If you asked volleyball players what the best play in the sport is, most would respond with the same answer — the spike.
Now if you grab a net and spread it out tight across a circle like a trampoline, and get a smaller ball and three of your friends, you are ready for spikeball.
“Spikeball is like the child of volleyball and four square,” said Ian Parkinson, a sophomore health science major from Highland. “You have two teams of two, and then between you and your teammate, you have three hits to get it back on the net.”
Parkinson said spikeball was created on California beaches and can be played on sand, grass, hardwood floors or on carpet. When on sand, you have the best chance for exercise because of the difficulty to move.
“Spikeball is a game that everyone can learn and have fun with,” said Brayden Willard, a sophomore business major from American Fork. “It can be an activity you can play for just fun or competitively.”
The goal is to bounce the ball off the net and get it to land on the ground.
“It is a great exercise because you are always moving and needing to react very quickly,” said Evan Wright, a freshman health science major from American Fork. “Since the game is usually played in sand, that also is good exercise.”
Before a serve, the teammates must be on the same side of the circular net, that is sitting on the ground like a small trampoline. Once the ball is served, though, there are no more sides. You can move wherever you want without any limitations.
According to spikeball.com, you and your teammate have only three hits before the ball must bounce off the net again which passes to the other team.
“My favorite part about [spikeball] is that it’s such a free game because it is so simple,” Parkinson said. “It is just free; you only have three or four rules.”
The official rules state that the first team to 21 points is the winner. The rules also say to play traditional scoring, which means if you don’t serve the ball, you can’t score a point.
“The thing that makes [spikeball] fun is that it’s fast paced, and the games usually get very intense,” Wright said.
If the ball hits the rim, the other team gets a point if serving or an opportunity to serve if it wasn’t already serving.
You also shouldn’t hit the spot called the “pocket” with the ball, which is when the ball hits both the rim and net. If the ball hits there, the point will be redone, in that, the same team will serve again.
For more information and to buy your very own spikeball set, visit spikeball.com.