MANSFIELD, Ohio – Boomerangs sliced through the air Friday afternoon in the gymnasium at Malabar Intermediate School.
Top-ranked U.S. boomerang thrower Logan Broadbent and his father, Gary Broadbent, offered an inspirational message to the student body and showed off the tools of their trade.
“You need to do what you love and love what you do and the world will boomerang back to you,” Gary Broadbent said during the hour-long presentation.
Logan said he had no choice in throwing the boomerang. His earliest memories include gripping the unusual object and letting rip.
“People ask me how long I’ve been doing it and I say 27 years, because I’m 27 years old,” Logan Broadbent said. “I don’t remember not having one in my hands.”
The Broadbents came to town as part of their ongoing message, emphasizing the importance of education, hard work and fun. Each man regularly offers inspirational addresses throughout Ohio.
“I always tell the kids we are artists, athletes, carpenters, inventors and teachers,” Logan Broadbent said. “It takes having a great education to do something you love.
“That’s what I emphasize at all my presentations.”
The United States Boomerang Association was formed in 1980. Now the sport is practiced worldwide, with team and individual world championships every two years.
Logan, a Canton GlenOak gradaute who now lives in Cleveland, is one of the key cogs on the U.S. team. He helped the Americans finish third at the 2014 World Championships in Perth, Western Australia. Individually, he was sixth overall at that event.
In addition, he was second at the most recent U.S. Championships, but won the previous three tournaments and is listed as the nation’s top-ranked boomerang thrower.
His sights are set on the 2016 World Championships in Cologne, West Germany.
“My main goal is for our team to bring home the Cup,” Logan said. “We were behind Japan and Germany in 2014.
“Individually, I’d like to be the world champion, and I’m a contender, but the team means everything to me.”
Interestingly, Australia was not among the top teams at the 2014 World Championships. The boomerang has existed in Australia for several hundred years, yet the zest for elite competition in the sport hasn’t really grabbed its countrymen, Broadbent said.
“I think they still do it for fun mostly,” Logan Broadbent said. “Their equipment is older, more traditional, too.”
Broadbent also dabbles in acting. He’s getting ready to film a national commercial for the U.S. team and will soon be featured on behalf of Sports Illustrated on Derek Jeter’s new website for unusual sports and athletes.
That intrigue helps grab their audience’s attention when speaking to school children.
At Malabar, the Broadbents displayed several boomerangs and other paraphernalia related to the sport. Logan signed an autograph for one Malabar student, and high-fived several others as they were leaving the gym.
“We just wanted to talk about the sport and encourage the kids about school,” Logan Broadbent said. “We always emphasize the importance of education and where it can take you.”
