While on vacation last week I came across a pair of individuals playing a hybrid of soccer that is called football tennis. Now, football tennis is not a new creation by any means. It dates back to the 1920s and has been played by some of the biggest names in soccer, like Messi and Maradona. But watching those two lesser known football tennis players got me thinking about what other hybrids of soccer might be out there.
There is no limit to soccer’s influence. There are just so many ways to infuse the sport into other sports and create something fun and exciting that is new but still has roots in the game we love. Here are some of the hybrid sports I know of that I think are the most well-known, and then one that I think should become more popular.
Football Tennis
First, I will start with football tennis. It is a mixture of both soccer and tennis, played indoors or outdoors as a singles, doubles or even a triples competition. The object of the game is to hit the ball over the net with any part of your body except your hands, and to make the ball bounce in the opponents’ area where it cannot be returned before bouncing a second time. In singles the ball can bounce on your side only once after it crosses over the net onto your side, and you only get two touches to return the ball. In doubles or triples you are still only allowed one bounce per crossing. Your team is allowed three total touches to return the ball to your opponent, but the same player cannot touch the ball twice consecutively.
Games are played in sets to 11. The sets are win by 2, or if you reach 15 first the set is over. The first player or team to win 2 sets wins the match.
Here is a video of what the game itself looks like.
Footvolley
Another exciting and popular hybrid of soccer is called Footvolley, which is a mixture of both soccer and volleyball. Once again this is not a new sport by any means, having originated in the 1960s in Brazil. Footvolley is played on either a beach or indoor volleyball court with basically the same rules as volleyball, except that all contact with the ball must be made without using the your hands.
The net in footvolley is set lower than that of a true volleyball net and the ball is slightly smaller than a traditional volleyball. Matches are played in sets: either 1 set to 18 or best of 3 sets to 15 points.
It really is an incredible game to watch, that takes great athleticism. Check out some highlights from some footvolley matches.
Bossaball
For fans of footvolley it wasn’t enough to just make a hybrid of soccer and volleyball. They needed more, so a hybrid of a hybrid was born in the creation of bossaball! This is a relatively new sport as it originated in 2004 in Spain and Belgium. The game is a mixture of soccer, volleyball, and gymnastics. What makes this game unique is that it is played on a giant inflatable court that includes a large trampoline on each side of a volleyball-esque net. The players are allowed to use either their hands, feet, or heads to contact the ball, however a player who uses their hands cannot hit the ball consecutively. As for “soccer” touches, a player can hit the ball twice in a row trying to return it. Each team must return the ball to their opponents side using whatever combination of touches they wish without exceeding 5 touches a turn.
The scoring is a tad more complicated than footvolley and it breaks down like this:
- 1 point: when the ball hits the opponents playing area.
- 3 points: when the ball is played directly in the opponent’s trampoline area.
Scoring with soccer touch (any part of the body except hands):
- 3 points: when the ball hits the opponents playing area.
- 5 points: when the ball is played directly in the opponent’s trampoline area.
Games are played in sets to 25. Teams have to win by 2 and best of 3 sets wins the match. With the added advantage of the trampoline, Bossaball really brings a different level to how the game is played, just check out this footage of how it looks.
In a previous article here on the18, we introduced another hybrid called Snookball. Snookball is a combination of pool and soccer that was the new hot game back in 2014. In the spirit of that game I would like to suggest one final hybrid of soccer that to my knowledge has not yet been created, but I think would take off if people attempted it.
Spring will be here soon and with spring comes spending time outdoors with friends, and a popular outdoor game for all young people is beer pong. Recently on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” Jimmy played giant beer pong versus Pitbull using trash cans and a soccer ball.
Well, I would like to make a hybrid of a hybrid we have talked about in this article. Using the football tennis court as the playing field, and I was to put 5 one gallon buckets as the targets in the center of each side. Originally beer pong was played on a ping pong table using paddles, and the objective was to hit the ball at your opponent's cups with the paddles, while making sure if you missed the cups that the ball still landed on their side of the table. Your opponent would have to return the ball toward your cups in order for the game to continue, and would need to also hit your side of the table or the rally would end and they would serve. There is a disadvantage in serving as you are not allowed to shoot at the cups on the serve.
So I want to do this with football tennis and have the players attempt to kick the ball into the buckets but making sure the ball hits their opponents side of the court. If it does the receiving team must return the ball at their opponents buckets to continue. If you make it in a bucket, that bucket is removed and the opponent drinks an agreed upon amount set by the teams before the game starts. The game is over when all buckets from one team have been removed. Obviously more rules will be involved and can be established as the game takes off, but that is the soccer hybrid I would love to see. It's a mixture of soccer, tennis, and beer pong.
Now, "football tennis beer pong" just seems way too long of a name, so I would need to develop a catchy name like STBP (Soccer Tennis Beer Pong for short) or Footenn Pong or Socten Pong. But as I work on the name, I will just use my name in the title and call it “Amyx of Awesomeness” and leave it a mystery to the participants until they play it. That is one of the truly great things about sports: they all have beauty in and of themselves, but there are so many creative people in this world that take parts of that beauty and create something fun, exciting and brand new to try, because who knows? Maybe you create something incredible!
