By Tommy O’Neill//
Fourteen athletes went head-to-head out on the quad in Hood’s first official Spikeball tournament, on Sept. 15.
Spikeball is a sport that requires two players on each team to rally a small, yellow ball back and forth and hit it against a net on the ground so the opposing players cannot return it. If the ball hits the ground on your team’s possession, the other team gets a point.
Michael Petro, the head coach of track and field and head of intramural sports, oversaw the Spikeball tournament.
The students who were interested in competing signed in at the Whitaker campus center. Most players appeared to look very official, adorned with cleats, draw string bags and leggings for sliding on grass.
Some athletes were new to the game while others had years of experience.
It was blisteringly hot outside, 90 degrees with 54% humidity, and on the quad out of reach of the larger trees, it was brutal for the athletes competing.
Petro quickly gathered the group of men and women competing and gave a short explanation of the basic rules and regulations of the game. He then set out the schedule for the seven teams.
After that, the athletes were off. The contestants dashed, lunged, and dove back and forth on the quad around the black and yellow trampoline-looking nets, trying to hit the small, yellow ball on the netting to assure their victory.
Various callouts were shouted by those playing,
“Ball! Ball! Ball!”
“On your right! On your right!”
“My serve, my serve,” exclaimed the assortment of athletes throughout their matches.
While the athletes were giving it their best, Petro explained his reasoning for choosing Spikeball for the first tournament of the year.
“It’s a very popular game for those in this age range,” Petro said. “It’s been really exciting to see this event take off in the short time we’ve been back on campus.”
Petro said that in the nearby future, people in Hood’s community can look forward to other intermural sports being provided, such as dodgeball, flag football, kickball, basketball and even videogames like Super Smash Bros.
“As long as we have people interested, we intended to have as many games and tournaments as we possibly can,” Petro said.
Russell Odor and Brandon Walker won the tournament. There was no tangible prize given to the winners, however, they both get the bragging rights of being the best Spikeball players on Hood’s campus.
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