Okay, so yesterday, I decided to organize a kids volleyball game at the local park. I’ve been wanting to get the neighborhood kids together for some fun outdoor activity, and volleyball seemed like a good choice – easy to understand, and not too much equipment needed.
First, I gathered all the necessary stuff. Luckily, I already had a volleyball net that I got time ago. We found some old volleyballs in the garage. I also grabbed some cones to mark the court boundaries, just to make things a little more official.
Setting Up
Getting to the park, the first challenge was finding a relatively flat area. We finally settled on a spot near the picnic tables, which also gave us some shade. Setting up the net was a bit of a two-person job. My older son helped me, he is such a big boy! We managed to get it reasonably taut, though it wasn’t exactly professional-level.
Next, we used the cones to mark out a smaller court, suitable for kids. I didn’t want them running all over the place. A smaller court would keep the game contained and, hopefully, prevent too many wild throws.
Game Time!
Once the kids started arriving, we divided them into two teams. Trying to make it as fair as possible, I tried the old “one from this group, one from that group” method. We had a mix of ages, from about 7 to 12, so it wasn’t perfect, but it seemed to work okay.
Explaining the rules was…interesting. Most of the kids had never played volleyball before. We kept it super simple: “hit the ball over the net,” “don’t let it touch the ground on your side,” and “try to hit it with your hands.” That was pretty much it.
- First Step: Get the ball over the net!
- Second Step: Don’t drop it.
- Final Step: Hands only! (Mostly…)
The game itself was chaotic, hilarious, and surprisingly energetic. There was a lot of running, a lot of missed hits, and a lot of giggling. The younger kids mostly just tried to slap the ball in any direction, while the older ones attempted some actual volleyball-like moves. We didn’t keep score, at least not officially. The main point was just to have fun and get some * they did!
After about an hour, everyone was pretty tired. We ended the game, helped pack up the net and cones, and everyone headed home. Successfully tiring out a bunch of kids? Mission accomplished, I’d say!
