Balls, clubs, and rings seem to be the chosen props of most jugglers, and practice time is generally donated almost entirely to working with these props. However, I've always believed it's healthy to develop a variety of other skills related to juggling that can be practiced from time to time, perhaps to complement other juggling skills in your repertoire, or perhaps to even serve as a warm up or cool down after practice. I've toyed with just about every juggling and manipulation prop out there at one time or another, but an interest in ball spinning really began to develop as I watched old footage of the old timers-the guys who did it well. I viewed clips of Francis Brunn, Ernst Montego, Michael Chirrick, and Rudy Cardenas, and observed the way in which ball spinning was integrated throughout their acts. The spinning was perfectly intermixed with toss juggling and balancing, with smooth transitions from one element to another. The same balls juggled in a cascade would also be rolled across the body, bounced off the head, or spun on the finger before being incorporated into a difficult combination trick, one which utilized techniques of ball spinning, balancing, and juggling.

The more intrigued I became with ball spinning, the more I practiced the technique. I soon realized that not only is it a fun and gratifying skill to learn, but it's a relaxing activity as well. It's a great way to prepare for a high-energy workout, allowing the arms and wrists to be properly warmed up. The following article will describe how to get started with ball spinning, i.e. the preferred types of balls, how to properly prepare and store your spinning balls, introductory and advanced ball spinning techniques, other spinning props, as well as how to incorporate ball spinning in a performance.

Ball Choice

• Styles: Dube Spinning; Serious Juggling/Sportime Slo-Mo's; Sasaki Rhythmic Gymnastics balls; JugglingStore.com Mister Babache Spinning Balls; Retail-bought playground balls
• Materials: Plastic vs. vinyl vs. rubber
• Sizes: 5" and up

The best balls used for all-around ball spinning will not be available by any juggling manufacturer-you need to search for them in stores. Look at spinners like Sean Blue and Tuey Wilson; all of their spinning balls have been found in different shops around the world.

I always try to choose a ball, as with any prop, that can be used for a variety of purposes. Using a spinning ball that wouldn't work along with another ball, or would only work with one move, will not only limit the amount of skill you can develop with that one ball, but it will increase the amount of props you will have to carry with you, as you will need many sets of balls.

Vinyl or rubber appear to be the chosen makeup of a good spinning ball. Look for a larger size as a beginning ball, almost making sure you can "palm" the ball, i.e. grab it and hold it in one hand. Any ball you choose should have some give to it, achieved through the inflating/deflating of the ball. A full-size basketball or 5" playground ball are not good beginner balls. An 8.5" diameter ball is a good size to work with from the beginning, and as your progress increases, the size of the ball you can work with will decrease.

Dube balls are a good introductory spinning ball as the weight and size is great for learning, but offer very little opportunities for ball stacking, as the material doesn't seem to lend itself well to a stack. The vinyl tends to pick up dirt on the ground very easily making them very slick, and tends to wear thin rather quickly from the contact of your finger with the ball.

Sasaki brand RG balls are high quality, yet very expensive, and overall too small for spinning. A more experienced ball spinner can spin these with relative ease, but they are much too heavy to work as the top of a stack. The balls are also somewhat slick as well.

Serious Juggling and Sportime brand Slo-Mo balls are EXCELLENT spinning balls. They are by far the best spinning balls I have used. The outer coating appears to be rubber, and is very stretchy material that allows the ball to be inflated or deflated to your liking. A good spinning ball should be one that you can palm, and that has a lot of give to it upon grabbing it. Although a large sized spinning ball is a detrimental factor for a beginner spinner, despite the large size of the Slo-Mo, it can be easily palmed, and is very well balanced. It makes an excellent first spinning ball, and can be used with younger children, where a ball can be spun on your finger first and then placed on their finger or on a stick they are holding. These balls make a great interaction tool with children. However, the large size of Slo-Mo's certainly limit the amount of moves you can develop with them. Although good for basic spinning, passes behind the back, and throws under the leg, the large size makes curling extremely difficult. Slo-Mo's, therefore, are not an all-around good spinning ball due to a lack of tricks that can be developed.

