Stu Mair

Senior Austin Wyatt has taken an affinity for tricks with the yo-yo, along with starting a club for the hobby.

When senior Austin Wyatt walks into the classroom, you may not notice the red yo-yo attached to his belt loop. But as he starts to practice, the soft, yet shrill, noise of rope rotating around metal will be sure to direct your attention to the mechanical moving of his fingers as the yo-yo jumps and turns in every direction. His hobby is the mastering of Yo-Yo tricks.

“I have been practicing on and off since I was 12,” Wyatt said. “I just recently picked up a new yo-yo. My old one had been really holding me back, but I didn’t know at the time.”

Since first picking up the toy at age 12, Wyatt has picked up quite a few tricks.

“I’d say (that I know) around 50,” Wyatt said. “But I really don’t do many individual tricks. I do a combination of a few or sometimes just mess around and do my own thing.”

The accessibility and ease of the internet helps Wyatt find new tricks.

“There’s a lot of videos on how to do beginner, intermediate, and advanced tricks,” Wyatt said. “After that though, you really have to make them up yourself.”

Like most people, Wyatt has favorite aspects of his hobby.

“My favorite art is the mental state it puts you in, when you just relax,” Wyatt said. “Just manipulating an object through space with the understanding of the physics behind it, being able to just go outside and take a break and relax. It’s pretty fun.”

Even after all the practice, some aspects are still extremely challenging.

“The hardest part is learning the tricks,” Wyatt said. “Conceptually and physically, it’s really hard. It takes a lot of hours to just get those down, even if they don’t look too impressive.”

Every Thursday there will be a new yo-yo club hosted in AP Economics teacher Bruce Dillow’s room. All skill levels are welcome to join.

“Austin came and asked me if I would sponsor the club,” AP Economics teacher Bruce Dillow said. “Yo-Yo Club is to learn tricks and learn how to use it. The people in here are all different skill levels. Austin has been doing it for awhile but there are some other kids that are just starting.”

However, the feature of the club is uncertain as Wyatt is a senior.

“I would hope that somebody might pick it up, you never know,” Dillow said. “There’s been a couple of guys in here that are interested. Kind of hard to say.”