Heather Squires Thomas

Hi! I've been playing Footbag since 1983. My first tournament was at Memorial park in Houston, Texas, in 1983. I hacked around in college at The University of Texas at Austin, finding regular circles daily here and there. I always carried a footbag in hand.

In 1984 I moved to Houston and continued to hack at the park and on the beach where I'm known as "The Hacky Lady". Also where I met my husband, Scott.

My first world footbag tournament was in 1988, and I've been traveling to tournaments and footbag friends ever since. I have found myself loving to kicking when I get a moment. I have had many great experiences competing with a host of wonderful friends and acquaintances.

I hold several Texas State and Southern regional women’s titles from 1987-2004. I also share the World's 1994 Women's Team Freestyle title with partner Julie Simon and a World's 1994 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Laura Creigh, as well as the World's 2004 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Tina Lewis, and share a 2018 Mixed Doubles East Coast Title with Daniel Greer.

I've had three beautiful children: Austin, Avery, and Ashley. In 2019 I retired after 24 years as an Early Education Coordinator and Pre-K Teacher. In my spare time, I am an artist, a student, and an elementary school tutor.

Footbag taught me the life lesson that "If you put your mind to doing something and practice regularly, you can do it." I applied that theory to the rest of my life and continue to pass that message to others. I have come in and out of footbag retirement, and hope to continue doing so. Footbag will always be in my heart and soul.

My love for Footbag and our community has only grown stronger over the years. As life gets mundane, I can always take refuge in kicking. Especially net!! Especially tournaments. Competing in Footbag Net touches my soul and grounds me.

In 2005, I helped Hurricane Katrina victims in any way I could. I contacted my footbag friends. I requested the footbag community to send footbags to take to the evacuated teenagers, from New Orleans and surrounding areas and relocated to Houston Convention Centers. I was overwhelmed by the response from around the world. I received footbags from Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, Canada, Poland, Russia, the USA, etc. I was able to distribute approximately 3000 footbags, which were graciously donated.

I was fortunate to represent the Footbag community, who are some of the most remarkable people in the World. There was a great deal of happiness and appreciation. Thanks again to those of you who contributed.

Message to you: Keep growing our excellent sport, keep kicking, and never say, "I can't ." Yes, you can!! Love, Health, Happiness, Spirit, Sincerity, and Focus

Heather Squires-Thomas Hall of Fame Sponsor * Tina Lewis Nominee's Year of First Involvement *

1983 Date of Application * May 2018 Name of Nominee *

Heather Squires Thomas 2009 Co-Director with Michael Stokley *

Listed as Houston Skyliners contact for new players. *

Member and organizer of Texas Footbag League in the early 80's, *

Member #14 of the Houston, Skyliners. * Responsible for media coverage for tournaments and general coverage, including Television news spots and newspaper articles. *

Footbag Promotions Experience *

1989-1994, 1996, 1998-2000, 2003 Sports Expos and Trade Shows in Houston and surrounding areas. *

Houston ISD -Certified Footbag Instructor of class "Intro to the Sport of Footbag" August- May 1996-98: *

River Oaks Elementary, Footbag coach - bi-weekly after school program. *

Bi yearly demos and interactive program and interactive instruction at: * Spring Branch ISD, * Cedarbrook Elementary * Humble ISD, Ridge Creek Elementary * Big Brothers Big Sisters * Houston Galleria Kite Store, Galveston, and Surf Side Surf Shops, and other Sporting goods retail locations around Texas. Demos and interactive instruction to promote sport and footbag sales. * Houston Sports Expos * Several beaches, festivals, parks, and lake special promotional events: demos and interactive exposure to the sport of Footbag.

