Cowboys try juggling

Will players who can juggle three footballs be more sure-handed with one in a game? The Dallas Cowboys physical trainer, Bob Ward, believes they might, so he hired IJA member Logan Daffron last spring to teach juggling to team members. "He was interested in its possibilities for improved hand-eye coordination, hand speed, reflexes and body awareness," explained 29-year-old Daffron, a professional Dallas-area juggler with no particular passion for the pigskin.

"He's a very progressive thinker," said Daffron of Ward, noting that Cowboys also work on ballet, yoga and kick boxing.

Throughout the spring and into the summer Daffron paid semi-weekly visits to the training camp, teaching individual players during breaks in their weight workout. While they were impressed by his juggling, he marveled at their size. "There're a lot of size 15 feet out there!"

Regulation spheres seemed out of scale in this land of giants, so Daffron had the team working out with beanbags weighing one and two pounds. Though no team member learned to do more than four bags, several apparently got excited about passing, stealing and some basic tricks. A few particularly muscled men had trouble with behind-the back throws because of their arm and shoulder bulk.

Cornerback Everson Walls was a slow starter, but excited about his eventual mastery of the cascade. He was quoted saying, "When I did it, I was proud of myself. Once you learn the fundamentals it becomes easy. It's toning up the mind and reflexes."

Raphael Septien, the Cowboy who never uses his hands in the role of team kicker, became the ablest juggler. Quarterback Randy White was so fascinated with Daffron's devil stick that he bought one for himself. The rola-bola was popular.

While the Cowboys are taking juggling seriously, they looked at it in a lighthearted vein as well. Daffron explained, "They made a lot of jokes about how if they didn't do well this season they could get together with the cheerleaders and form the Cowboy Circus!"

Computer campers hack around with circus

After concentrating on a computer terminal for more than four hours, Bruce Pfeffer finds a lot of kids are ready to juggle... or walk a high wire, swing on a trapeze and generally clown around.

Pfeffer, 26, has taught circus skills for the past two summers at the New England Computer Camp in Moodus, Connecticut. Campers have a choice of skills to learn, and as many as 250 learned to juggle this past summer. "Juggling is popular, but because it's a fine motor skill it's harder for kids to pick up than almost everything else," Pfeffer observed. Still, some of the 60 campers he sees each two-week session have advanced to passing bags, rings and clubs.

Pfeffer and six assistants teach circus as a recreation activity from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. One of his helpers, 16-year-old Scott Scheinbaum, is the designated juggling instructor. From 8:30 to 11 p.m. those students who want to participate in a circus performance for their parents at the end of the session work out privately with Pfeffer and his crew.

The camp management is pleased with Pfeffer's recreation program, which helps give NECC a marketing edge among the growing number of computer camps available. "Circus skills are something campers can take home along with their computer disks," Pfeffer said.

Pfeffer previously taught circus skills for Club Med Eleuthera in the Bahamas . This fall he will teach on a Carribean cruise liner, the SS Norway, before joining the Juggling Institute to teach juggling in the Seattle area.

A graduating juggler

High school graduation addresses are not known for being particularly unusual, but in late May at least one commencement audience was treated to to a juggling speaker.

IJA member Mike Bergum of Fenton , Iowa , was one of three graduating seniors who spoke at Sentral High School.  Addressing the future, Bergum's topic was "It's Up In the Air." He pointed out that Sentral's seniors had become better educated and more responsible individuals by "juggling many different activities ­ and even a little school work" as he juggled three bean bags.

He concluded by saying, "Who knows? By the time this class meets for its 10-year reunion I may be able to juggle a half­dozen or so of these!"

Project Lifesaver

Building on momentum created by 48 conventioneers who tried to donate blood in the first-ever IJA/Red Cross cooperative effort, the IJA is creating Project Lifesaver. Myron Wilcox of Porterville , Calif. , spearheads the effort with assistance from Julie Ford of Atlanta .

To participate, IJA members should give blood and urge others to give. Anyone accounting for five pints who reports it to Ford will receive a certificate of thank you suitable for framing. Ten-pint people will get a t-shirt. Ford asks, "Are there must be other ways we might show the world that 'jugglers have helping hands'." Can you think of any? Write: Julie Ford, Project Lifesaver, Riverdale, GA.