By Matthew Barnes, Sports Editor
At some point of your Asbury experience, you’ve probably witnessed four people frantically running around a yellow circle and wondered what they were doing. They were playing roundnet and, apparently, some Asbury students are very good at it. Asbury is the alma mater of Peter Jon Showalter, the No. 1 Roundnet player in the nation, and has several players who consistently compete in tournaments.
Roundnet is often mistaken for Spikeball, which is simply the brand of the net and balls that are used. The sport is similar to volleyball and fairly simple: Four people play, two on each team. Each member of the team hits the ball three times. If the ball hits the net once, possession changes to the other team, which then gets its chance to hit. The goal is to spike the ball in positions where the opponent cannot return it.
In the past, the sport on campus was mainly played by a pretty exclusive group of students. However, starting this semester, junior Zeke Friedeman has set a goal of spreading roundnet around campus.
“I first started planning the club around the spring semester of 2018,” said Friedeman. “There was only a small group of us that played, and six of us went to college nationals and placed second. While there, we saw some other schools that had big clubs, like around 30 people. From that, I thought there might be a lot of interest at Asbury, but people may not have had an opportunity to learn the game.”
Friedeman reached out to Student Development for help and partnered with Trustees’s resident director Eric Harbin as the faculty advisor for the club.
Friedeman has been playing roundnet for almost a year and believes practicing often is pretty much everything when it comes to elevating performance.
“Some of the most athletic people are just awful at the game. I’m a decently athletic guy, but I was terrible when I first started. Getting games in and playing against people better than you will help build up knowledge,” Friedeman said.
Since the beginning of the semester, the club has had around 40 people come to play at least once. The average is about 25. Friedeman said that the growth rate has been very encouraging.
The club isn’t just for elite players. There is a tier system during pick-up hours where a winning team moves up a net while a losing team moves down one. This creates a balance of power where the more decorated players are on the “championship” nets while beginners are competing against challengers of their skill level.
Friedeman’s goal for this semester is to get 40 people to come on a regular basis to pick-up games. He also wants to get serious players involved in tournaments. His main vision is to win college nationals in April 2019.
The club meets for pick-ups on the Reasoner Green every Monday and Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. and also has a GroupMe to plan events and casual games. Friedeman says his wish is that people would come and just try it out, regardless of skill level.
“Roundnet is a lot of fun to play. People get hooked on it because it’s just a blast. I also enjoy seeing people get to know new faces on campus. I want it to be a good social atmosphere and also a place where ex-athletes or athletic people who do not compete at the collegiate level can play a sport,” Friedeman said.
