Alright, folks, so here’s how my whole “shock absorbing volleyball thingy using maple wood” experiment went down. Basically, my knees were screaming murder after every game night, right? Saw this nice maple timber plank pitched as helping with that shock stuff and thought, “Why not?”

Got the Darn Thing

First step, obviously, got the maple timber piece delivered. Looked real nice, smooth finish, pretty hefty. Felt solid in my hands. Tossed it straight into my sports bag.

Tried It Out Like a Dummy

Next game night, hauled it out. Figured I’d just stick it somewhere obvious, so I placed it flat behind the baseline on our indoor court floor. Like, right where I usually plant my feet for serves and stuff. Jumped up for my first serve, came down wham right onto it. Bad idea. Felt slippery as ice almost, nearly twisted my ankle landing. And the impact? Felt way harder hitting that wood than the normal floor! So much for absorbing anything yet. Totally jarring.

Okay, scratch that plan. Took a minute to actually look at the wood. Smoothed on both sides, ends kinda rounded. Probably meant to be used differently.

Actually Started Figuring It Out

Moved it out in front of the baseline instead. Placed it long-ways, parallel to the net, maybe two big steps out. Focused on landing on it after jumping for blocks and spikes. Still slid a bit under my shoes the first couple landings. Needed more grip.

Had some grip tape leftover from my handle bars at home. Next session, just slapped strips onto the top surface of the maple timber. Ugly, but hey, who cares if it works? Tried landing again. Way better! Feet stayed put. And yeah, okay, that first initial thump hitting the wood was still there, kinda firm. But unlike landing full force on the bare court floor, the timber itself felt like it kinda took the edge off right after that initial hit? Hard to explain, like it softened the next bit of vibration going up my legs.

Started consciously trying to land on it whenever I jumped near it, focusing on hitting it with the balls of my feet or the flat part, not the heel. Used it like a target spot.

What Actually Ended Up Working

After a bunch of games playing like this, here’s the deal:

• Placement is key, mate: Don’t put it right under your standing spots before you jump – that’s asking for trouble. Stick it a step or two out where you land after a jump attack or block. Parallel to the net works better than sideways for catching those jump landings.
• Grip tape saves your skin: Seriously, don’t skip this bit. That smooth maple is slippery. Tape it up cheap and cheerful.
• Think “Landing pad”: You gotta treat it like a spot you aim for. It’s not magic; you still have to hit it deliberately when you come down. Helps focus your landing too.
• It takes the edge off: Won’t magically erase all impact. The wood itself gives a firm hit at first. But that firmness seemed to sorta “eat” the hard, vibrating shockwave that normally shoots up from the court floor to my knees and back later. Felt less worn out, less ache the next day. Knees weren’t yelling at me for once.
• It’s just one tool: Obviously, still gotta warm up properly, stretch, maybe ice knees after. But for those hard jumps, landing on the grippy maple piece consistently? Yeah, definitely made a noticeable difference for me in how my legs felt.

Took some trial and error, and slapping tape on it ain’t fancy, but hey, knees feel better. Good enough for me!