Overall, look in Retail Shops, Department Stores, Grocery Stores, Toy Stores, any store overall that may have a toy/sporting goods department. The best balls I used for the top ball of a two-ball stack came from a small toy store in a mall. I have found, however,Wal-Mart balls that work just as good, if not better, than the Slo-Mo balls. If you have some free time on your hands as you're driving along and pass one of these stores, take the time to go inside. You never know when you'll find a great ball. And if you do, buy it! Buy several of them! Once that ball is gone, you may never see it there again. And carry a ball pump with you. You'll want to adjust the air pressure of the ball in the store, so you can work with it there, before you buy it.

Ball Preparation

• ALWAYS!!! check size, texture, and look for inadequacies around seam with playground balls. Deflate to your taste. Can you palm the ball?
• Perform the Drop and Roll Test
• Perform the Float Test

Determining which spinning balls will work best for you is a skill that will develop over time. You eventually gain a sense of what sizes, styles, and textures work best for you. However, for those without this experience, there are many tools you can use to determine whether or not a spinning ball you might find in a store is right for you.

First, observe the size of the ball and determine if it is simply too large for spinning. Can you palm the ball? Does it have a air valve that will allow you to inflate/deflate the ball as needed? Look for any inadequacies around the seam of the ball, such as tears or splits, and do the same around the entire ball. The playground balls at retail shops tend to be somewhat cheaply manufactured, and need to be inspected before you buy them.

I also like to execute what I call the Drop and Roll Test. This can also work when choosing a head bouncing ball. Choose a ball you are interested in. Hold it about waist level, and let it drop to the ground. If it hits the ground, then bounces off sharply in another direction, chances are the ball is lumpy, uneven, and will be very un-balanced as a spinning (or headbouncing) ball. Also, place the ball on the ground and roll it in a straight line. You can use the lines formed by the intersection of the floor tiles as a guideline. If the ball instantly rolls in a diagonal, it also most likely is lumpy, uneven, and extremely un-balanced. I do these "tests" before I purchase any ball.

There are a few methods of determining what part of the ball will be the heaviest, i.e. the point of contact location with you finger, and thus the most balanced. If the ball wobbles out of control upon the initial spin, chances are you're spinning on the lighter side. The heaviest region of the ball should be the region that your finger makes contact with when spinning. Generally, the valve will be at the north pole of the ball, the contact of your finger will be at the south pole, and the equator of the ball will be running horizontally around the circumference of the ball. However, many times I have found the best region for spinning is on the equator of the ball, either to the right or left of the valve. If for a particular ball, however, this is not the case, find the area of the ball that allows the ball to spin the smoothest.

In addition, the ball can also be placed in a tub of water. The heaviest region of the ball will float towards the bottom. You can refer to this as the Float Test.

Ball Storage

• Keep balls in bags that won't bleed onto balls!!!
• Don't deflate when traveling-it will cause creases
• Do not draw circles with ink on balls-ink will bleed on your other balls!!!

There are several other factors to consider after purchasing a spinning ball that will help to maintain the life of a spinning ball. Keep each ball stored in a plastic bag within your prop bag, as the inner coating of some prop bags as well as other juggling props may bleed onto your spinning balls, especially in warmer climates. Never draw circles on your spinning balls, for visibility, with a marker. Even permanent markers bleed onto balls, staining both the ball itself if deflated, and other balls as well.

Finally, when traveling or simply during storage, it's best to leave a ball inflated. This prevents creasing of the ball, allows the ball to always maintain it's natural shape, and prolongs the life of the ball. If you do decide to deflate, don't keep deflated for longer than your duration of your trip. In addition, always carry a ball pump and deflation valve with you. Spinning balls may deflate during air travel, and even in a store, if you have a pump that you keep in the car, you can inflate or deflate the ball as needed that will prevent the added trouble of purchasing the ball and having to test it out at home.

