The sport of volleyball originated in the United States, and is now just beginning to achieve the type of popularity in the U.S. that it has received on a global basis, where it ranks behind only soccer among participation sports. In 1895, William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Mass., decided to blend elements of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball to create a game for his classes of businessmen which would demand less physical contact than basketball. He created the game of Volleyball (at that time called mintonette). Per Morgan, the game was fit for the gymnasium or exercise hall but, could also be played outdoor. The play consisted of any number of players keeping a ball in motion from one side to the other over a net raised 6 feet 6 inches above the floor. Play is started by a player on one side serving the ball over the net into the opponents’ field or court. The opponents then, without letting the ball strike the floor, return it, and it is in this way kept going back and forth until one side fails to return the ball or the ball hits the floor. The side serving the ball earns points when the opposite side either fails to return the ball or allows the ball to hit the floor. During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and perhaps “volleyball” would be a more descriptive name for the sport. Rules of the game, established by Morgan:
After reaching Japan and Asia through the YMCA network by 1896, a specially designed ball came to be by 1900, and over the next 20 years, rules were set into place. The Philippines created the “set” and “spike” in 1916 and six-a-side play was the standard two years later. By 1920, the rules mandating three hits per side and back-row attacks were instituted. Japan, Russia and the United States each started national volleyball associations during the 1920s. And when U.S. soldiers brought the game overseas during World War II, the sport spread through the rest of Europe like wildfire. Shortly after, France recognized the sport nationally as well. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) made the game a non-Olympic sport in 1949 and the first World Championships for men were held in that same year. The women’s first world-level competition came three years later. The Russians would dominate the sport until the mid-1980s with some challenge from Japan during the stint. The United States finally made their mark as the men’s team won back-to-back gold medals in Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988). With beach volleyball stealing some of the spotlight away from indoor, certain traditions were dropped for the Sydney Games. Replacing the previous system where only the serving team could earn one, a point will be at stake for every rally. In addition, another agile defender called a “libero,” who is free to substitute in back-row defense at almost every turn was added. Today there are more than 46 million Americans who play volleyball. Worldwide, there are over 800 million people who play volleyball at least once a week. In the mid 1960’s, the United States Junior Olympic Volleyball (USJOV) program was established. Initial talks to establish a junior program within the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) were not productive. The USVBA, then comprised totally of volunteers and lacking paid staff members, was required to concentrate on its Open Club program. In addition, priority efforts beyond that were to develop the national teams and international competition program. The USVBA Executive Committee granted permission to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to pursue the development of a full-scale junior development program within the AAU structure. Following two years of discussion and negotiations, and the finalization of appropriate legislation, the AAU approved volleyball as a Junior Olympic sport. John Eaton of Virginia Beach, V.A., was appointed to write the first set of rules for Junior Olympic Volleyball. Using the rules of volleyball as approved by the USVBA, Eaton modified the rules so that they would be more compatible to the age group program. These rules still serve as the basic foundation of junior volleyball in the United States today. Although the National AAU approved volleyball as a “JO” sport, the organization did not include it in the multi-sport Junior Olympic Championship. Volleyball had to strike out on its own for qualifying national tournament sites. The first national championship was conducted in 1974 at the Catonsville Community College in Catonsville, MD. Although the bulk of the teams were from East of the Mississippi River, the tournament was qualified a success due to the number of teams entered; the enthusiasm it generated; and the interest that was stimulated. In this tournament, 200 athletes (not teams) took part, as age group teams from Chicago and such places as York and Haverford, PA., emerged as national champions. The 1974 national tournament followed two years of experimentation with a “Prep School-East” and a “Prep School-West” national championship approach. The next logical approach was the implementation of developmental programs in the 57 local AAU associations. Although some developed programs, most notably Chicago, Louisiana and eastern Pennsylvania, other local associations did not. As a result, AAU Junior Olympic Volleyball efforts were, for the most part, limited to the national tournament In some local AAU associations, volleyball was not even a recognized committee, Junior Olympic or otherwise. Once the USVBA established the national teams/international competition program, efforts were turned toward the programs of junior development. Since the AAU had fulfilled only a portion of its earlier commitments, administrative efforts were directed toward grass roots development. In 1978, an exploratory meeting was held with representatives of various organizations in Kansas City, which included the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). From this meeting, emerged an action plan to negotiate an agreement with the AAU to coordinate a development plan to complement the national AAU/JOV tournament. This event had realized great success and was now situated in its permanent site of Lisle, Illinois. The action plan, however, was never realized because of the National Amateur Act and the eventual birth of the USVBA’s National Junior Championship. [The Amateur Sports Act (Public Law 95-606) was adopted in 1978. This law was amended in 1998 to become the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (OASA). Because of the efforts of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska to shepherd this law through Congress, the 