Alright, let me tell you how we ended up playing volleyball for a team-building thing. It wasn’t some grand corporate plan, really. Things felt a bit… well, stale. Everyone was heads-down, focused on their own tasks, and the usual coffee machine chat wasn’t cutting it anymore. We needed to actually do something together, something physical and fun, away from the keyboards.
So, I floated the idea: “Hey, what about some volleyball after work sometime?” Didn’t expect much, honestly. But surprisingly, a few heads popped up. Seemed like others felt the same need to disconnect and just mess around a bit. That little bit of interest was enough for me to run with it.
Getting the Ball Rolling (Literally)
First hurdle: finding a place. I started looking around for local parks with free courts or community centers with rentable gyms. Free was good, but those courts are often packed or in rough shape. I made a few calls, checked some websites – bit of a pain, not gonna lie. Finally found a local school gym we could rent for a couple of hours on a Thursday evening. Wasn’t free, but wasn’t crazy expensive either. I figured we could all chip in a tiny bit.
Next up, getting people confirmed. Sent out an email, simple stuff: “Volleyball, Thursday 6 PM, Lincoln High Gym. Chip in $5 for the court? Let me know if you’re in by Tuesday.” I needed a headcount. Made sure to say all skill levels welcome – seriously, we weren’t aiming for the Olympics. It was just about having a laugh.
Equipment was easy enough. I already had an old volleyball lying around in the garage. Pumped it up, hoped it held air. Good enough.
Game Day: Organized Chaos
Thursday came. About ten of us showed up, which was decent. More than I expected, less than I hoped, but a good number for one court. We got into the gym, and the first challenge was figuring out teams. We just did a quick count-off, trying to mix departments a bit.
Here’s how it basically went:
- Warm-up: Mostly involved awkward stretching and complaining about being out of shape.
- Rules?: We kept it super simple. Get the ball over the net. Three hits max. Mostly ignored stuff like rotation ’cause nobody really knew it anyway.
- The Actual Game: It was… chaotic. And hilarious. Lots of air swings, balls flying into the ceiling, terrible serves (mine included). People were laughing, shouting encouragement, occasionally making a decent play which got loud cheers.
- Competition Level: Pretty low. We kept score loosely, but nobody really cared who won. It was more about the funny moments and the shared effort.
We played for about an hour and a half. Sweaty, tired, but definitely smiling more than when we walked in.
Was It Worth It?
Absolutely. It wasn’t perfect. Some people were clearly better than others, a few were super awkward at first. But the point wasn’t perfect volleyball. The point was breaking down those office walls for a bit.
Afterwards, a few of us grabbed a quick bite nearby. The conversation felt easier, more relaxed. People were talking about the game, laughing at the bad plays. You saw different sides of people. The quiet guy from IT had a surprisingly decent spike. The usually serious manager was laughing her head off after tripping over her own feet.
It didn’t magically solve all our team issues, of course not. But it injected some much-needed energy and camaraderie. People seemed friendlier back in the office the next day. Little inside jokes from the game popped up. So yeah, for the cost of a few bucks each and a bit of organizing hassle, it was a definite win. Simple, active, and genuinely fun. Sometimes that’s all you need.
