That's awesome! Gonzo is a Flyball pup too, herding dogs absolutely own the sport... hehe.

Great recall and solid Obedience really is necessary unless you have a super driven ball-addict. My BC prefers other dogs and people way over getting a tennis ball out of a box, so we spent over a year working on advanced Obedience to get him more focused. Now, he won't even LOOK at the dog in the lane next to him when he's racing. Good Obedience will definitely make Flyball training much easier for you and Magic! I can't wait to see how you guys do, I'm sure you will be competing by this summer !!

Also, I suggest you get a very durable tug toy (rope, nylon, bungee, or rubber material works best) and get Magic addicted to it... she only gets it during Flyball as a reward. You'll need her to be tug-obsessed when you start competing.