Juggling

Journey is led by a caring team of adults and high school students/young adults who are expert jugglers. Most of our coaches are alumni of the now-closed Jugheads Youth Juggling Company. All adult volunteers are background checked.

Jugglers are encouraged to arrive any time between 4:00-4:15PM and can be picked up anytime between 6:00-6:30P—but if they need to arrive a little later or leave a little earlier, that’s fine too—just let us know!

At Journey, kids begin by learning to juggle balls, then eventually progress to rings and clubs.

We also have fun with "auxillary" juggling props like the ever-popular diabolo (an hourglass-shaped spool spun on a string tied to two sticks that kids can manipulate to keep the spool spinning and perform a wide variety of tricks by tossing, catching, and balancing it) and flower sticks. Our coaches and some other jugglers also occasionally bring in unicycles, but those are not something we allow kids to use without additional parent permission.

The juggling of more "dangerous" items (knives, torches, etc) is not something we do at Journey.

At Journey, we begin by teaching kids how to juggle  balls (10 right hand throws with 3 balls). That is our starting point, and typically takes a while to learn—it takes practice and perseverance! Once jugglers have mastered that skill, they can move on to increasing the number of throws, increasing the number of balls they are juggling, learning to pass juggle with another person, and eventually moving on to more challenging props like rings and clubs.

We use a level-based system to help our jugglers measure their progress with specificity. There are five different levels jugglers are placed in, with specific juggling "standards" (goals) they must achieve in order to progress to the next level. 

The Five Levels are:

• The Trailhead (Beginners start here as they learn to juggle 10 right hand throws with 3 balls.)
• Pathfinders
• Advanced Adventurers
• Elite Explorers
• The Ultimate Undertaking

As jugglers progress from level to level, they are rewarded with various incentives and can move their magnet up to the next level on our progress map, which is always on display at juggling club.

Alongside the level system, we offer a "points" system as an additional incentive. Jugglers have the opportunity to earn points by practicing at home, attending club, achieving standards, and more. Those points can be used to earn prizes, and are also one of the requirements needed for jugglers to rise through the levels.

While Journey is not primarily a performance-based company, we do offer a few "built in" performance opportunities, as we believe they are key to helping our jugglers develop so many of the skills we want to equip them with: confidence, team-building, hard work, creativity, and more. Performances are also a great way to share the joy of juggling with others!

Each spring, we hold our annual "Juggling Showcase," featuring routines the kids have been preparing in advance, as well as skits, coach performances, and more. 

We also occasionally invite parents to come observe the last 15 minutes or so of a club day for a special juggling demonstration or "mini routine."

That said, we understand that the thought of performing can stir up tremendous anxiety in some kids. While we encourage kids to challenge their comfort zone (very few regret doing so!), we will NEVER make kids perform who truly don't want to, and can work with them to find a performance level they are OK with! We value them as people more than performers.

We may also occasionally offer optional outside juggling performance opportunities for kids who are interested.

Journey Juggling is not a performance-based club, meaning we teach kids juggling for the purpose of developing them as people, not performers—"process over product." That said, we do believe that performing can be a great tool for developing traits like confidence, preparation, and teamwork, which is why a couple of performing opportunities are built into our club sessions throughout the year.

We may be open to occasionally offering select outside performing opportunities to some of our jugglers, should those opportunities align with our mission, vision, and schedule. However, it is not the norm for us at this time. If you have questions about this, contact director Nikki Wallace.

Many view juggling as a cool party trick—which it is!—but learning the skill of juggling can also be a channel for developing positive character traits, building relationships, getting some great exercise, and more.

There's something about juggling that seems to draw kids of all backgrounds and interests together:

Journey Kids Juggling was started—almost on a whim—in the Fall of 2024, inspired by the longstanding local kids juggling club, Jugheads Youth Juggling Company, which had recently closed in the spring of 2023. Jugheads impacted thousands of kids over the 25-year course of it's run, including several from Hillside. In just one year, Journey Juggling has now welcomed over 70 kids, and most of our coaches are Jugheads alumni who are excited to pass what has meant so much to them to the next generation. Journey is designed to carry on the mission and spirit of Jugheads—helping kids develop as people even as they learn the skill of juggling—all the while putting its own spin on it all.