Seems Perfection WAS Possible After All

I was checking the Net Height prior to a Varsity Volleyball Match. That's part of the Referee's job, to make sure it is at the correct height.

It was 3" high on one end and 2" high on the other.

I asked the Athletic Director to please have the Net adjusted.

Out came the Assistant AD and says, "I had it at the right height. The floor must have shifted."

Seriously, That's what he said! For the floor to have shifted that much we would have experienced an earthquake!

I replied, "Well, I do not know if the Floor shifted or not, but we need to get that Net at the right height or someone is gonna be upset when a good Kill shot ends up in the Net. Probably you, since your daughter is the star Hitter for your team."

So he fiddles with it but could not get it right, gave me a glare & I said, "Look, I did not set up the Net, you did, so please do not complain to me. I am just trying to get it set up correctly."

"UTPA Volleyball 1 by Reynaldo Leal" by thepanamerican via Flickr

Then he decided my Net String Tape must be off and went to get his own tape measure.

Sure enough, my device was correct!

He was not too happy and fiddled some more to get it 2" high on one side and 1'' on the other.

I asked if he could at least please at least get it not more than 1" high?

He replied, "You can't expect perfection, Ref!!"

"Why not? YOU expect perfection from us Refs once the Match begins!"

He got the Net to be just under 1" off.

I was back at the same school the next week. Would you believe they had the Net at the correct height that nite!?

The real irony is his daughter was the Star "Outside Hitter" for their team and a too high Net could have caused her to hit balls into the net that could have been good "Kill" Shots!!

Seems perfection WAS possible after all.

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How NOT to Talk to a Referee

"Dream Shot" by Will Folsom via Flickr

Us Referees may be blind, it seems to some, but I assure you we are not deaf.

Yeah, we hear all the crazy stuff fans yell from the stands and then chuckle over the craziest stuff we hear during breaks in the game and at half time.

Like the folks that count out, "One, Two, Three, FOUR, FIVE, SIX. Ref aren't you ever going to call 3 Seconds!" When it is the DEFENSIVE team in the Key Area......

I submit to you, tho, IF-

Your child/ player tends to be a bit brutish, shoves people around & bulls their was thru people & attempts to drive to the basket, knocking over 2 defenders who established legal guarding positions, and in the process of falling to the floor themselves is accidentally whacked in the nose by one of the other players falling down......

And IF you come onto the court to check on your child, who is sitting on the floor after the collision they caused......

 And IF your child asks, "Why didn't the Ref call a Foul on the player that hit me in the nose......"

And If, while the Referee is standing next to you also checking to see if your child/player is OK, you reply, "I don't know. The Ref's are stupid!"

Don't not be surprised when you get the "Old Heave- Ho" and are invited to leave the premises.

That is one example of how NOT to talk to a Referee!

We tolerate a lot of abusive comments from the fans but we do have our limits......

We may be blind be we are NOT deaf.

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Leave the Kids Who are Helping ALONE!

I Refereed my first Matches of the season last nite and I am quite happy to be mailing out letters to the Principal's of BOTH schools complimenting their JV and Varsity Coaches for excellent sportsmanship!

Do THE fans have the guts to Referee?

Despite EXCELLENT sportsmanship from the players and the coaches in most Girl's Varsity Volleyball Matches there are occasionally parents who want to Referee the game...... from their safe perch in the stands. I doubt many of them have the guts to actually be on the floor and Referee! Few people do.

Oh, it's pretty easy to Ref from the stands, but when you put on a Referee shirt & hang a whistle around the neck and realize there are numerous half crazed fans ready to challenge every call you make there are few folks willing to take on that responsibility.

In one Match a parent was hollering at one of the High School aged Line Judges when he disagreed with some of her calls.

Look folks, the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) sends 2 Referees to each match. As a cost saving measure preferred by the schools who pay for the Referees, the AIA does NOT send paid Line Judges to Regular Season Matches.

So High School kids end up volunteering, or more likely, BEING volunteered by their Coaches, to do the Line Judging.

(My Grand Daughter all dressed out to Ref a Volleyball Match)

In a Varsity Match the Line Judges are usually JV Players, Freshman or Sophomores. many of which do not really want to be the Line Judge!!

It is NOT as easy as it looks from the stands. I know! I have done some line Judging in Post Seasons Play Off Matches.

This particular parent thought that he was being funny to holler, "Are you blind!?" at a Line Judge who had called a ball "IN" that, in his over inflated judgement, he thought was "OUT." From my perspective on the Referee Stand the ball was "IN."

Fans can holler at us adult Referees, up to a limit, if they want. But I ain't gonna let fans holler at the kids who do Line Judging.

So I asked the attending Athletic Director to speak to the fan with 3 choices-

1. Cheer for his team and stop yelling at the Line Judges.

2. Step onto the floor and take the Line Judge spot.

3. Yell one more time at the Line Judge and he would be ejected from the gym.

Since he was with the Visiting Team, and had traveled almost 3 hours to the game, he wisely decided to focus on cheering and not take the Line Judge spot.

So, come and cheer for your schools as loud and raucously as your want. You can take your chances and yell at the Ref's, too. Some Refs have less tolerance for that than others and you never know walking in the door if the Ref for that Match has a short fuse or not......

But leave the kids who are helping do Line Judging alone!

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