In 1895, William G. Morgan was the education director as the Holyoke, Massachusetts, YMCA. Four years earlier, his colleague James Naismith had invented the game of basketball just down the road at the Springfield YMCA. Naismithâ??s game was catching on quickly but there was a drawback. Not everyone could keep up with the fast pace of basketballâ??and that was even before the fast break was created. Morgan needed a game that could be enjoyed by middle-aged men. Morgan conceived a court game he originally called mintonette. He chose the name because his new sport was related to badminton. Mintonette was played on a court divided by a six-foot, six-inch net. Teams volleyed the ball back and forth across the net until one team missed. The first competitive game of volleyball was played July 7, 1896.

Changes were immediately made to Morganâ??s game. One of the first changes was the name itself. Alfred Halstead is credited with renaming the sport with the descriptive words â??volley ball.â? (Can you imagine Karch Kiraly playing for a gold medal in Olympic beach mintonette?) The number of players on each team also was limited. Originally, a team was allowed to have as many players as it could fit into its half of a 50- by 25-foot court. The number of players was set at nine per side and later reduced to six. Rotating players to various positions on the court has been part of the game from the beginning. The number of times a team could touch the ball before it went over the net was eventually established at three. The first rules allowed an unlimited number of hits. The earliest games in Morganâ??s gym were played with the rubber bladder from inside a basketball. Spalding made the first official volleyball in 1896. By 1900, the standard shape and weight of the ball were almost identical to those used today.

The height of the net was raised to make play more challenging. Today, the net is just under eight feet for menâ??s competition (2.43 meters) and just over seven feet (2.24 meters) for womenâ??s. Under the original rules of volleyball, a team had to score 21 points to win a game. In 1917, that number was reduced to 15.

Volleyball Buying Tips:
If you're buying outdoor volleyball nets for beach play, remember that the court is smaller than in indoor volleyball. A beach volleyball court is 26.25 feet by 52.5 feet (that's 8 meters by 16 meters for those of you on the metric system). Still using tree stumps or T-shirts as boundary markers for the volleyball court in your backyard? End the "in or out" arguments with one of our volleyball boundary kits.

Beach volleyball players often use behind-the-back blocking signals to plan their defensive positioning. Closed fist means no block, one finger means line block, two fingers means cross-court block, and an open hand means block based on the opponents' set/approach. ool volleyball isn't just fun, it's also a great workout. A 150-pound person playing with a pool volleyball net for one hour will burn just over 200 calories, which is about equal to two cans of non-diet soda.

Taking down and storing your outdoor volleyball net system when it's not in use can help prolong its life. Take care to wrap the volleyball net tightly around the poles to keep it from getting tangled. Pool volleyball net systems are available for both inground and above ground pools.

Beach volleyball has been a medal event at the Summer Olympics since 1996. The volleyball equipment recommended by the International Olympic Committee includes a net, sunglasses, knee pads, and an official Olympic Games beach volleyball. If you regularly play different outdoor games in your backyard, pool, or local park, then consider buying a combination volleyball and badminton set or a pool volleyball and basketball set.

Pool volleyballs with a no-sting "squish" design are bouncier, lighter, and easier on one's wrists and arms. They're a good choice for younger players or casual play. Outdoor volleyballs are available in a range of materials, including microfiber.

Volleyball and Basketball Safety Padding:
Everyone knows that injuries will occur in any sport, there is simply no way of avoiding it. However, when an injury occurs that could have been prevented, it brings up a wide variety of feelings among both those who witnessed the injury and those who experienced it as well. The real difficulty with an injury is that a serious one can be a career ender in the world of sports. This is especially true of basketball injuries, where a concussion can keep you off the courts for weeks.

In basketball and volleyball, a lot of injuries occur at or around the basketball and volleyball goal. Ankle injuries, serious knee injuries, concussions, cuts, scrapes and bruises just to name a few. You get players pushing, pulling, and becoming very aggressive in the attempt to prevent the other team from scoring a basket, grabbing a rebound or gaining any kind of advantage in the game. This kind of aggressive style of play causes players to skid across the floor into the walls, the pole, the pole base, and in some cases, into the crowd as well. In the event a player is making a running dunk and is fouled hard, he can be shoved into the backboard, which in turn can cause serious injury.

If you have ever been in this situation in a basketball and volleyball game, you know how easy it is to dislocate a shoulder after slamming into a concrete wall (high school gym anyone), or to break a nose falling right onto the goal post. However, serious and painful injuries can be avoided with one simple precaution, by using basketball and volleyball equipment padding.

Basketball and volleyball padding is a very inexpensive way to ensure the safety of your players if your basketball and volleyball venue is not as spacious as many college or professional basket playing surfaces are. There is basketball and volleyball padding available for your walls, the pole, the pole base, and for the goal corners. They are available in many sizes and a lot of colors making it possible for you to match school or team colors to the padding, making it clear who they belong too. For those of you who really want to show school or community spirit, specialty wall pads are available that can be imprinted with any image that you desire.

Basketball and volleyball padding is also available in standard sizing or in custom sizes to fit unusual measurements or to get a snug fit. This versatility makes it possible to use padding on the smallest and the largest of basketball and volleyball equipment from the goal to the post. There is also padding available for square poles.

Sports injuries are inevitable; as long as there is running involved, someone is bound to get hurt eventually. This does not mean, however, that protecting yourself and your team as much as possible is not important. In fact, preventable injuries are frustrating and cause dissention, take the time to protect your team with the appropriate padding for your basketball and volleyball equipment.

Volleyball is certainly a popular sport worldwide and can be played indoors or outdoors, year round, on sandy beaches as well as on hard area courts. Regardless of what skill level you are playing we have complete volleyball game systems that will have you serving in no time.

Our intensive volleyball category includes high quality game standards, volleyball nets, hammock drill carts, floor tape and training equipment. For exceptional recreational and competitive volleyball play practically nothing tops our Powerlite world class volleyball net system.

Featuring 3-1/2â? O.D. lightweight aluminum uprights, telescoping height adjustment, standards, competition net, standard pads and antennae this indoor volleyball net system has everything youâ??ll need to comply with all NCAA, NFSHA and USVBA specifications. Certain manufacturers use of an exclusive internal gear system instead of a spring allows the height to be adjusted while the net is under tension! Designed for International, Collegiate and Advanced High School level.

Choose the package that fits your programs needs and save! We offer step-by-step guide on how to choose the correct volleyball system for excellent outdoor play our outdoor competition volleyball net systems are perfect for sandy surfaces and include galvanized steel poles, powder coated uprights, rust resistant positive lock ratchet tensioning device and 36� aluminum ground sleeves with cast aluminum top caps for semi-permanent installation.

For competitive indoor volleyball games use our high quality floor tape applicator to clearly mark boundaries. For competitive high school and collegiate play or for fun backyard and beach recreation browse our excellent selection of durable, nylon woven volleyball nets and volleyball net systems to ensure your volleyball game follows official regulations. We feature a terrific selection of high school, collegiate and international volleyball net sizes to handle any tournament rules and court dimensions.

All our nets feature heavy duty woven nylon for a taut and sturdy netting. Featuring all steel construction and long handle that allows stand up application to gym floors you can quickly and easily have gym floors accurately lined for official volleyball games and tournaments. We also feature 36' and 60' long tape rolls in 1" and 2" wide thickness in a great selection of colors including red, blue, green and black.