The sophomore spikeball player spun the ball in his hand, glaring through the sun at his opponents. He glanced over to his teammate and nodded, ready for the game to begin. His mind raced through the combinations he could hit: the cut serve, fwango, drop shot or reverse cut and their variants. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he tossed the yellow ball into the air and ripped it toward the mesh net.
Sophomore Stephen Heath is very passionate about the game of spikeball, a mixture of volleyball and four-square in which a miniature softball-sized rubber ball is bounced off a small net on the ground. As with other sports, there are certain hits, like the cut serve, fwango, and others, that need coaching to perfect. This enthusiasm has led him to entertain the idea of founding a spikeball club in which students could form teams and compete in tournaments.
Heath contacted administrators three weeks ago to determine the measures it would take to create a high school spikeball club. He believes it will bring students together through a new sport and help foster fellowship.
“I feel it is a great way to bond with people; it is a great community starter,” said Heath. “Spikeball has taken off in the past two to three years with college and high school, and I feel like it is portable and fun. It doesn’t require a whole lot of things; you just need a net and a ball.”
The King’s Academy’s eSports team was founded last year by junior Chandler Payne, and Heath believes there is a similar demand for spikeball.
“Ever since I brought spikeball to lunch, it's taken off. Quite a few people have liked it,” said Heath. “I’ve already got a lot of people saying that they would be interested in joining the club and a future Varsity [team], if we made it into a sport. I think it could really [be popular].”
Though many students desire a club for this sport, forming a one is a difficult task. A sponsor is required to teach and lead the club through any tournaments they may face. This could be a potential problem. Since spikeball only peaked a few years ago, the sponsor would most likely have to be quite young. There may be a solution, but Heath is still looking for a concrete answer.
“It will be a little bit hard because anyone who is really good enough to coach it will be in high school and college. There are a couple of people from the UGA Varsity team who are about to graduate that I know through mutual connections that I might try to hit up, but it is going to be a challenge,” said Heath.
Heath hopes to initiate the club on Jan. 2 and anticipates a good turnout amongst the student population. Information is scarce, but if King’s accepts the idea of a spikeball club, it could very well be the first Varsity team in Georgia high school private schools.
“I think it is going to [be successful],” said Heath. “Obviously I can’t predict the future, but a lot of people have already said they would be interested in it. I think it will take off, and I think we will be good at it. Because we will be the first [high school] Varsity team [in Georgia] ever created for spikeball, to my knowledge, we can get other high schools on board.”
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