Alec Svecz of Yardville bumps while Hamilton’s Jeffrey Breece waits for the ball during a Rough Sets game at the Robbinsville courts. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
Hamilton’s Nicole Revere of the Pink Elgrims Elite prepares to serve at the Robbinsville courts. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
In Central New Jersey, there is an adult sports culture that has been flourishing for quite some time. While adult baseball, basketball, soccer and football leagues are still common and easy to find, volleyball has emerged as one of the most popular summer sports for adults in the area.
There are several sand court leagues spread out over Hamilton, Robbinsville, Princeton and Ewing, and Hamilton resident Chris Cline plays in several of them. He spends his free weeknights at leagues in Robbinsville and Hamilton.
The Hamilton recreational league that Cline plays in meets at Nottingham High School on Wednesday nights. The league is informal, so each team plays several games every week, but wins and losses aren’t tracked.
“It’s social. I think a lot of people go because they know how to play volleyball and they get a chance to be with friends,” Cline said. “I’m sure there are leagues that are different levels of competitiveness, but the Wednesday league is a very relaxed, enjoyable league.”
The manager of Hamilton’s recreational league informed Cline of the Robbinsville league, which features an A Division and a B Division. The A League—which Cline and his team, the Spikers, play in—is more competitive than the B League. It features rules, regulations, matching team shirts and a desire to win.
It was through Cline and Spikers team captain Jeff Bednar that Hamilton resident Cara Latham joined the squad. She started playing locally—in leagues and pickup games in Hamilton, Robbinsville and Ewing—last year, and she joined the Robbinsville league, which runs at the Municipal Complex sand courts from June to August, this season.
She became involved in the volleyball scene after she approached some players at Veteran’s Park last summer and they invited her to play with them. She eventually met Bednar and Cline playing at games in Hamilton.
Many of her current Spikers teammates started the season without ever playing together, but she said they have grown closer as the season has progressed.
“I only knew Jeff and Chris,” Latham said. “Everybody else, we kind of didn’t know each other at the beginning of the season, but we’re improving. We’re actually gelling pretty well right now.”
Bruce Matthews, a Robbinsvile resident, also plays in his hometown league during the summer. He participates in both indoor winter and outdoor summer leagues. During the winter, he plays at Princeton Day School.
He said he enjoys both seasons, but he prefers playing outdoors when the weather is warmer.
“In the winter, you’re playing on the hardwood floor, so it’s easier to elevate,” Matthews said. “The sand is a totally different animal. Trying to jump as you get older gets more difficult, whereas when you’re on the hardwood, it’s a lot easier to get up. But it’s a lot easier to land [in the sand].”
Many local leagues vary as far as competitiveness goes, but both ends of the spectrum are enjoyable, Cline said.
“It’s still fun,” he said. “It’s still great exercise, it’s outdoors, the games are in the evenings. For most of us, it’s a chance to get out after work and after dinner, [or] after the kids are all settled.”
For Matthews, it was also a chance to bond further with his kids. He started playing in the Robbinsville summer league a decade ago, when his children were 9 and 11. Now, they play on the Byrne Brothers team with him.
“I love getting to play with my kids,” he said. “Watching them grow and be a part of it is awesome. I always wish to be young enough and healthy enough to be able to play with my kids.”
Matthews started playing volleyball nearly 20 years ago. Cline played competitively in high school, and he continued his career into college, where he moved to recreational volleyball. When he moved to Hamilton, Cline wanted to continue playing the sport, so he joined a local recreational league in 2009. Latham also played in high school, and she said the two iterations of the sport have their similarities and differences, and she is fond of both.
“It’s a little bit less pressure here,” she said. “We were state champions in high school, so we were exercising every day. We were running around. The coach was after us. Here, this is pretty intense, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Cline plays for both Hamilton and Robbinsville leagues, and he also plays at St. Greg’s on Monday nights. Teams meet at the church in Hamilton Square for pickup games that are more competitive than the Wednesday games at Nottingham.
Cline dedicates several hours a week to playing volleyball, and he said he participates in different leagues depending on the season.
Matthews said no matter the league, the players all feel a sense of fellowship, whether or not they are teammates.
“I think because it’s a rec league, although it can be competitive, there is still a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “Everyone’s excited to get out. It’s an excuse to get out, which is fantastic.”
Cline agreed, adding that, like him, many local players bounce between leagues and are always down for a game.
“It’s cool to see people that I know from other walks of life out there on the court,” he said. “It’s also really cool to play in one league in one season of the year, show up unannounced in another league and see familiar faces and know that it’s kind of the common thread. It’s kind of our camaraderie I guess. You’re making friends through volleyball. It makes it worth it.”
Jashvina Shah contributed to this story.
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