History Of Volleyball Essay

Volleyball today has little resemblance to its predecessors. The modern version of volleyball played today has changed so much compared to the original game. The rules and scoring systems have changed multiple times. Equipment and technique have changed a fair amount too. But one of the original ideas from William G. Morgan that has stood the tests of time, the original goal of the sport. The goal to have a sport for all ages that brings people together to have fun and exercise together.

VOLLEYBALL TODAY: The rules for volleyball Today, people play volleyball all over the world as a pass time, a school sport, and even as an Olympic sport. The game can consist of two to twelve players. Volleyball combines power, speed, and finesse (Dearing xi). Six players play on the court on a volleyball team, who each must rotate one position clockwise every time their team wins back

service from the opposition (“Basic Volleyball Rules”). The teams set themselves up in two rows of three. A team can touch the ball three times on its side of the net (Basic Volleyball Rules). A dig, a set, and spike comprise the main actions in volleyball (“Basic Volleyball Rules”). In a dig, a player makes a forearm pass. In a set, she makes and overhead pass with the fingertips. The spike acts as an offensive swing at the ball towards the other team. Hitting the ball with an open hand or wrist, the server serves the ball into play (“Basic Volleyball Rules”) Teams scored a point on every rally regardless of which team served (“Basic Volleyball Rules”). A match is comprised of five sets, best three out of five. One plays the first four sets to twenty-five, if needed, the final set to fifteen. A team must win a set by two points (“Basic Volleyball Rules”).

HOW VOLLEYBALL GOT STARTED: In 1895 (How Volleyball was Introduced), Springfield College, located in Massachusetts, invented the sport of volleyball (Volleyball Equipment and History), as a response to the game of basketball (Dearing xi).

Volleyball encouraged teamwork without the bloody noses and injuries that basketball brought (Dearing xi). It all started as Morgan spent time hitting a basketball at John Lynch, the Holyoke YMCA fire chief (Dearing 31). Due to the weight of the basketball, it would not keep afloat in the air properly (Dearing 31). So they took the bladder of the basketball and found it much easier the hit (Dearing 31). Morgan stretched a tennis net across the gym (Dearing 32). Morgan then divided some men into teams (Dearing 32). He told the men to bat the ball back and forth over the net (Dearing 32). Morgan called the game mintonette (Dearing 32). Mintonette, is a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball (How Volleyball was Introduced). The positions covered the court including; right back, left back, center, right forward, and left forward (Dearing

34).

THE ORIGINAL RULES: The original rules of volleyball have changed many times to create what we play today, but some of the original rules have stood the test of time. For instance, no man could hit the ball twice in a row (Dearing 34). A player served the ball to put it in play, players then volleyed back and forth until one side failed to return it (Dearing 36). Holding or catching the ball became a rule in the very beginning (Dearing 36). Some rules have changed once or multiple times or even just thrown out altogether. For example, someone could use an air dribble by batting the ball to themselves, but only if standing behind a line on their side (Dearing 36). This rule no longer exists. The constant volleying ends when one side failed to return the ball (Dearing 54). When serving, the server had to stand with one foot on the back line (Dearing 55). The server got two chances to serve over to the other team (Dearing 55). To serve, one must bat the ball with one hand (Dearing 55). A playable ball occurred when the serve hit the net but went into the other court (Dearing 55). If the serve hit the net and goes out the server has no second trial (Dearing 55). A netball occurred, when the ball hit the net in the middle of a rally, resulting in a failure to return the ball (Dearing 55). The number of players playing the game started limitless (Dearing 53). Hitting the boundary line put the ball out of bounds (Dearing 55). If a player touched the net, the other side gained a point (Dearing 55). If a player caught or held the ball, the other team gained a point. (Dearing 56). If the ball hit any other object other than the court and bounced back into the court it wad still in play (Dearing 56). The game first consisted of nine innings (Volleyball Rules 1897). An inning consisted of each player serving to the other side (Dearing 54). A side only earned points when serving (Dearing 55). The first handbook that had the rules for volleyball came from the Official Handbook of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America (Volleyball Rules 1897).

