Open Gym Review - Mt. Prospect RecPlex

[DougHillman]

Mount Prospect RecPlex

I'll start my review series with one of the better (if not the best) open gyms in the NWish Chicago suburbs.

The RecPlex is a sports facility complete with pool, track, weightlifting equipment, multipurpose courts, & a running track. It's located on Dempster about 1 block West of Route 83.

Open volleyball (and basketball) is played on Monday & Wednesday nights from 7:30 until 11:00. Cost is $5 for residents and $8 for non-residents. As far as I know, there's open play all year long, but it's only attended by most players during the indoor season. Wednesday night is much better attended than Monday, but both nights have plenty of players.

Court surface is that synthetic hard court stuff. (Personally I love this stuff. After SportCourt, it's my 2nd favorite surface.)

There are always two volleyball courts set up. On occasion (and usually after considerable cajoling) the staff will set up a third court if the amount of players warrants it.

I have it on good authority that the courts are roughly a foot short on each side, with regulation width. I've not measured it myself (something which I will do this week) but they certainly feel short. There seems to be an overabundance of serves & shots which go just long. There is room to jump serve on one side of the court, but that is hindered a bit by the overhanging running track. If you toss WAY back from the serving line, you're going to have to stay down or adapt. There is about 2 - 3 feet of room between the back line on the other side and the curtain. Foot faults aren't really enforced when serving on this side. Typically no one really bothers with jump serving on the curtain side though.

The court along the wall is typically the "A" court. Level of play is roughly Men's USAV "A" level, with players ranging from "BB" to "AA" (and occasionally even higher.) You're expected to know your position in a 5-1 offense and not be lost on the court. The court along the ledge is the "B" court where the players range from "rec" up to "BB" or so, with the level of play usually being somewhere from high "B" to "BB" depending on who's there.

A normal Wednesday night sees two teams playing and two teams waiting on each court during the prime time between 7:30ish and about 9:30-10:00ish. After that it's usually thinned to 1 team waiting on the #1 court and just two teams worth of players on the #2 court.

Players usually start trickeling in around 7:00pm with most players arriving between 7:15 - 7:30. The "B" court normally gets going pretty early, but it's not abnormal for the "A" court to still be in hitting lines at 7:45 - 7:50.

I cannot speak for the "B" court, but the "A" court plays rally score to 25, unless there's 2+ teams sitting, in which case games are played to 21. Winner stays on the court. Teams are entirely pick-up. Entire USAV teams will often show up at the beginning of the season (nowish, as I type this in late September) as impromptu try-outs and again in the Spring as extra practice before Regionals & Nationals.

Currently play is with a Molten Pro Touch on the "A" court and usually either a Pro Touch or Super Touch on the "B" court. (Though I've occasionally seen a Tach SV-5 in use on the "B" court.) If Tachikara gets the contract for the NCAA official ball again anytime in the future, that may change.




Feel free to ask if you have any questions.