What is your name and hobby?
My name is Will Baach, I am a junior, and I am a yo-yoer.

How long have you been yo-yoing?
I have been yo-yoing for two years.

How did you first pick up this unique hobby?
One day my sister brought home a yo-yo from an arcade game and I just picked it up. I got really into it after that. But I think that Youtube videos have kept me interested. Youtube videos are coming out constantly, which means I can stay updated on new tricks and new ways of performing tricks. I find a bunch of trick videos on there and a bunch of contest videos. They really furnish my growth as a yo-yoer.

What is the most basic trick you can perform on a yo-yo?

The most basic trick you can do on a yo-yo is to walk the dog, or, you know, just go up and down.

Want to learn how to walk the dog? Click here for an online tutorial.
Who has been your greatest inspiration to you as a yo-yoer? Why?
(CHS Graduate) Harold Owens has been my greatest inspiration, and he was just amazing. He was a senior when I was in my freshman year. The following year when I was a sophomore, he won the National Competition which was pretty awesome.

Click here to see a video of Owens performing at a yo-yo competition.

Why is yo-yoing a great hobby?
Anyone can do it if you put your mind to it, just like anything else. It’s really fun to practice and it’s just a great hobby. It’s one of the coolest hobbies you can participate in, because you can do it anywhere. And everyone likes yo-yos. You cannot not like yo-yos.

How many competitions have you been in, and how do the competitions work?
I have competed in one competition downtown at the Indy Arts Museum. There were almost fifty other competitors.  I got tenth in the state which was pretty cool. You go up there for one minute, and do a freestyle routine. If you make the top 16 people you can move on to the final round. In the final round you get three minutes. After each player gets their respective three minutes of freestyle tricks the winner is decided.

What are some of your favorite difficult tricks?
I try to make up my own (tricks) that look cool and flashy. My favorite trick is one that I made up, called the “Tour de France.” I do a lot of jumps and hops with the yo-yo in that one, and then end up in the “Eiffel Tower” motion. But, in terms of hard tricks, Superman is pretty hard. It’s a lot of moving your hands and hitting a lot of different strings. I can’t even do it.

Do you go through a lot of yo-yos?
I own 15 yo-yos. I usually keep yo-yos for about a year, until the bearing begins to wear off, and the shape gets dented and starts to break down. I eventually replace them around Christmas. You can definitely break yo-yos. One time, I was throwing, and the string broke. It literally just exploded all over my driveway.

Is there a difference between yo-yos?
There is a difference between yoyos. There is a variation of shapes and weights. I like my Northstar; it’s a pretty common yoyo.

What is your role in the Yo-Yo Club?
I am co-president and co-founder of the Yo-Yo Club with Ray Schwarzkopf.

What goes on at yo-yo club?
We listen to music, yo-yo, talk about tricks, talk about competitions. We just let it flow. Sometimes we shoot videos and stuff to put on the announcements. Usually this attracts some attention, and is pretty fun to do. We also teach lower-classmen new tricks. To teach someone a yo-yo trick I’d give them one of my yo-yos and go through the motions a hundred times, and hopefully, by then, they will have picked up on it.
How do you practice for competitions?
To practice, I learned a few new tricks, most of which I got from Youtube. But basically, I stand up in my room and yo-yo for almost three hours. I get new tricks from either Youtube or from friends over at the Yo-Yo Club. Typically, I try to get in twenty or thirty minutes a day.
What do you hope to do with your talent in the future?
Sometimes I’ll pull out my yo-yo and a crowd forms, and you get to put on a little performance.
In the future, hopefully, (competitive yo-yoing) will help me win some prize money to help me pay for books at college. I hope to continue doing this.