Alright let’s dig into this shock-absorbing volleyball court thing. Remember how my knees started screaming bloody murder after last season playing on that concrete slab? Yeah. Painful. Decided something had to change. Shock-absorbing hardwood floor, that was the plan. Maple. Hard maple. Supposed to be tough.

Jumping Headfirst into Maple Mayhem

First off, bought a whole bunch of hard maple planks. Special order thing. Heavy? Holy cow, felt like hauling bricks. Got ’em stacked in the garage, breathing in that woody smell, thinking ‘this better be worth it’.

Measured my space rough – just eyeballed the court size. Needed it for volleyball practice mostly. Started cutting those planks to length. Let me tell ya, hard maple ain’t kidding around. Saw blade was sweating almost as much as I was. Went through more blades than I care to admit.

The Puzzle of Putting it Together

This is where the ‘assembled’ part kicked my butt. My bright idea? Simple butt joints. Line the planks end-to-end, right? Wrong.

• Tried just pushing the cut ends together.
• Stood on the joint. Felt like stepping on a seesaw.
• Even a little jump? Bam! Planks slid apart. Almost ate sawdust.

Total mess. Seriously questioned my life choices for a solid hour. Sat there annoyed, staring at the stupid wood pile.

Stumbling Onto Something Better

Rummaged online out of pure frustration. Wasn’t looking for fancy terms, just ‘how the heck do you make wood planks stay together’. Found pictures, rough ones, showing planks with little tongues sticking out on the sides. TONGUE AND GROOVE! That was the magic phrase.

Rented this router thing. Spent a whole weekend wrestling with it. Learning curve was steeper than a wall. Accidentally chewed up a few pieces – nearly cried looking at the wasted maple. Pricey stuff.

• Cut a shallow groove down the long edge of one plank.
• On the next plank, cut a matching little ridge – the ‘tongue’.
• Slid ’em together… Click. Solid. Didn’t bounce apart.

Massive win. Finished cutting the joints for all the court planks. Fingers hurt like crazy.

Does it Actually Absorb Shock?

Finally laid all the planks down properly on my base. Tongue in groove, clicking away. Stood in the middle, bounced on my heels. Felt… softer? Better than concrete, for sure.

But the real test? Grabbed my worn-out volleyball. Dropped it from head height. On concrete, it barely bounces back. On my maple floor? Shot back up almost to my chin! Felt springier under my feet when jumping too. Knees didn’t instantly complain. Didn’t fix everything, but way less jarring than concrete. Mission accomplished. Mostly.

Still a long way from perfect, but getting off the concrete? Worth every splinter.