Four-Square Fanatics

As children, many of us played the classic game of four-square. It's the game in which four players each stand in a square and hit the ball to one another. The ball must bounce once before a player hits it, but it cannot bounce more than once. Most of us probably forgot about this competitive game, or only hold its memories. However, this game isn't just for children. At Box Elder High School there are quite a few students who play it daily.

Garrett Jensen, an intense four-square player, is one of them. He kindly gave me the history of four-square at Box Elder. Jordan Bostwich and "the Legua Brothers" originally started this four-square trend during the 2006-2007 school year. After they graduated the game died out. Garrett revived last winter, after a trimester without his lunchtime sport.

Garrett and his friends still play outside the main office during second lunch. The best thing about the game is that it is inexpensive. "You can buy a ball at Wal-mart and it will last about six months," Garrett told me. In my opinion, there is nothing better than good, inexpensive fun. I like to have fun, so, I decided to find out exactly what it is that makes these teens tick.

For nearly two years, I have eaten lunch with the four-square kids in my line of vision. In the warm months, I sat beneath the shade of a tree, outside in the sunshine, and they played their game, despite the heat.. When it got too cold for me, I moved inside to the choir bench, next to the windows. They never came in from the cold, they were too dedicated to their game. Those individuals provided me with free entertainment, and I just watched them in fascination.

From the inside of the warm school building, looking out to the bitter cold gaming, I have formed many thoughts and opinions about these kids. Firstly, the group seems a little exclusive to me. Nearly every member is male and they are all friends. I wondered to myself if just anyone could jump in and play. What would happen if I tried? Would I be welcomed? Most likely they would let me play without saying anything, but they would secretly resent me. I just had to find out what would happen. It was killing me. So, I decided to take my chances and join the game.

The first step I took: I looked them up on Facebook. I found the group Box Elder Four-Square—For the Love of the Game. I clicked the join button, made a comment on their "Wall," and then waited. After several days nothing had happened. I took this as a good sign, they had not kicked me out of their Facebook group, even though I had never played the game. I found out a lot of good information. Apparently, they have made plans to break a world record. During spring break this year, they are going to play four-square for 30 straight hours. Not even the gloom of night can stop them from doing the thing they love the most. On the web everything was looking good, but how would they respond to me in the real world?

I, like any typical girl, couldn't join the game alone. So, I armed myself with my friend, Breanna Brown and we headed outside to play. They were playing doubles. This means that there were two people in each square. Breanna and I entered the first square fully unprepared. The server must have sensed our "feminine weakness," because he served the ball straight to us. It bounced once in our square, Breanna hit it, and it bounced again in our square. The ball can only bounce one time in your square; we were out. The guys tried to let us stay in, "they're girls, give them another chance." But we were out, fair and square, and didn't want any special treatment.

I learned that most of the time of this game is spent waiting in line. Even those who are masters of four-square can easily get out on the smallest of technicalities. When I talked to Garrett Jensen he told me that anyone can play, but if there were too many players, the wait in line could be boringly long.

Breanna and I almost made it to the King square before the bell rang. We got muddy and sweaty, but we had a lot of fun. We ran and dove to keep the ball going. The game was great! Nobody said any derogatory statements or gave us any weird looks, but you could tell that we were not part of the group. Among the regulars, friends were cheering friends and everyone was laughing when mistakes were made. When I was on the court, however, no words of encouragement nor discouragement were yelled to me from the line. I did not take offence, however, because I knew that I was an outsider and new to the game. Somehow, I feel that if I started playing on a daily basis, they would warm up to me. In time, I could become part of the group. I love this unofficial club because it really is all inclusive. The only thing that matters is how you play the game!