LEWISTON — Todd Brodeur spun a pink Frisbee on his finger Wednesday as dozens of campers sat mesmerized by the whirling disc.
Brodeur showed his young audience of nearly 200 cool ways they could throw and catch the plastic toy. One minute he was juggling three brightly colored Frisbees, the next, he was flinging two at a time over the heads of the kids who sat transfixed on the grass at Lewiston Athletic Park behind the Lewiston Memorial Armory on Central Avenue.
Brodeur, who is a two-time Freestyle World Champion, is known for his impressive array of Frisbee tricks. After his demonstration, the kids broke into groups and tried to imitate him. Brodeur visited each of the groups, helping the kids with their technique, balance and hand-eye coordination.
The city recreation departments of Lewiston and Auburn invited Brodeur as part of their Wednesdays in the Park summer schedule. Monmouth Parks and Recreation day campers also attended the demonstration, as did private day cares and local facilities for the disabled, a Lewiston Recreation Department spokeswoman said.
Brodeur, who lives in Massachusetts, has been playing Frisbee since he was a child, according to his website, ToddBrodeur.com.
For more than 30 years, Brodeur has been involved in all aspects of the game. He got his start with family and friends tossing Frisbees around in backyards, then fields.
He started competing in 1983 and won his first Massachusetts state tournament in 1989.
In all, he’s won more than 40 state and regional titles. In 2004, he and two partners captured top honors at the Freestyle World Championships in Italy. He repeated the performance in Berlin, Germany, two years later.
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- Todd Brodeur of Massachusetts shows how to roll a Frisbee across one’s chest at the Lewiston Athletic Park on Central Avenue on Wednesday. Brodeur won the World Frisbee Freestyle Championships in 2004 and 2006, and a host of other regional titles.
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- Damian Stiles, 6, of Lewiston, attempts to imitate Todd Brodeur by whirling a Frisbee on his finger at the Lewiston Athletic Park on Central Avenue on Wednesday. Brodeur’s show was part of the Lewiston and Auburn recreation departments’ Wednesdays in the Park.
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- Ansley Watson, 4, and Gabby Gladu, 5, both of Lewiston, watch and try to copy Todd Brodeur’s Frisbee tricks Wednesday at the Lewiston Athletic Park on Central Avenue.
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- Davion Jackson, 10, tries to spin a Frisbee on his finger during a demonstration at Lewiston Athletic Park on Central Avenue on Wednesday.
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