If you notice students juggling outside the Union or inside a classroom in Newcomer Center, don’t assume they are training for circus performances; they are Goshen College’s very own juggling club. The club, an idea from 10 year old Simon Graber–Miller, son of professor of Bible, religion and philosophy, was made possible by professional juggler LaMar Yoder. Yoder had the idea to start the club at the college in hopes of finding more people who wanted to learn how to juggle.

The club meets every Tuesday for about an hour, and while LaMar can’t be involved every time since he recently move to La Porte, “I try to come once a month” says Yoder as he juggles four clubs similar in shape to bowling pins.

Here at Goshen College the activity is performed more as a hobby than anything else. The club encourages people to attend and will even help them learn how to juggle. Simon Graber-Miller, the son of Professor of Bible, Religion & Philosophy Keith Graber-Miller (who also serves as the faculty advisor for the club), was one of the founding members of the club; he got interested in juggling when he watched some Goshen College students perform at his school. Simon has only been juggling for four and a half months but is now a competent juggling with the ability to handle five beanbags at once, something that LaMar admits can take a while to learn. The club is brand new and so far they have no plans to perform on campus although the possibility is not out of the question, “It’s all up to the students,” said LaMar, “for now we are basically just a club.” This doesn’t stop the members from performing, as Simon explained that he would be performing at his school, and that he hoped to perform at a GC chapel sometime.

Yoder had some interesting pointers for Simon as he explained to him that performing was more about the entertainment value than just the juggling. Yoder has ample experience as he has been performing for about a year and has two performance tours under his belt, with a third one coming up. What exactly does a professional juggler do to entertain an audience? Yoder has experience juggling some bizarre items such as “A baseball bat, a pin cushion, and a Christmas tree stand, that or a heavy rock, a bottle cap, and a stocking cap,” he said. For more information on when juggling club will meet during the winter, contact Keith Graber-Miller.