Sophomore Spikeball player creates IM league

Sophomores Carter Hakim (left) and Owais Syed battle for a point at a Spikeball meeting on Sept. 19. The club meets Tuesdays after school on the softball diamond. Photo by Chloe Carroll

Glenbrook North’s intramural Spikeball league, which was created by sophomore Aaron Kates last year, meets on Tuesdays after school on the softball diamond.

Kates said he first learned about Spikeball from his cousin and was immediately hooked on the sport. After that, he participated in amateur Spikeball tournaments around the Chicagoland area.

     According to Kates, the rules of Spikeball are extremely simple to learn.

Kates said the game is played by two teams that each consist of two players. These teams volley the ball off of a circular net placed on the ground, with each volley consisting of up to three hits that must alternate between teammates before the ball must be volleyed back off the net. A team wins a point if the other team fails to volley the ball back off the net. The first team to score 21 points wins the game.

Kates said a typical meeting consists of members “getting together to play Spikeball” and “just hanging out.”

In regards to the format of the league, Kates said he will adapt to how members want to compete.

“I’m flexible about the format of this organization,” said Kates. “If they want it to be a competitive league, then we will do tournaments. If they want to just relax and play Spikeball, then we can do that too.”

Sophomore Joey Gertz, a member of the Spikeball league, said the sport is both fun and a great workout, and he hopes to see the league grow in membership.

   “We have had a strong turnout during the first few weeks, with each week being better than the last one,” Gertz said.

Kates said he has lofty expectations for the future of the club.

“I hope it can rival GBN’s traditional basketball and football IM leagues in terms of membership,” Kates said.