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For high school girls volleyball in Illinois, line judges are not required until the beginning of the postseason, and schools in my area very rarely provide them before that point. Although line judges used in the postseason are not required to be licensed officials, they must be at least 18 years old and may not be a member of a school's varsity volleyball team. During the postseason, many athletic directors do choose to hire licensed volleyball officials to serve as line judges. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that many licensed officials, sometimes solid referees, make poor line judges. I attribute this to the simple fact that line judging is something we very rarely do. Most current or former club volleyball players, on the other hand, have performed line judging duties many times. A few of the larger schools in my area will have these individuals line judge, who usually do a good job.
On the rare occasion when I am requested and available to officiate a high school boys match, my first question to the assigning A.D. is always "do you have line judges?" If the answer is no, I refuse the assignment.
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