By: Matt Farrow | Student Life Editor & Evan Dillbeck | Writer
September 18, 2018
Anyone who has spent time at the beach this summer witnessed a game involving four people hitting a ball on a small trampoline. This incredibly popular new game? Spike ball.
And now, San Clemente High School seniors Koosha Jadbabaei and Quinn Richards are taking spike ball from the beach to the school via their new club appropriately titled: “Spike Ball Club.”
“Last summer, my friends and I would go to the beach almost every day, and we kept seeing people playing Spike Ball,” club founder and president Jadbabaei said. “We bought a set and started to get more competitive so we decided to make a club in order to get more people to play.”
The game of Spike Ball is relatively simple: there are four to six players divided in to two teams. To start the game, one of the teams (team one) serves the ball by bouncing it off the trampoline to the opposing team (team two). Now team two must pass it once before spiking the ball. Assuming that team two passes and spikes it successfully, it is now team one’s turn to pass and then spike. The team who fails to do so loses and the other one scores a point. (hitechgazette) The game is usually played to twenty-one points and takes anywhere from ten to twenty-five minutes to finish.
Once players become proficient with the basic game rules there are several strategies that they can use. One skill they can use is known as “the fake” in which one team sets up for a spike, then fakes at the last minute and send the ball just on to the net. Players will also alter the power of their spikes in order to send the ball to difficult places. Strategies like these are used to keep the opposing team out of position, forcing them to play more defensively. When a team is on the defensive, the other team has a higher advantage because they have more time, allowing them to set up their attack more comfortably.
The Spike Ball Club gives SCHS students a chance to play this popular new game on a monthly basis with skilled players, such as Karamians (featured above), as well as novice players who have just started learning.
Jadbabaei explains that the main goal of the club is “to create a competitive, yet fun and exciting Spike Ball experience.” With a large focus on community, Spike Ball Club invites all students, no matter their skill level, to compete and improve their game. In the future, Koosha plans to host “beach tournaments, grass tournaments, and potential games against other schools.” As the club grows, so will the competitive opportunities.
Ultimately, students should consider joining the Spike Ball Club because it is a fun and friendly environment, as well as a very unique and exciting game. The club’s first official meeting will be held Friday, September 21, 2018. Jadbabaei concludes by inviting all students, “Whether you have experience or not, to join the club, learn how to play, improve, and most of all have fun playing Spike Ball!”
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