Spikeball getting U popularity bounce

By FORRESTER PACK/Murphy News Service

University of Minnesota students and alumni are taking part in the renewed interest in the game of spikeball.

Online merchants and brick-and-mortar stores are selling kits of the re-energized sport. Curious people around the country are either watching or participating in the unique game. So just what is this sport, this ‘spikeball’?

“I usually tell people that spikeball is a combination of volleyball and four-square,” Brad Gustafson, a U alum and spikeball event organizer, said.

“Spikeball has very similar rules to volleyball but is an inverted version. Inverted because you’re spiking it down at the net and not hitting over the net,” U alum Ryan Horning said.

Gustafson and Horning maintain a spikeball event page for U students interested in learning or playing the game. The next big event is the USA Spikeball-sponsored tournament at Como Park in St. Paul in October.

But let’s not bounce ahead of ourselves.

Spikeball is essentially a ball-and-net game that somewhat resembles volleyball, but is played with a much smaller, horizontal net. The net behaves like a trampoline; two teams, usually of two players each, standing across the net from one another attempt to spike the ball off the net. A team is awarded a point depending upon a various number of circumstances or infractions. Complete rules can be found on the USA Spikeball official website.

“I have experienced spikeball to be a wonderful game to teach to beginners and play with well experienced players,” Horning said. “I haven’t met a person that doesn’t want to play ever again. Spikeball is a game for everyone and can be played on just about any surface, but sand is the best option.”

Spikeball has origins in the late 1980s and has resonated with millennials. The growing popularity of the sport can be explained by its convenience: the kits are relatively cheap to purchase and easy to transport, the set-up is straightforward, and the game itself can be played almost anywhere — on a beach, a field, or in a backyard.

Businesses have taken notice: Owatonna-based Gopher Sport Store offers a game set for $59.99. Retailer Brookstone also sells its spikeball sets for $59.99.

“It’s a four person sport that you can play essentially anywhere and [it] pushes you athletically,” Gustafson said. “My first time playing was actually with a Christian student group called Cru. They got me into it my freshman year at the U of M.” Horning said he was also introduced to the sport through Cru.

“One of these relationships [through Cru] was with a good friend and roommate Ryan McBain. Ryan was the man who introduced spikeball to me here at college, and he learned about it on a summer mission on the East coast,” Horning said. “His passion and the friendship that was built between the two of us because of this game was great motivation for me to introduce it to others on campus, because it is one of those games that you can easily enjoy and can start and strengthen friendships.”

Spikeball had an official Minnesota coming-out party of sorts in July when 25 teams gathered in Arden Hills for a tournament. The Cage Bomb Blog writer Jake Krier reported players arrived from Iowa and Wisconsin to compete. One of those competitors was Ryan Horning.

“Along with a good friend of mine, we did very well in this tournament, placing second of teams. We had a blast in this tournament and it was great to see the number of non-student participants,” Horning said.

Gustafson and Horning, and interested U students, could be the catalyst that keeps the sport’s momentum in Minnesota going. The duo expects 20-25 teams to participate at the Oct. 24 event. As of Sept.16, the Facebook page Gustafson and Horning operate had more than 100 members.

“I would love to see it become a common game played on the Mall, just like tossing a football is or throwing a Frisbee. I have thought about starting a club but never got around to it,” Horning said. “Also seeing more tournaments near campus would be wonderful, or even an intramural league would be awesome!”

Reporter Forrester Pack is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

For article-

Brad Gustafson, U of M alum. https://www.facebook.com/brad.gustafson.12

Ryan Horning, U of M alum. (320) 905-2761… [email protected]

Gopher Sport, Brookstone.com, Jake Krier blog post, and USA Spikeball references hyperlinked in article

 

For video- *Note* The roughly 1-minute video couldn’t be uploaded to the WordPress, but was to be titled “University reacts to Spikeball”. Two individuals briefly discuss their thoughts on the sport.

Chris Ernst, University of Minnesota student… [email protected]

Justin Regnier, University of Minnesota employee (TCF Bank Stadium)… [email protected]

Images of Spikeball used from Brookstone.com

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