1988-present. Recognized at the Oshman's "Women in Sports" Event Attended three or four Mag Huges Net Training camps

1989-? I hold between 20-30 1st-3rd Place finishes in IFPA Sanctioned Events - Include World Championships - *

I've competed in several IFPA World Championships events: Open Singles Net, Women's Singles Net, Women's Team Freestyle, Women's Freestyle, Women's Consecutive, Women's Distance One Pass, Women's Golf, and Overall Ranked. IFPA Sanctioned World Championship Titles (1st Place) in Team Freestyle Heather Thomas/Julie Symon (1994) Tournament Event History- as referenced and recalled to the best of my ability 1983-87 Tx Tournament Competitor, Details not recorded 1988 Austin, Tx. - Texas State- 2nd place Women's Freestyle, 2nd place Women's Doubles Net – Heather Thomas/ Kathryn Kristensen, 1st place Women's Golf, 2nd place Women's Singles Consecutive, 3rd place Mixed Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Chris Routh, 1st place Women Overall 1988 My 1st World Footbag Championships Competed in all events. Women's Net Partner- Kendal KIC 1989 US open Indoor Footbag Net Championships Little Rock Arkansas 2nd place Women Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Kendall KIC 1989 Houston, Tx.- US Open Footbag Consecutive Championships. 1st place - Advanced Women's singles Consecutive, 1st place - Advanced Women's 5 minutes timed Consecutive, 2nd place - Advanced Men's Doubles Consecutive, Heather Thomas/Jeff Wells 4th place - Advanced Men's Doubles One Pass Heather Thomas/Jeff Wells 2nd place, Advanced Men's 1 up-5 down Consecs Heather Thomas/Jeff Wells 1989 Southern Regionals Houston, TX- 4th place Women's Singles Net. Note: Tournament on the Tennis Courts at my residence due to rain 1989 Berkeley Footbag Open, Berkeley, CA 1989 Dallas Spike Fest, Dallas, TX - 2nd place Women's Doubles Net – Heather Squires /Suz Bardwell, 2nd place Mixed Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Tim Vozar, 1st place Women Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Carla Vargo 1st place Women Singles Freestyle 1989 Western Regional Footbag Championships, Menlo Park, CA 1989 Southern Regionals Houston, TX 1989 Mag Hughes Net Training Camp, Troutdale, OR 1989 US Open Footbag Net Championships, Portland, OR 4th Women Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Kendall KIC 1989 Intermountain Regional Footbag Championships, Fort Collins, CO - Mixed Doubles Footbag Net Invitational 1989 World Footbag Championships, Golden, CO 1989 Indian Summer Disc/Footbag Tournament, Sonoma, CA 1989 Berkeley Fall Footbag Tournament Berkeley, CA 1989 Texas State- Austin, TX - 3rd place Mixed Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Larry Kenny, 3rd place Women Singles Net, 2nd place Women Golf, 1st place Women Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Lisa McDaniels, 3rd place Women Consecutive, 3rd Women Singles Freestyle 1990 Houston Invitational - 3rd place Women Doubles Net – Heather Squires/Lisa McDaniel, 4th place Women Team Freestyle – Heather Squires / Kendall KIC 1990 Spike Fest Santa Monica, CA 1990 Southern Regionals Houston, TX. 1990 Sierra OpenFootbag Championships Arnold, CA 1990 Western Regional Footbag Tournament, Berkeley, CA 3rd Women's Doubles Net Heather Squires/Lisa McDaniel 1990 Mag Hughes Net Training Camp, Troutdale, OR 1990 US Open Footbag Net Championships, Portland, OR 1990 Texas State, Austin Texas - 1st place Mixed Doubles Net– Heather Squires / Yves Archambault, 3rd place Open Doubles Net – Heather Squires / Tina Lewis, 1st place Women's Golf, 2nd place Women's Consecutive 9th Annual International Regional Footbag Championships, Ft. Collins, CO 1990 Mile High Dig or Die Footbag Net Championships Denver, CO 1990 World Footbag Championships, Golden, CO 11th place Women's Overall Standings 1991 Houston Invitational Footbag Championships, Houston TX, 2nd place Mixed Doubles Net– Heather Thomas/ Jim Elam, 1st place Women Singles Net 1991 Western Regional Footbag Championships Berkeley CA 1991 Mag Hughes Net Training Camp Troutdale, OR, 1991 US Open Footbag Net Championships, Portland OR, 1991 Midwest Regionals Footbag Championships Oak Park, Il 1991 Space City Houston, TX - 1st Women Singles Net, 1st place Women Golf, 1st Women Singles Freestyle 1991 Texas State Championships Austin, TX 1991 World Footbag Championships, Golden, CO 1992 Houston Invitational, Houston, TX - 1st place Women's Singles Net, 1st