Every Friday during advisory, the Kendama club meets in Lawrence Housley’s classroom to practice Kendama tricks, learn how to use the toy and meet like-minded people. On Wednesday, Oct. 19th, the Kendama Club held a grand initiation meeting to introduce students to the new club. 

The Kendama became popular among students after many people began to play with the toy. The Kendama is a traditional Japanese toy, which has a ball attached with a string two a handle with two half-moon cup shapes on the side. “A Kendama strengthens hand eye coordination, balance, and reflexes,” said Kandama USA. 

“The purpose of the club is to create a community for students who share the same interest in Kendama and to get people excited about school,” Lairden Rogge (12), co-president said. “It is kind of like a little celebration. Learning new tricks, watching people progress and accomplishing growth.” 

While it may be intimidating to students wanting to start their journey of tricks and talents, everybody can have the opportunity to learn and join the club, no matter their skill level. “There’s a lot of people who have followed me and picked it up in the last week,” Rogge said. “No matter the skill level, everybody is welcome.” 

Even Scheer (12) initially brought a Kendama after seeing a man doing tricks on social media. “About five years ago I bought a Kendama, and couldn’t put it down,” said Scheer. Since then, many students have purchased their own Kendama and begun to form new tricks. 

After seeing how the Kendama spread through MSHS, Rogge and Scheer brought on the idea of creating a club where students could interact with each other. 

Liam Bowie (11) saw people throughout the halls playing with the Kendama. “At first I was not really interested, but then I borrowed a friend, and it piqued my interest,” Bowie said. 

Eventually, after the club gains more members and popularity, Kendama Club would like to hold larger gathering and conferences for people to demonstrate their Kendama talents and skills. “It would be pretty cool if the club got bigger, and then we could do a competition around Christmas,” said Scheer. 

Rogge and Scheer look forward to expanding the club in MSHS and help share their Kendama passions with others. “We have professional people following us and potential sponsorships,” said Rogge. 

While the Kendama originally became popular because Scheer and Rogge introduced them into MSHS by playing with them during the school day, it eventually spread to become a hobby amongst many students. “Kendama club creates a community between students and gives them another reason to be excited about school,” said Rogge.