YORKTON - While a sport that is still largely unknown, for two guys from British Columbia Spikeball, perhaps more accurately roundnet, is where they have excelled.
Justin Plett said he was unaware of the sport until Spikeball was on ‘Shark Tank,” and his brother ended up ordering a set online.
It wasn’t exactly a major love for the game out of the box.
“I liked it, but only played it casually, maybe three or four times a year,” said Plett.
At the time Plett was focused on hockey at the Junior A level – he played 40 games with the Weyburn Red Wings of the SJHL.
“I was a hockey player all my life,” he said, adding as a Junior there came a point he “wasn’t feeling it anymore.”
So Plett left the rink but found he “need something to play” to scratch his athletic itch.
That summer he ended up being a leader at a camp and out came the Spikeball gear.
“We played Spikeball a lot, and I got pretty good pretty quickly,” said Plett, who soon went looking for better competition, finding it in Langley.
“I just got destroyed by everyone,” he said. “I didn’t know the game had reached that level of completion.”
Plett was intrigued.
Then he ran into Blake Bosak, a Spikeball player he had actually met when he helped coach a hockey camp Bosak attended as a play.
The two soon hooked up as a tandem playing under the moniker ‘Wonky Sauce’.
“I’ve been playing about two years competitively, and involved in the sport maybe four, or five tears,” said Bosak.
This is the second season for Bosak and Justin Plett to be teammates, and it has been a winning combo.
So what made the team click so quickly?
“We have a pretty good friendship outside of Spikeball,” said Bosak, adding that has helped them mesh when playing the game.
The duo only lives a few minutes apart too, which is a huge asset.
“We get to play together a lot,” offered Bosak, who added he and Plett play a lot of ‘one-on-one’ as a way to practice.
And ultimately, Bosak said it comes down to the game itself.
“We just have fun with the sport,” he said.
Plett said for him Spikeball ultimately gives him everything he could desire as an athlete, requiring quick feet, good speed, finesse and power.
“I really enjoy the athleticism aspect,” he said.
For Bosak, lacrosse had been his game, preferring box, but also playing the field game.
Then one day there was a video on YouTube.com where lacrosse players were experimenting playing a hybrid of Spikeball with their lacrosse sticks.
“It was a really fun video,” said Bosak, who added it whet his appetite to try Spikeball. “. . . I bought myself a set and started playing.”
Bosak said he immediately liked the atmosphere around Spikeball.
“The community is really awesome . . . It’s super welcoming . . . It’s a tight knit community where everybody knows each other,” he said, adding while teams are competitive when facing each other across the net “they hang out together.”
For Bosak it helped that he found out he was quite good at the sport.
“I progressed quite quickly,” he admitted, adding as he watched the best play he was thinking “I can compete at that level.”
So Bosak dedicated himself to Spikeball, to get to the top levels.
“It was an awesome chase to get to that level,” he said, adding he still works to be better. “The chase is still one.”
In terms of what it takes to be good at Spikeball, Bosak said the key skill “is definitely hand-eye coordination.”
That’s where having played lacrosse, and also volleyball, helped Bosak adapt to Spikeball.
Spikeball started more as a backyard recreational option, but has become very much a sport today.
“It’s definitely evolved from when it did start from a backyard game into a sport,” said Bosak.
Today the sport is seeing growth on a number of levels, including a club scene at colleges, pro tournaments across North America and Europe and the launch of the World Roundnet Championship set for Belgium, Sept.8-11.
Bosak and Plett have already qualified for Belgium having won the Canadian title and now being the top-rated Canadian men’s team among the five which will head to the event, along with three women’s teams. “The first-ever Roundnet World Championship brings together teams from across the globe to compete for the pride of their countries and the ultimate title of world champions. It's more than a tournament. It's history in the making,” detailed www.roundnetfederation.org
“The world championship will provide opportunities to play, collaborate, and celebrate all that is roundnet with the global community. . . While the focus is on the competition, crowning a champion isn't the only objective of the weekend. We see this event as an opportunity to connect, share ideas, and create powerful relationships that drive the sport forward.”
“I think we have a really solid group going to Worlds,” said Bosak.
Plett said the COVID pandemic really helped them in terms of being ready to take on the world’s best.
“It was a really good time for us to just learn and practice,” he said. “. . . It really helped us make it this far.”
Now on the eve of worlds Plett admitted he is some place he wanted to be but wasn’t sure he’d ever get.
“It’s incredible. I’ve always wanted to be on top in a sport,” he said, adding while he was a solid hockey player, he “wasn’t at that (top) level. So this is a pretty wild experience.
“It’s incredible to be part of the birth of a sport . . . I’m just excited to go out there (Belgium).”
Before they head to Belgium the duo will be busy attending major events on this continent having already played in Seattle and San Francisco, and Boston and Vancouver are ahead.