1998 amendments are often called the “Ted Stevens Amendments.” The original Amateur Sports Act, as adopted in 1978, required the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) “to encourage and provide assistance to amateur athletic programs and competition for handicapped individuals, including, where feasible, the expansion of meaningful participation by handicapped individuals in programs of athletic competition for able-bodied individuals.”] It was now evident that one tournament of this quality and level was not enough to accommodate the number of junior teams interested. The event was modeled after the actual Olympic games, complete with a parade of states and opening ceremonies. Shortly after a comprehensive concept, as well as a full-fledged grass roots action plan for Junior Olympic Volleyball development, was developed. The plan was to be implemented by the USVBA regions and fed into the USJOV national tournament structure. It was created to serve as a major building block for the scholastic, collegiate, recreation and club play throughout the country and was designed to be the future of volleyball in the United States. In 1984, the USVBA Board of Directors pledged its priority to the development of this program and reinforced their statement with staff efforts. In 1985, the USVBA hired the nation’s first full-time administrator of Junior Olympic and Youth Volleyball. USA Volleyball, acting as a National Governing Body for volleyball in the United States, established a Junior Olympic Volleyball Division. It is comprised of special interest representatives, but more importantly, with persons who are highly regarded and respected as leaders in the development of junior volleyball in the USA. They come from the scholastic, collegiate and club ranks and have an in-depth background in volleyball. Junior Olympic Volleyball is now a viable force within the volleyball community. It is fully expected to establish volleyball as a primary recreation sport and an important collegiate and scholastic activity, and equally important, establish United States as a major force in international competition in the future. Northern California has had a long history of volleyball activity. In the early years, volleyball competition was centered primarily in the YMCA’s. The San Francisco YMCA was the first Northern California team to achieve national prominence by winning the National AAU Championship in 1929. The Embarcadero YMCA hosted the USVBA National Open Championships in 1939, and the following year finished second in the YMCA Championship. In 1974, Tom Cotter was instrumental in developing the first Far Western Championship Tournament. The following year, Tom was appointed as the first commissioner (regional representative) of the newly- formed Region 12 encompassing Northern California, Nevada, and Utah. During the 1950’s Stockton YMCA became a national power under coach Harold W. Peterson, winning the Open in 1954 and 1955 and finishing second in 1952, ’56, ’57, and ’63. Bob Miller and Hal Durham each had brief stints as Commissioner in the early 1950’s and Len Gibson was appointed in 1954. The exact dates are somewhat hazy in the Region record. Although there is mention of women’s competition earlier, the first recorded Women’s Region 12 Championship took place in 1965 due largely to the efforts of Women’s Representative Jerry Kaluna and the Women’s Association founder Fran Plunket. The year women first competed in the Far Western was 1968, the year Al Monaco became Region Commissioner. In 1971 the Region Executive Committee was formed to help Al with the ever-increasing tasks of running a fast-growing region. In 1972, Nevada and Utah joined Idaho to form Region 14, leaving Northern California as a separate region. The same year, Dan Gellerman published the first issue of the Region 12 news, and the first Region 12 volleyball camp was held at St Mary’s College. In 1973 Al Monaco was hired as Executive Director of the USVBA and Lon Crosson took over as Commissioner. Gary Colberg, the present Commissioner, succeeded Lon in 1975. The rules of volleyball have changed many times since William Morgan first developed the game in 1895 with an original purpose of providing some form of recreation and relaxation for businessmen at the Holyoke, MA Y.M.C.A. The first rules, written by Mr. Morgan in long hand, contained the following basic features: The net was 6 feet, 6 inches high. The court was 25 X 50 feet Any number of participants was allowed. The length of the game was nine innings, with three outs allowed per team per inning. Continuous air dribbling of the ball was permissible up to a restraining line 4 feet from the net. No limit on the number of hits on each side of the court. A served ball could be assisted across the net. A second serve (as in tennis) was permitted if the first resulted in a fault. Any ball hitting the net, except on the first service, was a fault and resulted in side out.
From 1970 to the present, Volleyball became big business. Many of the rules from 1970 to the present differed between Federation (High School), National Association of Girls and Women in Sports, which has now been replaced by the NCAA, USA Volleyball and other amateur and professional associations. Each Association rulebook needs to be studied. [/spb_text_block] [/spb_accordion_tab] [spb_accordion_tab title=”THE VOLLEYBALL TIMELINE” accordion_id=”” icon=””] [spb_text_block pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] 1896 1900 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 The Philippines, too, got to know the new game. It is imported by Manila YMCA director Elwood Brown. In a very short space of time, there are 5,000 public and private courts In the USA, decisive impetus is given to the game by Prevost Idell, YMCA director in Germantown 1912 1913 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1930 1932 1933 1934 1935 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s The United States Junior Olympic Volleyball (USJOV) program was established 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 New rules on blocking: airborne invasion during blocking is prohibited, while blockers are permitted a second hit. The first Olympic Volleyball tournaments are played in Tokyo during the Olympic Games from October 13 to 23, with 10 men’s teams and 6 women’s teams. The gold medal for the men goes to the USSR, and the women to Japan. Volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. (The Japanese volleyball used in the 1964 Olympics, consisted of a rubber carcass with leather paneling. A similarly constructed ball is used in most modern competition.) 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 |