On warm days, the East Halls quad is filled with freshmen throwing footballs and Frisbees. One student stands out from the rest, using his feet to juggle a footbag.

The student, David Clavens, stands out nationally as well.

Clavens (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) is the nation's No. 1 footbag player.

Footbag is somewhat similar to hacky sack, Clavens said. But a hacky sack is usually lighter than a footbag because it's made for kicking, whereas a footbag is meant for stalling, or stopping, the bag. A hacky sack is typically filled with plastic beads while a footbag is filled with small metal beads.

When he plays, "people stop to watch him," Clavens' friend Derek Luke (freshman-education) said.

Even though students here seem mesmerized by his moves, "he doesn't brag or anything. He's No. 1 in the U.S. for footbag, and you'd never guess it," Luke said.

This weekend, Clavens earned another title, winning the circle competition at the East Coast tournament in Rochester, N.Y. The circle competition is the event's main contest.

"[Footbag] takes a lot of balance, concentration and practice," Clavens' friend Ross DeVoe (freshman-finance) said. "[Clavens is] pretty intense."

Intense sums up Clavens' routines. He kicks the bag with the inside of his right foot, and it soars over his head. He twists his leg, and the bag somehow lands on his foot again, perfectly still.

With the national title under his belt, Clavens has a new goal in mind.

"The whole past year I've been playing really hard so I can win [the world tournament]," he said.

That tournament, on Aug. 11 in Orlando, Fla., is what Clavens has been practicing for. With less than four months left before the tournament, Clavens practices every other day for a few hours. On warm days he plays in front of the HUB-Robeson Center, and on cool days, he practices inside Rec Hall.

Clavens plays footbag with friends for fun and for practice. Luke said he and Clavens play on the sidewalks around East Halls.

"Footbag isn't just about competing," Clavens said. "It's about hanging out ... it's a cool scene."

He's able to experience this "cool scene" and show his "intensity" during circle contests, like the one he championed this weekend.

Circle contests are the most important to Clavens because they're the most accurate at determining the best player. Four players form a circle and

spend seven minutes per round doing routines. There are two rounds, during which each player must do his best without dropping the bag. If a player drops the bag, his turn is over, and he must pass the bag.

During the summer of 2004, Clavens went to Montreal for the World Championships. He won the intermediate amateur level, which titled him as a professional. His title as a "pro" motivated him to compete and win the national tournament in August 2006 at the U.S. Open in Portland, Ore.

At competitions and during practices, he plays in shorts -- even in chilly weather -- and Adidas tennis shoes. The shoes are laced in a way that he can have the best surfaces for the footbag to stall. The surfaces he uses to stall the footbag are the toes and the inside. The shoes are also "super comfortable," he said, taking off one of his shoes and twisting it to explain.

His passion for footbag began when his soccer coach suggested Clavens try footbag to help him get better at ball control.

Soon after he started playing footbag, he quit soccer to focus solely on his new sport.

He said he likes how footbag is more "creative" than soccer was.

"[I'm] more into doing things independently," Clavens said.

Clavens also shows his creativity by sewing his own footbags by hand and selling them at tournaments. They have the pentagon-looking soccer ball print so they can stay round in the air yet stall on his foot, Clavens said.

"It's really cool when you win tournaments with your own bags," he said.

He said competitions are free now because he's able to make profit from the bags. He is also sponsored by clothing companies and wins money at tournaments, but "I don't live off it," he said.

This summer Clavens will practice alone at his home in Bethlehem in preparation for worlds. He'll also do street performing at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts July 11 to 14.

"You got to kind of respect [him] for how far he's gotten," DeVoe said. "He's kind of a big deal."