Apples and Oranges

[Tim Roden]

I have not been on the stand for volleyball but I have been a line judge. That was fun. Of course as others say, the physical aspects of volleyball are not that hard. Saying that it is one of the few sports a truely handicapped person can officiate and for that I am glad we have the sport. The other part is it is mentally demanding. The whistles are so quick it is unbelievable. Basketball is almost as fast but we are told to hold the whistle. In Volleyball that whistle comes immediately upon a dead ball. There is only microseconds between the ball hitting the floor, net or post and the whistle. And a signal comes thereafter or they look at the line judge for a signal. The other hard part is how an official can know who is where in the formation. With formations changing all the time, the official can look at a sheet of paper and line everyone up in proper place. I've seen them do it upon request. In BBall, we couldn't tell you who was in the game much less what position.