On Sep 5, 2025, the Friends Select School gym reopened with new volleyball lines and pickleball lines to accommodate the new girls’ volleyball team and pickleball rentals.
While the FSS gym is a multipurpose space used for PE classes, rental groups, and athletic programs, the new floor will primarily serve to help volleyball and pickleball players better see the lines on the court. The game line for volleyball was also updated, and the two side courts for basketball as well. “The new gym is nice. I like the design of the lines on the floor,” said Noah Rice ‘26, Varsity Basketball Player at Friends Select. “I feel like it gives it a nice pop to everything.” Players find that the new gym is less slippery and gives more balance and feedback to their feet. Bailey Spivey ‘26, a Varsity Volleyball Player, explains, “I like how there are more painted lines on the floor, so it’s easy to see where the coach wants us to be positioned on the court.”
According to Bill Klose, the Athletic Director at Friends Select, in the past, they would buff and polish the floor; however, for this fall, they completely replaced the floor and added more lines for pickleball and volleyball rentals. “We changed the logo, so they both faced the bleachers on opposite sides, and we added the volleyball lines,” said Bill. Bill also said the designers tried to pay attention to the colors and not interfere with the basketball lines. The basketball court lines are black and the volleyball lines are white, and the pickleball lines are a light gray.
Ben Cooper, Director of Operations, said, “The funding for this project came out of the capital budget. It wasn’t so big that the school needed to do special fundraising. A lot of outside groups rent: Heyday Outdoor Sports, Philly Dodgeball, Philly Dragons, about 6 regular renters, and smaller groups that come and go.
Anchor Management is the school’s main construction partner, and they did the rest of the gym and the floor. The school chose September because it’s a quieter time for rentals.
