said. "I've always felt that technique should be the most important consideration, but it's worthless if you're dropping."

Though he wouldn't reveal what he's working on for Los Angeles, he said the routine will have a definite beginning, middle and end. He's getting encouragement from fellow Seattle Cascade Jugglers at their weekly meeting, and from Dave Finnigan of the Juggling Institute.

He's also working out with Johnny Scarcello, a Juniors competitor in Baltimore, on some unique club moves, including splits for two people and six clubs.

Wiser now, Garfield says he's ready for the IJA stage again. "I love the championships," he said. "It's a chance to show off without people thinking you're getting big-headed about your juggling. It's also fun to perform for other jugglers because they understand how difficult it is and appreciate what you're doing."

DEAN MCCOLLUM

Baltimore was probably Dean McCollum's only championship appearance. At age 18, he would be too old for the Juniors Championships in Los Angeles, and isn't up to the Individuals.

Baltimore was his first convention, and he entered the Juniors because he wanted other jugglers to see his act. He finished ninth, but was proud that the skit he presented showed his creativity. McCollum appeared on a dark stage seated in front of a television. He turned off the TV, went into a routine with balls and clubs, and sat back down in front of the TV as the lights faded at the end.

"The championships were fun, it was great to perform in front of other jugglers who know what it's all about. I'm just disappointed I didn't do better with five balls," he said, remembering how his five silicon balls flew all over the stage at the beginning of the act.

He's now doing a few performances near home in Loveland, Colo., and getting together occasionally with jugglers in Fort Collins. Though he's not going to compete again, he's still practicing and holding on to the dream of trying to get a juggling job at a theme park or on a cruise ship after graduating from high school this year.

ANDREW SENSKE

Last year, Andrew Senske learned that a month just isn't enough time to put together a Juniors Championships routine. Looking toward Los Angeles, he's planning on performing a routine at February's Groundhog Day Juggling Festival which he won't change from then until his next go at the Juniors in July.

"My goal is to be perfect in Los Angeles," said the 16-year-old Spokane, Wash., high schooler. "I learned in Baltimore it takes a lot of time to put a routine together, and that you shouldn't do something you're not sure about -- like I did!"

Even with more drops than he wanted to see, Senske didn't do badly in Baltimore. He finished fourth in his first competition ever with a strong technical showing -- up to seven balls, six rings and five clubs. But he's betting three hours a day on a racquetball court all this year will allow him to do more in Los Angeles -- six clubs and seven rings. He's getting some coaching on pres­entation and construction of a routine from former Individual Championships winner Benji Hill.

But Senske's daily partner in practice is Johnny Scarcello, with whom he won the rings and balls team passing title in Baltimore. They're planning on entering that competition again, and hoping to up the ante to 14 ball and 10 club passing feats.

PETER McLAUGHLIN

Finishing fifth in the Individual Championships in Baltimore was "a good learning experience" for Peter McLaughlin.

One thing he learned was that "next time, I'll prepare beforehand!" McLaughlin said. "My act was a kind of experimental thing, but that's not really a stage for ex­perimentation. My life is always in chaos and I didn't come to the convention with anything put together real well. I was lucky to get through the preliminaries."

However, he felt he did one thing extremely well. "You've got to believe in yourself and go with whatever you have that's unique and different. Don't mimic a style just because others are doing it."

He received a good response from the crowd for his clever theme, work with five volleyballs and finale -- balancing a shop­ping cart on his chin while juggling three clubs. But his technical expertise and enthusiasm on stage were deflated with many drops.

He observed that the IJA audience is vastly different from those encountered in public performance. The IJA audience responds enthusiastically to things not seen before at conventions, but reacts mildly to even difficult material that is commonly performed.

The 23-year-old McLaughlin admitted a bad case of nerves before this, his first competition, but he wants to try it again sometime in the future. In the meantime, he'll continue with his professional performing career. He spent most of 1989 touring the country with Tommy Scott's Medicine Show. .:.

For information on Championships call Laura Green Baltimore, MD.