Maple tree sapling

I remember there was a young maple tree growing in the back of the house between the cellar door and the back door.  We used a rope to bend the top of the tree to the ground. We would take turns sitting on the end of the tree, it would swing up rapidly. Someone would pull it back down and then let go to let it swing up again.  We did this for hours a day for days until finally the sapling could take no more and it snapped.