And the Winner Is...

by Ro Lutz-Nagey, Editor

 

When Greg Moss looks into the mirror of late, he sees two different people looking back. In one reflection he sees someone perceived as a marionette who probably doesn't juggle. In the other he sees someone who has managed to earn a full-time living from juggling and loves every minute of it.

 

Understandably tired of seeing a false reflection in other jugglers' eyes, Moss has resigned as championships director of the IJA after an active four-year reign. Here's a look at what he's done and where he's going.

 

In the Beginning

Back in 1971 Moss was attending Oneonta State University, studying to be a teacher. A student giving a talk on juggling in a speech class asked for a volunteer. There was an uncomfortable pause until Moss finally raised his hand to help out. Ironically, Moss didn't learn to juggle then, but later hammered away at the cascade until he mastered it. This was the start.

 

He picked up tricks on his own or from TV, and improved to the point of giving shows on his own. After a show at his alma mater in 1975, a member of the audience told him about the IJA and he wrote to join.

 

Moss has a fine sense of history. His first convention was in 1977 in Delaware, where he was one of less than 150 conventioneers. He remembered, "It was a big thing to see five balls. I remember everyone going nuts watching Barret Felker do five ball tricks. That was only seven years ago. A lot of people don't realize how far the IJA has come in the short time since."

 

Giving It a Shot

In 1979, IJA secretary Rich Chamberlin approached him about becoming more involved in the organization. He didn't have any particular preference for jobs, so Rich asked him to replace Garbo as championships director. He sat in on the championships that year to get a feel for his new task.

 

In reviewing his term of office, Moss continually refers to most IJA members' lack of a sense of history. He told of the competitive forum from 1969-79, under Roger Dollarhide's direction. "They would simply ask for the next competitor from the gym floor, and whoever stepped forward would have three minutes to do as many three ball tricks as possible. There would be five people counting tricks and five counting drops. The categories were balls, clubs, auxiliary equipment, object manipulation and rings."

 

Changing of the Guard

With Moss' resignation, the reigns were turned over to Holly Greely, an Amherst, MA, college student who will sit in the cat­bird seat at next year's convention in Atlanta.

 

Does Moss have any advice for her? "I'm confident she's going to do great things. The only thing I can tell her is to be cool, stay calm and do the best she can, because it's a tough job and it's impossible to make everyone happy."