Spikeball sounds like a gym class excuse for a sport, made up by that one teacher who refuses to play the classics. However, when you think about it, every sport sounds a little weird. Most sports are named by the word ball with a noun in front of it. Past the name and the weird yellow ring of the game’s net, the game of Spikeball itself is acquiring tremendous popularity. It’s a sport that you can play anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Similar to pickleball and other relatively unknown cost-effective games, the rise of spikeball can be credited to the post-pandemic fascination with the outdoors.
Spikeball was initially created in 1989 by Japanese toy company, Tomy, and was an instant failure. However, led by Chris Ruder, Spikeball became one of the fastest-growing sports in history. Its accessibility and playability led itself to be favorable to students and other busy people who wanted quick exercise. It started with Chicago college students at first, but spread like wildfire across the rest of America. Marc Cuban, billionaire investor and Shark Tank original, considers it his biggest miss on the show, fuming when he sees the sport’s meteoric rise.
Since appearing on Shark Tank in 2015, Spikeball is on its way to becoming an Olympic sport. But why? “Spikeball is just as easy as it is fun,” said Marc Friedman ’25, a Bronx Science student and avid Spikeball enthusiast. It’s that simple. It’s easy to learn with few rules and can be played at different levels of intensity and skill.
For under $100 USD, a group of people can participate in their own portable sport with every piece of equipment always available and no added costs or equipment advantages like in soccer or basketball. Spikeball is playable on any surface, and while the game is meant for two teams of two, teams of three and one-on-ones are also viable without changing the setup. It’s the versatility of the setup that makes the game so valuable to anyone trying to have fun and be outside.
From a survey that I conducted of 135 Bronx Science students, 64.4% have played the sport. Surveying the student body, I asked them to rank spikeball based on personal experience from 1-10, with 10 being their favorite sport. A significant 20.7% of students selected a score of 7, making it the mode, while the average rating was 5.87, which is notably high for a sport competing for attention with the Big 4. However, it’s also essential to acknowledge the 9% of students who selected 1, the lowest score possible.
A possible reason for the wide range of ratings could be a lack of understanding, one horrible experience, or even a genuine distaste for the sport itself. Like every sport, not everyone will enjoy it, but the average rating by students indicates that spikeball has a place among the rest in the hall of fame of high school sports.
Jeff Knurik, the sport’s original creator, began with a net fashioned from a hula hoop, bouncing all sorts of balls off of it — volleyballs, tennis balls, and eventually dissecting a baseball to engineer a new ball for a new future. His journey of experimenting and refining the equipment laid the groundwork for what spikeball is today.
While it’s crucial to recognize Knurik’s initial company failure, it’s equally vital to appreciate his lasting impact on the sport. Ruder’s leadership as the CEO transformed spikeball into a successful business, positively rebranding it and significantly increasing its player base worldwide. His vision helped to transition a simple toy into a widely recognized sport, demonstrating how innovation can breathe new life into forgotten ideas.
Spikeball’s impact is multifaceted. At the high school level, it serves as an inclusive sport, often featured as a unit in physical education classes.
However, at the college level, it can resemble the exclusivity of men’s football and lacrosse, often tied to fraternity culture and perceived as a sport for a select group. This duality reflects the ongoing conversation about accessibility and inclusivity in sports, highlighting that while spikeball has broad appeal, its social dynamics can complicate its reputation.
As spikeball continues to gain traction, the community of players becomes more accepting. Like most sports at first, they are dominated by a specific group of people. Basketball was initially played by college athletes as a means to avoid the cold. But the sport quickly gained popularity as large groups began realizing just how fun the game was. Perhaps the same is in store for Spikeball.
Spikeball was relatively dead before Chris Ruders recent take over, and the sport fits itself to a college campus environment. The social dynamic of the sport should not deter people from playing it. As spikeball gains more recognition, as expected, it will expand to different communities, losing its insignificant label of a “fraternity” sport.
The connotation of the sport shouldn’t stop you from playing it. You never know, with a small following now, you could be someone who shapes its future.
Like most sports, Spikeball can be played recreationally and competitively.
Like most sports, spikeball can be played recreationally and competitively. However, unlike many, it is easy to learn, a “low skill cap,” according to Freidman. With simple rules and low excursion needed in a relatively intense game, it doesn’t fall to be very competitive or intense.
Not only is it very easy to play at different skill levels, it is also equally enjoyable. A slow game requiring slight flexibility, consistency, and teamwork doesn’t require running back and forth or physical contact with other players.
Similarly to variations of other sports, like throwing a frisbee or playing HORSE, spikeball can be utilized in other ways than just the rules intended. It’s easy to practice passing back and forth with one opponent and no teams or play with an extra team.
Over 4 million people play spikeball worldwide today, with 150 yearly tournaments. Compared to the 450 million people playing basketball, this number seems small, but it is exponentially larger than what it was 10 years ago. In 2013, the company started to earn an annual revenue of 1 million dollars; in 2023, that number was 19 million. With awareness only increasing, it is safe to say that the company will continue to grow, maybe even to the level of basketball or soccer.
The company’s growth is not the reason to give it a try; you should try playing spikeball because you will have fun. The majority of Bronx Science students enjoy the game, and I encourage you to attend your local park, join a game and see what happens.
Central Park has its own spikeball community, and even if your local park doesn’t have one, trust me, it’s easy to make. Buying a net might be a fun way to elevate your fun, but you don’t need to have a net. The neon yellow rings, decorating the green grass, and yellow balls flying through the air are easy to spot anywhere, and I’m sure if you ask nicely, players will let you into their game.
There is no risk in playing to see how it feels. Spikeball is a fun way to exercise, enjoy the weather, spend time with your friends, and have fun.
Give it a try! You might like it.
Spikeball was initially created in 1989 by Japanese toy company, Tomy, and was an instant failure. However, led by Chris Ruder, Spikeball became one of the fastest-growing sports in history.