Mike's Mess

Other Tutorials:

TWJ Club (text-based)
eMretsiM (video)

     Mike's Mess is a three ball pattern established by Mike Day. It can best be described as a Cascade in which every throw and catch is made under-the-arm, giving the trick a fairly unique aesthetic. Before learning Mike's Mess, you should probably already be comfortable with the Crossed-Arm Reverse Cascade in both arm configurations.

    Since Mike's Mess is a fairly simple pattern, there is really only one intermediate step to practice. Start with two balls in your dominant hand and one ball in your non-dominant. Cross your dominant arm underneath your non-dominant arm, and then make a fairly high throw from your dominant hand back toward the dominant side of your body. As that ball is traveling through the air you will uncross and then recross your arms, this time in the opposite configuration (dominant arm over non-dominant arm). You will want to time this motion such that your non-dominant hand comes into position as the ball in the air is descending. You will then make an under-the-arm throw from your non-dominant hand toward the non-dominant side of your body (a mirror image of the first throw), clearing space for your non-dominant hand to catch the first ball. The ball just thrown will then be caught by your dominant hand.
    Practice this on both sides until you can perform the motions smoothly and throw accurately. To perform the full pattern, simply repeat the arm motions after every throw, making sure that you are both catching and throwing under-the-arm. Mike's Mess is a pretty easy pattern, and can be helpful when learning Mills Mess.