Local teens invited to compete in Idaho Falls spike ball tournament
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IDAHO FALLS — Spike ball is one of America’s fastest-growing sports and the founder of a local league is inviting those who enjoy the game to participate in a tournament in Idaho Falls next week.
It’s open to students in grades six to 12 from Pocatello to Ashton. It’s happening May 2 at Tautphaus Park. The tournament will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The competition is sponsored by the American Youth Spikers League, which has teams in Rexburg, Idaho Falls, Pocatello and other parts of the state. A national competition is happening in June.
East Idaho Spike Ball League director Alex Hart tells EastIdahoNews.com the Idaho Falls tournament has two purposes.
“It’s a great way for these kids to compete against other schools, but these kids are also playing in hopes of making the team,” Hart says. “If they want to try out, this is a way for them to get in front of me. I’d like to see who these kids are.”
The school who wins the tournament will get a $300 P.E. package, which consists of equipment for their school to play the game.
Hart is the coach for a local squad, a team of six or seven players who will compete in the national tournament.
Spike ball is a combination of volleyball and four square. Each team gets three hits. The goal is to spike the ball over a round net on the ground while the opposing team works to keep it in the air. The ball is only allowed to hit the ground twice. Unlike volleyball, there is no “out of bounds.” The round is over once an error is made.
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“You can make an error by spiking it into the rim, letting it bounce twice or touching it four times,” Hart told us in 2022. “Everybody gets two serves like in racquetball.”
Hart was inspired to form a local league after attending a professional tournament in Philadelphia in 2021. The first local season was held that year and it’s become quite popular since then.
“We probably had over 200 people … come play out here in the last two or three years,” Hart says. “We’ve got a core of about 40-60 really strong players that compete nationally or regionally.”
The league’s best players participated in a national playoff tournament in Orlando, Florida earlier this year. Six hundred players from spike ball leagues throughout the U.S. and Canada were there.
The team from eastern Idaho took second place in its division, which Hart says was “a huge confidence boost.”
Hart’s 15-year-old son, Jack, recently became the youngest player to qualify to play for the semi-pro team. At age 40, Alex also qualified as the oldest player to participate.
“We now have the record for the oldest and the youngest in the world in Idaho Falls. Pretty cool,” says Alex.
Many of the players who’ve won the national tournament in previous years have since graduated. Alex says this year’s group of local athletes is the “youngest collective group of spike ball players in the Utah-Idaho area.” They are “the favorites to win” this year.
“When they (fans or other players) go see somebody with an Idaho jersey, I want them to say, ‘Dang, you guys have a good program.’ That’s what I was hoping for (when I started) and we’re starting to get (recognized). Now we’re trying to grow it and make it bigger and better,” Alex says.
He’s looking forward to next week’s tournament in Idaho Falls and finding out which school has the best team. He’s also excited at the prospect of recruiting new athletes to join the league, including a master’s division for adults.
“Parents who bring their kids to compete (are interested in playing),” says Alex. “We’re trying to be the largest adult spike ball program in the world. That’s one of our goals and there’s some big tournaments coming up in June that we’re hosting.”
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