None would have imagined that what started as a game for older folks at YMCA, would emerge to be a global phenomena in a short history of about hundred plus years! Yes, volleyball as a game has evolved in various forms and is now the most important game in the United States, only next to basketball. The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), the governing body for volleyball game, is the largest international federation in the world. Let’s dive into the fascinating history of volleyball and know more about it. Meanwhile, why not know more about some legendary and famous volleyball players.

What is the History of Volleyball?
The world witnessed the arrival of volleyball in 1895, only four years after basketball was introduced as a game in the US. Invented by William G. Morgan (1870-1942 ), a graduate from the Springfield College of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), volleyball came into existence as a blended form of various games like basketball, tennis and handball. In the starting, volleyball was named as Mintonette and Morgan conceptualized the idea of volleyball in 1895 while working as an instructor in Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Alfred Halstead, in the year 1896, coined the the name Volleyball instead of Mintonette. The first volleyball match was played in Morgan’s graduation college on On July 7, 1896. Read more on volleyball: history, court and equipments.

History of Volleyball: Initial Rules and Regulations
In initial volleyball matches, any number of players were allowed (can you imagine this to be now!) and the court size was 25 feet x 50 foot with a net size of 6 by 6 inches. Every match had 9 innings and 3 serves per team were allowed. In case the serve hit the net, it resulted in a point loss. A new set of rules in the year 1900 was published by A. E. Day. The rules of 25 points was changed to 21 points and net was raised to 7 feet 6 inches. Read more on volleyball rules and regulations.

History of Volleyball: Global Popularity
Thanks to the efforts of YMCA, volleyball soon spread in many countries. Volleyball was bought to Cuba by an army officer, Agusto York, who participated in Caribbean war, while it was bought to Tokya by Hyozo Omori, a graduate trained in Springfield college. Max Exner and Howard Crokner are still revered by Chinese for bringing volleyball into China. In Manila, the game was introduced by YMCA director Elwood Brown. Read more on volleyball positions on the court. Read the rest of this entry »

Here we will cover the height of the net for men and women in sand volleyball as well as how big the court size is for both indoor and beach volleyball. Beach volleyball is played with only 2 people on each side of the net so it makes sense that the court size is much smaller in sand volleyball.

But about 9 years ago the beach volleyball court size and the indoor size was the same. This gave an advantage for the smaller beach players because they could shoot the ball into the deep corners where it was almost impossible to dig. But people quickly realized that a large court size favored the worse players because they could make more mistakes while having the ball still land in. So the FIVB and AVP changed their court dimensions from the indoor size of 9 meters by 18 meters to what it is today at 8 meters by 16 meters.

The smaller court size makes for longer rallies because there are more digs and it produces better volleyball players. The small court should be used in all level of play if you only have 2 people on each side of the net, whether you are playing in sand or on grass.

The beach volleyball net height is the same as indoor for both men and women. This means that for men it is 7’11″ and 5/8 and for women it is 7’4″ and 1/8. Read the rest of this entry »