Dear Sean,
When I was growing up you were not allowed to intentionally target another players feet, and if you intentionally hit another players feet you were called out. Is this an official rule or just a local one? - Karissa W-T
Hi Karissa,
Thanks for dropping a note. If we have a rule that you can only hit the ball with your hands (fingertips to wrists) then so it goes that hitting the ball with all other parts of the body would be illegal. So I can see why some kids would target the feet of a player - if it hits your feet then you're out and if it doesn't hit your feet then it's probably really difficult to hit the ball back.
Kids and teachers in playgrounds make all kinds of rules to help kids play well together - like prohibiting players from hitting the ball at other players feet. I personally wonder how well that rule works in real life. How do you know that another kid "targeted" your feet? I bet that leads to just more conflict on the court.
But when adults play, like in our league in Boston, it is the responsibility of the receiving player to keep their body parts out of the way and hit the ball back with only with their hands.
Hope this helps!
