Bend's Bradley Laubacher Takes Flight as Slamball Makes Resurgent Return

Bradley Laubacher of Bend moved from a local human-interest spotlight to a regional symbol of Slamball's return after a Central Oregon Athlete of the Week nomination drew wider attention. The nomination, originally submitted to highlight Laubacher's local athletic role, expanded into broader coverage that framed him as a key figure in the sport's comeback.

A Feb. 26 dispatch described Laubacher as a standout who "takes flight" in Slamball's recent resurgence, putting his name and Bend on the map as organizers and fans revive the spike-and-trampoline game across the region. That language underscored the athletic profile readers saw in the Athlete of the Week entry and amplified it beyond the original community nomination.

The Athlete of the Week submission that began the sequence came from Central Oregon and specifically cited Laubacher's Slamball play as the reason for the nomination. What started as a neighborhood recognition ended up prompting coverage that connected one player's work in Bend to a larger pattern of renewed interest in Slamball across nearby towns and venues.

Laubacher's rise in local coverage arrived at a moment when Slamball is describing itself as resurgent; the Feb. 26 profile positioned a Bend player at the center of that narrative. By naming Laubacher and highlighting his athleticism in print, local reporting created a clear link between an individual nomination and the broader movement to bring Slamball back into active play in Central Oregon.

The immediate effect was to raise Laubacher's profile in Bend and the surrounding communities as Slamball activity ramps up. With the Feb. 26 piece circulating, Laubacher's name now appears in conversations about where and how the sport will reestablish regular events in Central Oregon, and his Athlete of the Week origin story provides a concrete example of how grassroots attention can feed a regional revival.