The Spin

• Deflate to your liking, should create dimple at point of contact
• Palm the ball-wide grip
• Right hand: counterclockwise; Left hand: clockwise
• Imagine an imaginary horizontal axis in the ball, with the heaviest part below the axis, which is where you spin the ball. Pivot wrist as far as you can outward (right hand pivots clockwise initially, while left hand pivots counterclockwise), snap it back, ball should elevate ~6 in, land on fingernail for max. spin
• Cushion impact with a downward motion as it lands, always with bent finger
• Ball like Gyroscope, it will balance on its own. Try closing eyes while spinning
• Play with positioning-spin in front/behind/both sides of body/overhead

Choosing a good spinning ball, i.e. one with a nice size and texture, will greatly affect your ability to learn the basic ball spinning moves and progress from there. When you do choose a spinning ball, always remember to keep that imaginary horizontal axis in mind-if you do, when you spin, the ball will always be spun straight up. Otherwise, the ball will be spun on an angle and will be unstable.

Once you begin working on spinning with your dominant hand, begin working on your non-dominant hand. Ball spinning is certainly an ambidextrous skill, and working on both hands each time you practice will increase the variety of moves you can accomplish.

Basic Tricks

• Forward/Reverse Curls (practice curling glasses of water for feel of trick) Size of ball will affect shoulder/arm motion of curl Both feet flat on floor, pivot torso-execute a snaking motion of arm/shoulder
• Same hand Finger-to-finger transfer (index to middle to ring to pinky, and back to index again); right hand to left hand finger-to-finger transfer
• Under leg/behind back/over shoulder/pirouette toss

Advanced Tricks

• Double Arm Curl - confidence and stability with spinning a ball on each finger Move body in opposite direction of spinning ball for space, execute snaking motion of both arms
• Passes from hand to hand from under the leg (albert style)
• Ball Stacking - very dependent on the nature of the balls you choose Four Key Factors

1) Bottom ball always larger ball
2) Textures of both balls important
3) Give slight spin to top ball
4) Always watch top ball for balancing-stacking becomes more like a balancing trick

Test out various styles of balls to see for yourself which sizes and textures work best. A ball that is too heavy generally does not work as well as a top ball of a two-ball stack, as well as ones that have no grip to them and can't "stick" to the bottom ball. A nice contrast of textures works best for stacking, however combining Slo-Mo's still works well.

Finding the right set of balls for a three-ball stack involves testing out many different types of balls to find a good weight and series of textures that work. Lots and lots of practice is a given as well.

Besides the difference in textures of the balls used for spinning, one of the key issues is quickness of the spin. The faster you spin the bottom ball of a stack, the more stable the top ball will be and the longer it will spin. I used to think that ball-stacking acted just like a club balance--you needed to focus your attention on balancing the top ball and shift it either right or left, again just like a club, should the ball start to fall.

Then I saw Sean Blue do a 2-ball stack behind his back and just hold it there, without paying any sort of attention what-so-ever to the stack. What I learned from that was simple: the faster you spin the ball, the less focus you'll need on the top ball. Constantly work on producing as much torque of the wrist as you can and really get that bottom ball spinning fast, and eventually your 2-ball stack will act just like a one ball spin, no difference.

Combination Tricks

Combination tricks involving ball spinning have proved to be one of the many creative ways jugglers and performers have linked together a variety of many different styles of tricks. As a ball will spin on its own, many other elements can be added simultaneously to create a unique and quite difficult trick. A ball spun on the finger, for example, can be combined with large hoops spinning on your arm, or head pedestals balanced on your forehead, as in the case of Francis Brunn's "Brunn Finish." Decide for yourself what you enjoy doing, and think about ways those various tricks can be linked together to create a combination trick or routine that's never been done before.

Work on each move separately, then combine multiple parts

• Mouthsticks, head balance combinations
• 2 ball juggle in one hand, curling with other
• Kick up to a stack
• 2 balls juggled in one hand, spinning ball in other, switch all objects to opposite hand
• Spinning while heading a ball

Overall, becoming a proficient ball spinner requires practice and a smart selection of balls, but most of all, the drive to learn the skill. Good luck!