JUGHEADS
Youth Juggling Company, LLC
5905 Concord Avenue
Edina, MN 55424
jugheads@comcast.net
or 952.926.0896

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March 2007

"Is Juggling the Point of JUGHEADS?"

My childhood activities were varied, but all contributed to my own youth development. Baseball, basketball, football and distance running defined much of my time (on and off) from ages 9-16. Plays, musicals, and singing were the mainstays of my performinig arts career from elementary school well into adulthood. And guess what? I never became a pro athlete or singer (although I dabbled in pro acting). But my character was developed through these activities, and I can still name for you every one of my coaches, directors, and teachers. Sometimes "afterthought" passions can actually turn into careers-I neither worked with kids nor learned to juggle 'til I was 20-but even if such activities never directly "pay off," the goal is still character development.

Youth join JH for various reasons: to be with friends; to obey parents; to pursue unique and creative new skills; etc. Just like with my boyhood passions, juggling itself isn't the point of coming to JH for years on end. The point is community, character development, and exploring personal limits of patience, athletics, stage presence, social skills, goal-setting...the list goes on. This week, I received a high compliment from a parent: "It wouldn't matter to me if you were teaching kids how to wash cars, I'm just so glad (my son) has someone like you in his life."

What is the point of JH? Relationships. Role modeling. Encouragement. Mentorship. Virtues. Goals. Even Juggle Jam is never an end in itself; like our recent Showcase, our JJ tradition is meant to capture a microcosm of JH life and serve as a deadline toward which to work, thereby developing more skills. As long as kids come here, juggling is the tool, but never an end ("the point") in itself. Character and relationships are the keys.