The History of Volleyball

Volleyball is one of the most played sports in the world. More than 900 million people play volleyball in the world and about 800 million people play it once a week. People play volleyball for so many different reasons. Some people may play for fun, sport, or competitive. Volleyball allows people to gain or strengthen new skills such as teamwork, patience, etc. Volleyball was created by William G. Morgan in 1895 which was first called Mintonette. He designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball. Morgan worked at the Auburn YMCA where he was a director of physical education. He had the opportunity to establish, develop and direct a vast programme of exercises and sport classes for male adults(FIVB - VOLLEYBALL). Since Morgan had the chance to make new programs he came up with volleyball. He wanted to make another competitive sport that was different from what he was teaching. When experimenting, Morgan realized that he couldn't use any of the balls the new sport was suppose to be a combination of because they were either too heavy or small. Therefore he decided to ask A.G. Spalding Bros to make a ball. The ball was leather-covered, with a rubber inner tube, its circumference was not less than 25 and not more than 27 inches (63.5 cm and 68.6 cm, respectively), and its weight not less than 9 and not more than 12 ounces (252 gr and 336 gr, respectively)(FIVB - VOLLEYBALL). Morgan was slowly completing the sport and him and his friends came up with the first ten rules of the game. In a conference with all the YMCA directors of physical education, Morgan gave a presentation of this new invention he had came up with. He gave a clear explanation of how the game was played and had people play to show the directors. The directors approved of the game and published it on a book that made volleyball a sport.

Volleyball became one of the new sports people liked to play and it spread quickly throughout countries. The YMCA directors took it in their hands to spread the new sensational sport throughout countries. Canada was the first foreign country to adopt playing the game and many other countries such as Asia, Europe, and South America(History of Volleyball). The rules of volleyball changed throughout the years and each country had different ways of playing the game. The rules have changed throughout the years and its played different today then when it was first invented. In 1922, the first YMCA national championships were held in Brooklyn, NY. Twenty-seven teams from 11 states were represented(History of Volleyball). This was the first tournament that was professionally held to compete against teams. This event and man other caused the United States Volleyball Association to form because the sport needed a set of official rules. Volleyball was first introduced in the Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo. In this game both female, and male played but the winner to take the gold prize was Japan who came in first place. In 1990, the World League of volleyball was created. This was and still is a menand women competition between different countries. Throughout the years many people have participated in the World League and competed against many other countries. Volleyball became a sensation because of William G. Morgan and his great invention became a worldwide sensation. Volleyball has changed since it was first invented and has added things on such as gear to protect the body and specialized ball. Millions of people play volleyball today as a competition or for fun.

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