Kate Ariano ‘18
EE Features Editor

Neal Keklik was right on the ball as he unveiled BounceBall, a game of his own creation, at the Pep Rally the last Friday in October. After three months of prototypes, planning, and patents, Keklik’s fascination with engineering allowed him to join forces with college friends and THS alumni Nate Walker and TJ Hadyuk to develop a simple idea into an expanding company. What they invented would become a trademarked game, merging Can Jam and Spike Ball into one.
After working as an ID checker at Tashua pool over the summer, Keklik united with lifeguards Walker and Hadyuk. Together they decided they wanted to start a company. Their idea to turn BounceBall into an app eventually diverted into making it a backyard game to prevent the interruption of needing to learn swift coding and obtaining an app license to make the game.
Keklik, proud co-founder of BounceBall, explains how the game came about. “We liked Can Jam, and we liked Spike Ball. But we didn’t like certain aspects of it. So, we found a legal way to combine both of the games into one. And that’s basically what BounceBall is.”

The rules for the game are as follows: One person on a team will throw a ball against a board. When the ball comes back, you and your teammate must work together to get the ball to hit the bucket. If the ball goes in the bucket without anyone touching, it is worth 5 points, if someone hits the bucket it is worth 3 points. If the ball hits the side of the can on its own, it is worth 2 points. Finally. If the ball is hit into the side of the can, it is worth one point. First team to 11 wins, if you go over 11, you restart at 5.
With the kickstarter they are looking to attain, the trio projects to have BounceBall in Joggin’ Your Noggin, a toy store in Monroe, in the coming year. Within the next four years, Keklik hopes to expand their market to the entire east coast, eventually attaining enough popularity to sell the company and start all over again.
Even if his company does not succeed, Keklik still sees a bright future ahead. “It’s trial and error..If this fails, I’m gonna start another company.”