Okay, so I’ve been wanting to set up a decent volleyball practice area in my backyard for a while now. I didn’t want just any old setup, though. I wanted something that felt good to play on, you know? Something that would protect my joints and give a bit of a bounce, like a real court.

I started by thinking about what kind of surface I could use. Grass is okay, but it gets torn up easily, and it’s not very forgiving when you dive. Concrete is out of the question – way too hard. Then I remembered those portable wooden floors they use for some sports, and it clicked!

Planning Phase

First, I did some digging online. Looked at different types of wooden flooring, but it got kind of confusing. I finally settled on the idea of using interlocking wooden tiles. They looked like they’d be the easiest to put together myself.

I also knew I needed some kind of cushioning underneath. I’m not getting any younger, and I wanted to be kind to my knees and ankles. After reading a bunch of forums, I decided on using those thick foam puzzle mats – the kind you see in kids’ play areas. Seemed like a good, affordable option.

Gathering the Goods

This was the fun part (kind of!). I went to a bunch of different home improvement stores, comparing prices on the foam mats and wooden tiles. Ended up finding a decent deal on both. Let me tell you, hauling all that stuff home was a workout in itself!

The tiles I chose were made of some kind of treated wood, hopefully, it will withstand the elements. They had these little interlocking tabs on the sides, supposed to make them easy to connect. The foam mats were just standard, brightly colored squares. My backyard was about to look like a kindergarten classroom, temporarily at least.

The Build

I started by clearing the area where I wanted the court. Raked up all the leaves and twigs, made sure the ground was as level as I could get it. Then, I started laying down the foam mats.

• Step 1: Foam Base. This was the easy part. Just clicked the mats together like a giant puzzle. My kids even helped with this!
• Step 2: Wooden Tile Time. This was…trickier. Those “easy” interlocking tabs? Not so easy. It took some wiggling and banging, and a fair amount of cursing, but I eventually got them all connected. I realized pretty quickly that a rubber mallet was my best friend for this part.

It took most of the afternoon, and my back was definitely feeling it, but I finally had a solid, cushioned wooden surface. It wasn’t huge, maybe about 10×10 feet, but it was big enough for some basic drills and practice.

The Result

I set up my portable net and grabbed a volleyball. I must say after all that work my first test serve, felt GOOD! The surface had a nice give to it, way better than playing on grass. I could feel the cushion absorbing the impact when I jumped and landed. It was way better for this old guy to play on!

I’ve been using my little practice court for a few weeks now, and I’m loving it. It’s not perfect, sure. The wooden tiles can get a little slippery when they’re wet, so I have to be careful after it rains. But overall, it’s a huge improvement over what I had before. It’s great, letting me get some practice in without killing my joints. Definitely a project I’m glad I took on!