Wallball
Created | Updated May 27, 2003
Students in California almost invariably play wallball throughout their elementary school education. People elsewhere play it too sometimes--but in California it's especially prolific. In many parts of America--for example, the Washington, DC area--you'll find that almost nobody has ever heard of wallball, and that students often prefer to play basketball, football or (sometimes) soccer. This variation of wallball seems to be, generally, a mandatory part of Physical Education in elementary school in most of California, and in some other places too. It seems, though, that *everyone* who's gone to elementary school in California has fond memories of playing wallball in PE and such.
Anyway, it's played on a court with one wall on one side, and marked boundaries on the left and right sides of the courts (sometimes there is a boundary in the back of the court--but usually not, due to the popularity of the long game (explained later in this)). (At High Tech High, the high school I attend in San Diego, we use a section of one of the parking lots, which has clearly marked white lines on the ground right next to a building that we have some math classes in; nobody parks there, and we used to play basketball there, so now we play wallball.) Usually, two players play at a time, with the other participants forming a line on the out-of-bounds side of one of the boundaries (almost always the left boundary, for no particular reason) waiting their turn to play. The game is played with a kickball, volleyball, soccer ball or similar large, preferably soft ball. There are some subtle differences in rules from school to school, but I will describe a common set of rules. Let me reiterate that these rules may change depending on who's playing and where they're playing, but the ones I will describe are generally pretty common.
A game or point starts with one player--usually the winner of the last game or point--serving the ball. This basically consists of hitting it against the wall so that it bounces towards the other player (who will be referred to as the challenger in this text), who then tries to hit it. If the challenger does not the serve is favorable enough for them to hit, they can call for another serve (usually this is done by the challenger saying loudly, "better serve", "re-serve", "another serve", or something similar). From the challenger's hit of the first serve on--this hit is usually called the return (much like in tennis)--the following rules are generally used. The challenger must hit the ball so that it bounces once on the ground and up off the wall, within the boundaries. If he does this then from this point on the challenger and the server take turns hitting the ball. The player hitting the ball can hit it either right after it bounces off the wall, or after it bounces off the wall and then back off the ground once, but not twice. If he hits it and it hits the wall without touching the ground at all, he is out; also, if he hits it and it touches the ground more than once before touching the wall, he is out; if he does not hit the ball either off the wall or off the first bounce from the wall (in other words, if it hits the wall and then bounces twice on the ground before the player who is hitting gets to it), he is out. In order to be in-bounds, a ball must be hit legally by a player, bounce on the ground once, then bounce off the wall once, and then stay within the boundaries up until either it hits the ground once or it is hit by the other player. For example, if the ball is hit, goes off the wall and straight out of the boundaries, it is out of bounds and the player who hit it is out. If it is hit, goes off the wall and bounces once on the ground within the boundaries, it is considered in play even if it bounces out of bounds (the other player must still hit it). So basically, the point is to legally hit the ball in such a way that the other player cannot legally hit it. When this occurs, the other player is out. Again, if the ball is out of bounds (is not hit and does not land once within the boundaries), the player who hit it is out. When a player is out, he goes to the end of the line that has been formed on one of the boundaries, and then the player at the front of the line goes onto the court and becomes the challenger, with the winner of the last game serving the ball. Variations in rules determine such things as whether a player can hit the ball before it bounces once on the ground, whether he *must* hit the ball before it bounces once on the ground, and a few other oddities such as a style of play called "rainbow" in which, after the ball hits the wall and bounces off of it, the other player can duck under it (so it flies over him) and the player who hit it must hit it again, instead of the other player having to hit it. One rule that is enforced differently among different groups of players is that you cannot "hold" the ball; to some people, this means that you can't "palm" it; to some, it means you can't hold the ball beyond the time it takes to gain sufficient control of it to hit it; and others have other interpretations.
I mentioned "the long game" earlier in this post. Wallball strategies are a mixture of the short game and the long game. "The short game" is a strategy in which you basically try to hit the ball softly so that when it comes down off the wall it bounces off such a short distance from the wall that the other player has to run quickly to hit it before the second bounce on the ground (or however the rule is enforced in that case). Some of the most intense, challenging and entertaining wallball is played when players who have mastered the short game play each other, and they spend much of the game hitting the ball from one side of the court to the other, trying to get the perfect hit that is so close to the wall and so far from the other player that the other player cannot possibly reach it and legally hit it in time. Skilled short-ball players often "wind up" before a short hit, bringing their arm back so as to look like they're preparing to hit the ball hard, and then hitting the ball softly, so that the other player has run backwards to prepare for the long ball and then suddenly must sprint from the back of the court to the wall to hit the ball.
The long game generally consists of hitting the ball moderately hard a few times, and then letting loose with an incredibly hard hit, attempting to make it go so far back off the wall that it flies over the other player's head and makes it very difficult for the other player to run to the back of the court quickly enough to hit it--and, to make matters worse for the returning player, not only does he have to sprint to the ball but then he has to quickly decide how to hit the ball hard enough so that it stays in bounds and bounces only once on the ground before hitting the wall, thereby being a legal hit. Masters of the long game can use their skills to trump short-game players, who are not used to having to hit the ball from way in the back of the court, and usually hit the ball too short from there (as in, it bounces on the ground more than once without hitting the wall). Masters of the short game can use *their* skills to trump long-game players who are used to playing farther back in the court, and suddenly find that they must sprint from the back to the front of the court to try to get to the ball. Once long-game players figure out that someone relies on his short game, they often play the long game against them to make them run to the back of the court and offer up a laughable hit that might not even go halfway down the court, much less to the wall--or out of bounds.. On the other hand, on good days, short-game wizards can infuriate long-game players with hits that sometimes barely go 6 inches from the wall before bouncing twice, or hits that go from the left to the right side (or vice versa) of the court and bounce so short off the wall that other players can't run fast enough across the length *and* width of the court to hit it.
