Okay, so I gotta tell ya about this crazy little project I cooked up – trying to make a tougher volleyball court with hard wood, but something that doesn’t wreck your knees every time you dive for a ball. Seriously, regular dirt or asphalt? Forget it. You land funny, and boom, everything hurts. Thought, why not try wood?

The Idea & First Big Mistake

Right, saw this chunk of super dense maple sitting in my garage. Heavy stuff. Figured, “Hey, hardwood lasts forever, right? Perfect for an outdoor court.” Totally ignored the shock part. Dumb move. Grabbed my drill and some sturdy screws.

• Measured out a small square panel, maybe 4×4 feet. Wanted a test spot.
• Sawed the maple planks to size. Let me tell ya, my arms felt it later.
• Just screwed ’em straight down onto a flat base of concrete blocks I had lying around. Thought that was it, job done. Hah!

Facing the Pain (Literally)

Took my test panel out back. Dropped a volleyball on it from shoulder height. Felt almost zero bounce. The ball just… thudded. Dead. Tried a little jump. Landed solid. My feet went “ouch” right up my legs. Knew instantly this was worse than concrete. Way harder impact. Back to the darn workshop. Feeling kinda stupid.

Adding the Bounce (Kind Of)

Needed something soft under the wood. Scrounged around. Found:

• Some leftover thick rubber matting from an old dog run project.
• Part of a cheap foam camping mattress.
• Even cut up some old running shoes for their squishy soles!

Cut my maple panel into smaller tiles. Like, 1 foot squares. Started layering underneath:

• Put thick rubber mats on the concrete blocks.
• Threw the foam camping pad pieces on top of the rubber.
• Then glued bits of the shoe sole onto the bottom of my maple tiles.

Screwed the maple tiles down onto this weird sandwich. Tried the drop test again. Ball bounced back higher. Okay, better! Jumped. Landing felt softer, like jumping on a stiff mattress instead of pavement. Progress! But still kinda jarring.

Tweaking the Layers

Wasn’t quite right. Too bouncy? Too soft? Messed with the layers:

• Added another layer of that thick rubber under the foam.
• Chopped the foam pieces smaller, leaving more air space between them.
• Added more shoe sole bits under the maple tiles, focusing on the corners where you land hard.

Another test jump. Felt way better. Much less shock shooting up my legs when I landed. Ball bounced consistently. Finally felt like I wasn’t gonna break an ankle trying to play.

Where It Stands Now

So yeah, this little shock-absorbing timber patch lives in my yard now. Is it perfect? Nope. Does it feel like a fancy gym floor? Definitely not. But is it a heck of a lot better than what I had? Absolutely! The ball doesn’t sink, it bounces predictable, and my knees aren’t screaming after playing for 30 minutes. Friends think it’s weird-looking. Totally is. But they admit it works. Gonna keep fiddling – maybe try different woods, thicker rubber, who knows? But for now, I count this as a rough-and-ready win.