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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Referees are CORRECT 94% of the Time

I know, I know, AZ Cardinal Fans & not a few other Football Team fans are gonna disagree with this...BUT-

At last year's Arizona Interscholastic Association Basketball Referee "Tip Off" meeting the Commissioner of Officials quoted a study done by some group that evaluated Referee calls over a full season.

The conclusion was that Referees are CORRECT on 94% of their calls!!

And then he noted, "But it's those 6% of the calls we get wrong that get Refs in trouble!!"

Coaches, Fans Players & Parents can and do ALL forgive players who make mistakes, "That's OK. Shake it Off," they will holler after a botched play.

But they ALL expect the Refs to be correct, from THEIR perspective, on EVERY play.

Refs would like to be correct 100% of the time.

In almost any other situation 94% would be considered great.

But not when one of the 6% missed calls is a game decider that goes against a team....

"Shooting Two" by Phil Warren via Flickr

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The Coach Just Had to Ask

I recently worked a Pre-Season Scrimmage where the Home Team Coach questioned the very first call we made...and nearly every other call after that.

This Coach has a reputation for doing that and really annoying Referees.

When I called Traveling after his player fell down while holding the ball after getting a rebound (an automatic Traveling call!) the Coach hollered, "She tried to dribble on her way down! That's not Traveling!"

"Coach," I replied. "I did not see any attempt to dribble. Even if she tried, she fell to the ground while holding the ball, so it's still Traveling."

"No, no, she was dribbling while on the ground! Didn't you see that?"

"No, Coach, I did NOT see that and now your version is changing...Please just let the Refs referee and you can focus on coaching. OK?"

He replied, "Hey, I'm just asking. I can ask, can't I?"

"Coach, you were NOT asking. You were attempting to influence me to change my call, which strictly speaking is a Unsportsmanlike Technical Foul."

"I'm just asking!"

"Coach, you 'ask' about almost every call that goes against your team. Quite frankly, us Referees get tired of all your asking and after a while just quit paying attention to you. THAT can be quite a problem if you want to call a Time Out and we figure you were just 'asking' about something else again and ignore your request."

After that he did not "ask" about any more calls the rest of the game......

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"Why Don't You Just Let Us Play Like Men?!"

So asked an "adult" male in a basketball league I recently refereed. 

"That would never be called a Foul in a college game," he whined about something the other Referee called.

I replied, "That WOULD be a Foul Call in any league and THIS is not a college game. This league is based on High School Rules, not NCAA or NBA."

"So why not let us play like men!?" He continued.

"Because you all play like a bunch of crybabies that complain every time we call a foul on YOU and then beg for a Foul Call every time you get barely touched by an opponent. If you played like men instead of crybabies we could Referee the game like you were men!"

Image "150116-F-QP401-465" by DoD News via Flickr, acquired under a Creative Commons license

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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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Is it ONE "Tweet" OR Two "Tweets?"

In basketball, when a Referee sees a Foul, a Violation or someone requests a Time Out the Ref gives a powerful single BLAST on the whistle while raising the hand straight up, high above the shoulder with the palm open in the standard "Stop the Clock" mechanic.

New Basketball Referees are frequently encouraged to "put some air in that whistle!"

Not so, I'm finding out in Volleyball......

Volleyball is a much more genteel and polite sport.

"John at Work" by David Fulmer via Flickr

Volleyball Refs do not blast their whistles. We "Tweet" them. Politely.

And sometimes I need to remember is it ONE Tweet or 2?

If I am the "R2" (the Ref on the floor in front of the Scorer's Table) and I see a Net/ Foot Fault or a ball out of bounds, I give ONE Tweet.

BUT, if a Coach asked for a Time Out , and I am the R2, I need to give 2 Tweets and then signal the Time Out making a signal similar to a Technical Foul in basketball and make the signal on the same side as the Coach that called the Time Out.

A Basketball Time Out is recognized by the Referee giving a SINGLE blast on the Whistle and raising the hand straight up, high above the shoulder with the palm open in the standard "Stop The Clock" mechanic. It is an automatic reflexive response for me after 20+ years Refereeing Basketball......

But it is not so automatic for me in Volleyball!

I spent most of last season calling Time Outs in Volleyball Matches like I do in Basketball.

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"We're Practicing Drawing Charging Fouls."

Several years ago I was working a Summer Basketball Camp and sitting on the sidelines prior to my next assigned game, just watching the teams warm up.

An out of state team started a drill where the Dribbler would come up close to the Defender and the Defender would flail his arms and plop onto his backside. "GREAT JOB! THAT'S GOOD!" The coach was hollering as he encouraged his players.

Eventually he walked down by where I was sitting and nodded a hello. "Ready for a good game?" He asked me.

"Every game is a good game for me to work!" I enthusiastically replied and then asked, "What is the purpose of this drill?"

"We're practicing drawing charging fouls," was the reply.

"PSUK Basketball - Bristol 2013-21" by Andrew Spillane via Flickr

"Looks the guys are practicing Flopping to me," was my comment to which he said, "Yes, you could say it looks like that."

I pointed out Flopping was an intentional act to fake being fouled and classified as a Technical Foul and having just seen and hear him say that was what they were practicing, I said, "So anytime I see one of your players hit the floor I gonna ignore it at first, start calling Blocking Fouls on them the next time and then just 'T' up anyone who keeps flopping."

Did not have a single one of those players even come close to a Flop the whole game.....Imagine that!!

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