WILLIAM G. MORGAN: William G. Morgan created Volleyball and educated many young youth. Born on January 23, 1870, (Dearing 3) in New York (Volleyball History), William became the first child to George and Nancy Morgan (Dearing 3).
Due to his larger size, William fell behind in his studies because of a constant feeling of not belonging (Dearing 5). At age 14 he ran away from home to help make a canal boat (Dearing 5). Morgan loved taking risks and exploring (Dearing xii). At age fifteen, William’s parents gave him permission to leave school. (Dearing5). Many years later Morgan wanted to go to college to fulfill his dream to become an engineer (Dearing 5). When he told his friends that he wanted to go to Cornell University they told him to go to Mount Hermon (Dearing 6). Morgan agreed and wrote the headmaster a letter (Dearing 6). He gained support from his Sunday school teacher Mrs. J.S. Helmer (Dearing 8). Mrs. J.S. Helmer sent a letter of recommendation for William (Dearing 8). She said that he had a strong faith and seen as a very reliable man (Dearing 9). William did not get in at Mount Herman (Dearing 10). Mrs. Helmer didn’t give up on William though (Dearing 10). She wrote another letter to the headmaster bringing attention to her first letter (Dearing 11). Mount Herman accepted William into the program a week later (Dearing 11). Mount Herman paved the road to Cornell University (Dearing 12). Morgan started school that next week. He played Football for Mount Hermon, playing the position of center on the team (Dearing 17-18). Participating on the team helped William see how a team needed to work together to succeed (Dearing 20). Due to his good football skills, Will caught Naismith’s eye (Dearing 18). Naismith, a teacher at Springfield and creator of the game of Basketball (Dearing 18). Naismith asked him to come play for Springfield and study there (Dearing 18). William went to study at Springfield (Dearing 18). William soon strayed away from wanting to become an engineer (Dearing 27), because he started to like the idea of mind-body-spirit (Dearing 27). He committed to the idea of education for the youth (Dearing 27). William decided to go into the Physical Department (Dearing 27). During this time, he married Mary King Caldwell (Dearing pg.29). William and Mary married on October 7,1893 (Dearing pg.29). Marriage brought many changes to his life. Mary gave birth to their first child, a baby girl, Lillian Morgan on June 30, 1894 (Dearing pg.30). Moving back to Western Massachusetts to work at the Holyoke YMCA, created another big change in his life. After this move, William’s wife gave birth to their son, George Morgan on August 29, 1895, had another kid in 1895(Dearing pg.30). During this time period William started to look for an innovative and easier game than basketball. He discovered a need for a less violent sport for older people (Volleyball History). He started thinking of tennis but it needed too much equipment so he stole the net idea and raised it to six feet (Volleyball History). As William played around with the idea of a new sport he came up with rules and positions. He continued to create this new game called Minton, but this game already existed and possessed similar characteristics (Dearing pg.32). Minton came from India (Dearing pg.32). Yutaka Mizutani the author of “Volleyball Its Origin and Development” suggested adding “ette” to the end of Minton (Dearing pg.35). “Ette” means similar or like. William watched Mintonette grow and spread like wildfire across the nation and eventually across the world. Dr. Luther Gulick, the head of the Physical Department, invited Morgan to the Physical Director’s Conference on July 7,1896 (Dearing pg.35). Morgan had constructed 2 teams to take to the first public showing of Mintonette (Dearing pg.35). After watching the teams volleying the ball back and forth continuously A.T. Halsted suggested the name Volley ball (Dearing pg.36). Morgan left Holyoke and went to New Haven Connecticut but soon moved back to Lockport in 1898 and became the physical director in Lockport from 1898-1900 (Dearing pg.63). But William soon left the YMCA supposedly to pursue his old dreams of becoming an engineer (Dearing pg.63). Sadly his plans didn’t work out well to become an engineer (Dearing pg.63). William died on December 27, 1942.

HOW THE EQUIPMENT HAS CHANGED: The original equipment for volleyball has changed drastically. The court started out as twenty-five feet wide and fifty feet long and a net divided the court (Volleyball Rules 1897). The net had to be at least two feet wide and twenty-seven feet long and six feet six inches away from the floor (Volleyball Rules 1897). William Morgan started by trying to play with a basketball. Due to the basketball’s heavyweight, it made it extremely hard to play with and control. Morgan went to A.G. Spalding and Brothers to ask for them to make a new ball for him (Dearing pg.31). Spalding created a new ball made of soft calfskin, but it did not hold up for the games (Dearing pg.31). Trying a second time, Spalding created a ball made of leather (Dearing pg.31). Through the years, the rules and requirements have changed multiple times. Like in 1912, the court expanded to requiring thirty-five by sixty feet (Dearing pg.57). The court then changed again to thirty by sixty feet in 1923 (Dearing pg.57). Created in the 1920’s the centerline in the middle of the court provided a boundary between the two teams (Dearing pg.57). In 1900, the net raised by one foot and the width changed to three feet (Dearing pg.57). Men and women both have always had similar and different rules and equipment. Such as the net having the height of eight feet from the floor for men and seven feet for women (Dearing pg.57).