History of Volleyball

Volleyball is a very popular game that is played by children and adults at family picnics, schools or local gyms. This game has also become a worldwide organized sport that is played by amateur and professional teams. Volleyball has been around for just over 115 years and was created as a combination of basketball, tennis, handball and baseball.

Creation of volleyball

William Morgan was the athletic director at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who was looking for a game that businessmen could play. He wanted a game that was less strenuous than basketball, but still physically challenging. This led to the creation of volleyball, or what he called Mintonette. He took a tennis court net and raised it six feet, six inches high and had people on both sides of the net hit the ball back and forth without letting it hit the ground. The games consisted of nine innings, with three serves during each inning.

Volleyball spread throughout the world

This game was an instant success, and it spread to YMCA's across the country. The games quickly spread to Canada during the early 1900s. In 1919, the United States shipped thousands of volleyballs to the troops overseas, and as other countries saw them play the game caught on quickly. The game was first included in the Olympic during the 1964 games. The rules have changed greatly since the beginning, but the basics of the game remain the same.

The game of volleyball may have started in a small Massachusetts town, but has grown over the years and is now played in practically every school and gym across the country. There are many different volleyball teams at the high school, college and professional levels. Fans of volleyball enjoy both watching and playing the game.