place Women's Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Tina Spears, 4th place Open Singles Freestyle 3rd place Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas / Jeff Wells, 2nd place Women's 5 Min Timed Consecutive, 1992 Southern Regionals Houston, TX 1st place Women Singles Net, 1st place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Tina Spears, 3rd one pass – Heather Thomas / Jeff Wells 1992 Funtastic Summer Classic, Hershey, PA - 1st place Intermediate Singles Net, 2nd place Intermediate Singles Freestyle 1992 World Footbag Championships, Golden, CO 5th place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Kendall KIC 3rd place Women One Pass – Heather Thomas / Becca English, 5th place Women Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas / Becca English / Lisa Monte, 8th place Women Overall 1992 American Athletic Games Central Park NewYork, NY 1992 Texas State Footbag Championships, 1st place Women Singles Net, 1st place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Tina Spears, 1st place Mixed Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Vernon Wilder, 1st place Women Singles Freestyle, 3rd place Open Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas / Tim Vozar, place 1st women golf, 3rd place Women 5 Minute Timed Consecutuves 1993 Houston Invitational Footbag Championships Houston, TX 1993 Southern Regionals Houston, TX - 3rd Open Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Scott Milne, 1st place Open Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas / Tim Vozar, 2nd place Women Timed Consectutives, 3rd place Women Singles Freestyle 1st place Women Doubles Net Heather Thomas / Kendall KIC, 1st place Women Singles Net, 1st place Mixed Doubles – Heather Thomas / Scott Milne 1993 US Open Portland, OR 3rd place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Heather Muggleton 1993 World Footbag Championships Golden, CO - 4th place Women's One Pass – Heather Thomas / Becca English 4th place Women's Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas / Julie McClung, 8th Women's Overall 1994 Midwest Regional Footbag Championships Mount Prospect, Il. - 2nd Women's Singles Net, 2nd place Women Singles Freestyle, 1st place Women Footbag Golf 1st place women Doubles Net - Laura Creigh/Heather Thomas 1994 Southern Regionals Houston, TX - 2nd place Open Team Freestyle- Heather Thomas/Tim Vozar 1994 Worlds Berkeley, CA - 4th place Women's One Pass – Heather Thomas /Becca English, 1st place Women's Team Freestyle – Heather Thomas /Julie McClung 3rd place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas /Laura Creagh, 4th place Women's Overall 1994 Texas State Footbag Championships Austin, TX- 1st place Mixed Doubles Net - Heather Thomas/ Eric Wulff, 3rd place Women's Singles Footbag Net, 1st place Women's Doubles Footbag Net- Heather Thomas/ Laura Creagh, 3rd place Open Women's Freestyle, 2nd place Women's Golf The Heart of Footbag Freestyle Tournament 1995 Eagle Hall Portland, OR 1996 US Open, Portland, OR - 3rd place Women Doubles Net – Heather Thomas / Tina Lewis 1996 Southern Regional Footbag Tournament Houston, TX 3rd place Women's Singles Net, 1st place Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas / Davie Piper, 1st place Women's Singles Freestyle !996 World Footbag Championships, Montreal, Canada 2nd place Women's 5 min timed 2002 Texas State Footbag Championships, Westheimer Art Festival Houston, TX - 2nd place Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas / Garry Gaman, 3rd place Open Doubles Net - Tina Lewis / Heather Thomas 2003 Texas State Footbag Championships Austin, TX 1st place Mixed Doubles Heather Thomas/Chris Siebert, 2nd place Women's Doubles Net- Heather Thomas/Sam Conlon 2nd place Women's Singles Net 2004 Texas State Footbag Championships Austin, TX Saturday only-Rain out Sunday 2004 World Footbag Championships Montreal, Canada 6th place Singles Net, 3rd place Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Tina Lewis-, 5th place Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Chris Seibert. 