That Volleyball Court Idea Was Driving Me Nuts

Woke up yesterday staring at my backyard pile of scrap wood again. Still mad about volleyball games wrecking my knees on concrete. Figured maybe I could slap together some shock-absorbing flooring myself. Ha! Wasn’t that simple.

Dragged out some leftover plywood first – felt way too rigid. Slammed a volleyball on it. Thud. No bounce. That ain’t gonna work. Grabbed thinner planks next. Too flimsy! Ball bounced weird sideways. Annoying.

What I tried:

• Nailed basic plywood panels together → felt like jumping on a truck bed
• Cut rubber mat strips for corners → ball bounced like a drunk kangaroo
• Stuffed cheap foam padding underneath → sunk in like wet sand after 5 minutes

Scratched my head hard. Needed something between soft and strong. Went digging through old shed junk. Found grandma’s abandoned rug pad? Thick, kinda springy. Trimmed it to fit under planks with exacto knife. Sweat dripping everywhere.

Hammered it layer by layer:

1. Bottom layer → recycled truck tire rubber strips (free from tire shop dumpster)

2. Middle → grandma’s rug pad cut into squares

3. Top → thin pine boards screwed tightly

4. Edges → used old bicycle inner tubes as shock ropes

Tested it. Jumped. Knees didn’t scream! Dropped ball. Boing went straight up! Tried sliding panels apart → light enough to haul by hand. Neighbor Tim walked by laughing. Made him test it. Dude played three rallies straight smiling. “Feels like expensive crap!” he yelled. Best compliment.

Total cost? Basically $0 since everything was scrap. Back sore, hands full of splinters, but that ball BOUNCES now. Portable too. Kids dragged it to park yesterday calling me “court king”. Ridiculous. Works though. Stupid stubborn wood finally cooperated.