From Backyard Player to Tournament Director

Taylor Sanford, founder of Premier Spike, has always been a player at heart. His roundnet journey began in 2012 when he bought a first-generation set, spending years introducing the game to friends at backyard barbecues and camping trips. But casually playing wasn't enough for him. Craving a competitive scene, Taylor founded Utah Roundnet in 2018. What started as a small local league quickly exploded into a massive community. By 2021, Taylor had quit his job to run Utah Roundnet full-time, eventually hosting over 200 tournaments and building one of the largest competitive roundnet organizations in the world.

The Breaking Point

However, hosting world-class tournaments revealed a glaring problem: the equipment couldn't keep up with the athletes. After every tournament, Taylor found himself replacing dozens of broken rims. At one point he had a graveyard of over 50 broken sets sitting in his garage waiting for replacement parts. The plastic was flimsy, the nets warped into oval “Pringle” shapes when tightened, and the frames constantly shifted on the ground mid-rally. The sport was evolving rapidly, but the equipment was lacking necessary innovation.

Engineering the Premier Standard

Realizing that athletes traveling the globe deserved equipment that matched their dedication, Taylor decided to build it himself. Partnering with his friend and engineer, Adam Calder, the duo spent 2022 discreetly designing, 3D-printing, and rigorously testing prototypes. The result was Premier Spike, a heavily reinforced, interlocking frame with snap-fit legs that created a perfectly circular, unmoving, and highly durable playing surface. Long gone were the days of broken equipment and frustrated players.

The Return of the Inventor

As Premier Spike began revolutionizing the tournament scene in 2023, it caught the attention of someone very special: Jeff Knurek, the original inventor of the sport. Jeff created the “spike-ball” back in 1989 as a professional toy inventor, but for decades he had watched from the sidelines as his creation became a global phenomenon under a different company with a nearly identical name, Spikeball™ — never seeing a dime or the recognition he deserved.

Jeff had actually been designing his own premium set and training accessories under the brand “Club Spike” when he discovered Premier Spike. Recognizing that Taylor had already built the durable, high-quality net he envisioned, Jeff put his ego aside and reached out. Today, Jeff is officially part of the Premier Spike team. Together, they have launched the Premier Spike Inventor Series, focusing on standardizing the sport through innovations like the Net Tension Pro to ensure fair play across all tournaments, and the Serving Caddy to enable players to train more efficiently.

Our Vision for the Future

At Premier Spike, our mission goes far beyond selling equipment. We are here to elevate roundnet into a globally recognized, standardized sport. We believe that to push roundnet to the next level, players need flawless consistency. We are deeply committed to giving back to the community, sponsoring content creators and top athletes, and reinvesting our financial success directly into the sport we love.

We aren't just an equipment manufacturer; we are passionate players dedicated to the future of roundnet. Whether you are a weekend warrior or a World Championship contender, we invite you to experience the new standard. Welcome to Premier Spike.