2006 IFPA World Footbag Championships, Montreal, CA 2008 Southern Regional Footbag Championships Austin, TX 4th place Open Doubles Net - Heather Thomas and David Spears, 2nd place Singles Net 2009 Texas Statewide Austin, TX 4th place Open Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Edwin Veltman, 3rd Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Tuan Vu 2009 US Open Footbag Net Championships Portland, OR 3rd place Women's Doubles Net- Kelly Kelley/Heather Thomas, 5th place Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas/EJ Gammage 2009 Southern Regional Footbag Championships Houston, TX - 2nd place Open Women Speed Consecutive 100 (1:00:25), 4th place Open Doubles Net - Heather Thomas / Micheal Stokley, 1st place Mixed Doubles Net - James Roberts / Heather Thomas 2010 Southern Regional Footbag Championships 2nd Open Mixed Double - Heather Thomas / James Roberts 2010 31st IFPA WORLD FOOTBAG CHAMPIONSHIPS 9th Open Mixed Doubles Net - Heather Thomas (USA) / Edwin Veltman 2012 Texas State Footbag Championships 4th Doubles Net - Heather Thomas / Michael Gupton 2017 US Open Skillcon- Open Doubles Net – Heather Thomas/Jim Hankins, Women's Doubles Net- Heather Thomas/ Heather Cook 2018 Beaver Open Veneta, OR 2018 Skillcon Las Vegas NV Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas/ Daniel Greer, Women's Doubles Net Heather Thomas Brandy Nicole 2019 Beaver Open- Veneta, OR 2019 Nominated by Tina Lewis and Inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame 2019 East Coast Championships VanCoartland Park New York, NY - Women's Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Brandy Nicole, Mixed Doubles Net Heather Thomas/Daniel Greer 2020 Footbag Lovers of Golf original member Design Contributions Promotional Swag and Posters U.S.Open Beer Glasses 2010 Southern Regionals Awards Several Years Southern Regionals Advertising and Promotional Flyers Several Years & T-shirts Possibly other shirts not listed 1985 Austin Style Sweatslinger's Fall Invitational, Austin, TX 1988 Texas State Footbag Championships, Austin, TX 1989 Southern Regional Footbag Championships, Houston, TX 1989 Hein Betty Tees 1989 Dallas Spike Fest, Dallas, TX 1990? Western Regional Footbag Championships UC, Berkeley, CA 1990 US National Indoor Footbag Net Championships- Little Rock, AR 1990 The Juice Tees 1990 Texas State Footbag Championships- Austin, TX 1990 Houston Invitational Footbag Championships 1991 Bust A Move Tees 1992 Southern Regionals Footbag Championships- Houston, TX 1992 World Footbag Championships 1992 Golden, CO 1994 World Footbag Championships- Menlo Park, SF 1995 Texas State Footbag Championships 19?? Southern Regional Footbag Tournament Lewisville, TX 20?? Texas State Austin, TX 2017 World Footbag Championships PDX 2018 Skillcon, Got Skill Caps, Las Vegas, NV Media Coverage Houston Chronicle Newspaper Article ABC Channel 13 Heather's successful teaching career has allowed her to develop opportunities to teach Footbag in schools and to other teachers. She has taught Footbag at the HISD River Oaks Elementary after school program, as well as organized demonstrations in the Spring Branch schools, health and fitness conventions, and other local festivals. Heather attended the Oshman's Sport's Center sponsored "Women in Sports" with Kendall KIC. She has been featured in The Houston Chronicle newspaper and on the local ABC TV news and other TV news stations. After participating in many Footbag Demos throughout the years referred to in Houston and surrounding areas as "The Hacky Sack Lady." Thank you Tina Lewis for your nomination testimonial(below) and your friendship. Heather has shared the fun of kicking a footbag volunteering in the 2005 relief efforts for the refugees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She and Tim Vozar were assigned to organize recreational activities for the Children refugees. She reaches out to the Footbag community who provided 1000+ Footbags for the children of Hurricane Rita. In the aftermath, demonstrated basics and distributed footbags in Laundromats, hotels, apartments, schools, etc. Contacting The Boy Scouts of America, she volunteered to assemble backpacks packed with back to school donated items, including the footbags donated by our footbag community. I believe that Heather embodies the spirit of Footbag and has dedicated thousands of hours to promote and share our fantastic sport. She has shown other women that they can compete and have fun while also having full lives and families. Being a member of the HOF is truly an honor that she deserves, and that will mean the world to her and her beautiful, supportive family. We can all be proud to call her one of our awesome Footbag family. I urge you to support here by joining me in nomination and votes for her to join us in the Hall of Fame.