Anyway, it's played on a court with one wall on one side, and marked boundaries on the left and right sides of the courts (sometimes there is a boundary in the back of the court--but usually not, due to the popularity of the long game (explained later in this)). (At High Tech High, the high school I attend in San Diego, we use a section of one of the parking lots, which has clearly marked white lines on the ground right next to a building that we have some math classes in; nobody parks there, and we used to play basketball there, so now we play wallball.) Usually, two players play at a time, with the other participants forming a line on the out-of-bounds side of one of the boundaries (almost always the left boundary, for no particular reason) waiting their turn to play. The game is played with a kickball, volleyball, soccer ball or similar large, preferably soft ball. There are some subtle differences in rules from school to school, but I will describe a common set of rules. Let me reiterate that these rules may change depending on who's playing and where they're playing, but the ones I will describe are generally pretty common.
A game or point starts with one player--usually the winner of the last game or point--serving the ball. This basically consists of hitting it against the wall so that it bounces towards the other player (who will be referred to as the challenger in this text), who then tries to hit it. If the challenger does not the serve is favorable enough for them to hit, they can call for another serve (usually this is done by the challenger saying loudly, "better serve", "re-serve", "another serve", or something similar). From the challenger's hit of the first serve on--this hit is usually called the return (much like in tennis)--the following rules are generally used. The challenger must hit the ball so that it bounces once on the ground and up off the wall, within the boundaries. If he does this then from this point on the challenger and the server take turns hitting the ball. The player hitting the ball can hit it either right after it bounces off the wall, or after it bounces off the wall and then back off the ground once, but not twice. If he hits it and it hits the wall without touching the ground at all, he is out; also, if he hits it and it touches the ground more than once before touching the wall, he is out; if he does not hit the ball either off the wall or off the first bounce from the wall (in other words, if it hits the wall and then bounces twice on the ground before the player who is hitting gets to it), he is out. In order to be in-bounds, a ball must be hit legally by a player, bounce on the ground once, then bounce off the wall once, and then stay within the boundaries up until either it hits the ground once or it is hit by the other player. For example, if the ball is hit, goes off the wall and straight out of the boundaries, it is out of bounds and the player who hit it is out. If it is hit, goes off the wall and bounces once on the ground within the boundaries, it is considered in play even if it bounces out of bounds (the other player must still hit it). So basically, the point is to legally hit the ball in such a way that the other player cannot legally hit it. When this occurs, the other player is out. Again, if the ball is out of bounds (is not hit and does not land once within the boundaries), the player who hit it is out. When a player is out, he goes to the end of the line that has been formed on one of the boundaries, and then the player at the front of the line goes onto the court and becomes the challenger, with the winner of the last game serving the ball. Variations in rules determine such things as whether a player can hit the ball before it bounces once on the ground, whether he *must* hit the ball before it bounces once on the ground, and a few other oddities such as a style of play called "rainbow" in which, after the ball hits the wall and bounces off of it, the other player can duck under it (so it flies over him) and the player who hit it must hit it again, instead of the other player having to hit it. One rule that is enforced differently among different groups of players is that you cannot "hold" the ball; to some people, this means that you can't "palm" it; to some, it means you can't hold the ball beyond the time it takes to gain sufficient control of it to hit it; and others have other interpretations.
I mentioned "the long game" earlier in this post. Wallball strategies are a mixture of the short game and the long game. "The short game" is a strategy in which you basically try to hit the ball softly so that when it comes down off the wall it bounces off such a short distance from the wall that the other player has to run quickly to hit it before the second bounce on the ground (or however the rule is enforced in that case). Some of the most intense, challenging and entertaining wallball is played when players who have mastered the short game play each other, and they spend much of the game hitting the ball from one side of the court to the other, trying to get the perfect hit that is so close to the wall and so far from the other player that the other player cannot possibly reach it and legally hit it in time. Skilled short-ball players often "wind up" before a short hit, bringing their arm back so as to look like they're preparing to hit the ball hard, and then hitting the ball softly, so that the other player has run backwards to prepare for the long ball and then suddenly must sprint from the back of the court to the wall to hit the ball.
The long game generally consists of hitting the ball moderately hard a few times, and then letting loose with an incredibly hard hit, attempting to make it go so far back off the wall that it flies over the other player's head and makes it very difficult for the other player to run to the back of the court quickly enough to hit it--and, to make matters worse for the returning player, not only does he have to sprint to the ball but then he has to quickly decide how to hit the ball hard enough so that it stays in bounds and bounces only once on the ground before hitting the wall, thereby being a legal hit. Masters of the long game can use their skills to trump short-game players, who are not used to having to hit the ball from way in the back of the court, and usually hit the ball too short from there (as in, it bounces on the ground more than once without hitting the wall). Masters of the short game can use *their* skills to trump long-game players who are used to playing farther back in the court, and suddenly find that they must sprint from the back to the front of the court to try to get to the ball. Once long-game players figure out that someone relies on his short game, they often play the long game against them to make them run to the back of the court and offer up a laughable hit that might not even go halfway down the court, much less to the wall--or out of bounds.. On the other hand, on good days, short-game wizards can infuriate long-game players with hits that sometimes barely go 6 inches from the wall before bouncing twice, or hits that go from the left to the right side (or vice versa) of the court and bounce so short off the wall that other players can't run fast enough across the length *and* width of the court to hit it.
