In Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895, a man named William G. Morgan (the P.E. director of the local YMCA) was looking to create a game for the businessmen that wouldn't require much physical contact. He blended elements of many sports and came up with a game that he called "Mintonette" (Encarta). The term "volleyball" was coined when someone remarked that the ball was being volleyed back and forth (no-brainer, huh?), and the first official game of volleyball was played on Tuesday, July 7, 1896 at Springfield College (volleyball.org). Little did William know what he had started...

Over the next ten to twenty years, the game o

"History/Rules of Volleyball," http://www.volleyball.org

Volleyball has gained its popularity from its relative ease of play, simple rules, and enjoyment level. One learns good hand-eye coordination, team skills, defensive/offensive maneuvers, and on the physically beneficial side, works the muscles in the arms and legs, as well as the circulatory and respiratory systems.

"By hitting the ball back and forth over the net, with the hands, forearms, head, or any part of the body, play is continued until one team fails to keep the ball in play - that is, in the air - or until a rule violation is committed." (Encarta)

Of course, as all things have, it changed over time. For example, more rules and hits were added; the forearm pass wasn't introduced for over 50 years and it was the Filipinos who introduced the kill hit (set and spike) in 1916. The games in

Some common words found in the essay are:
Olympics Encarta, Encarta Volleyball, Encarta Membership, Morgan PE, Mintonette Encarta, , Little William, Expeditionary Forces, Volleyball Association, Olympics Tokyo, can't hit, game volleyball, can't hit net, hit net,
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Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)