You're Correct
 

Of course.
Duh.
Doi.
That's what I get when I try to think through these things while passing the time watching daughter's volleyball game. :o

Those volleyball refs...taking a check for what they do is tantamount to sanctioned thievery. When I get old and can't run anymore, I'm gonna look into that. Getting paid for standing in one place for an hour and a half and never breaking a sweat. Nice gig. :)

OT: Working Volleyball
 

Tell me about it.

Lady last week called a double hit on every single set attempt by either team. No exceptions, I'm not exaggerating. To the point that midway through the first game after a time out, both coaches had told their teams (apparently) to only bump set. She also called double hit on a block that hit both hands - twice.

After the game she didn't bolt, so approaching her in the lobby-area outside the gym like someone wanting to learn I asked her about it. Her direct quote: "You can never use both hands to strike the ball."

And yes, I emailed our supervisor.

OT: Working Volleyball
 

Don't knock it, try it. It is indeed a good gig. :cool:
This is my 1st season doing VB. BTW - the toughest call for a VB newbie like me is the double hit.;)

Easy Money (Billy Joel, 1983) ...
 

Most high school volleyball games around these parts are held in the midafternoon (fall girls, spring boys), and they are always looking for breathing volleyball officials with a pulse. A lot of our basketball officials, when they retire from their day jobs, move over to volleyball. They tell me that it's a piece of cake, and that it's almost like they're stealing the money. Some guys work varsity games their first year, after never having played the game in high school (other than physical education class). I know one guy who worked some early round state tournament games in his second year. Of course, one does have to be able to get up, and down, that ladder. Now, that's tough work.

Some of those ladders are down right rickety - ie "hold on tight". :eek:
I'm working varsity matches in my first season but only as the R2 - the down official (as do all first years).
I did just retire, but the VB matches are held in the evening.

Busy Fella
 

Dang, L3. What with basketball, volleyball and softball, you'll never have time to enjoy your retirement. Maybe Mark P can hook you up with some croquet or even tiddleywinks if you get underwhelmed!!

The Only Things Certain In Life Are Death And Taxes (Benjamin Franklin) ...
 

I hope that he's reporting every single penny to the I.R.S. You don't think that they can track down who Lcubed48 really is? Think again. Wait? I have to get off the internet because I see a black helicopter flying around my neighborhood.

Not tiddlywinks, but possibly balloon volleyball. Here at the assisted living center which is now my home, we actually play this about once a week. We alternate between playing it indoors and outdoors depending on the weather. We use a large balloon, not a ball, because virtually every resident here uses either a wheelchair or a walker. I'm one of about only two or three who can still walk without assistance.

About two months ago, I actually pretended to "officiate" the games while wearing my old referee uniform. I still have it because I wear it as a Halloween costume. BTW - I wear black sweatpants with it because that way, I don't have to wear a belt. :rolleyes:

During those games, one guy who is about 85, kept yelling at me to blow my whistle (yes, I use that too). I told him that if he didn't knock it off, I'd sell his teeth on e-bay. He shut up.

BTW - I also call Bingo one night a week and host Trivia Night one night a week. I've hosted that with 60 questions I develop each week for over a year, so I've come up with over 3000 questions so far. I really love doing it and it certainly keeps me from getting bored.

Things that are less boring than officiating volleyball.

Watching grass grow.
Watching cars rust.
Sleeping.
A Baptist sermon.
Everything.

The Degree Of Excitement Depends On The Color ...
 

You forgot about watching paint dry.

It Takes A Lot Of Guts To Insult Me From 3000 Miles Away ...
 

Shut up.

Pardon The Interruption ...
 

How about watching a field hockey game, or a girls lacrosse game? I've watched my nieces play these games and there's a whistle every time one girl comes within six feet of another girl. Absolutely no contact. Whistle after whistle after whistle after whistle. And in field hockey, I believe that you can't strike the ball with the "wrong" side of the stick, or raise the stick more than a few inches off the ground. Whistle after whistle after whistle after whistle. Talk about "game interrupters", the whole damn game is one long interruption.

OK - I am a softball umpire, and have been for almost 25 years :eek:. About 10 years ago my ASA assignor started getting after me to work volleyball - : "Ya gotta do volleyball - modified (middle school) volleyball is EASSY" (imagine Arnold Stang) So, after couple of years of this, I went and took the course. The course itself is a nut buster, as NYS goes by the NCAA book, and the clinician is nuts. My second match ever, I was assigned, by myself, and both coaches wanted to start before the required 4:30 start - you have to be there at 4 for warmups. So we started about 4:20 or so - and I was walking out of there after 3 sets....before 5 p! :eek: I felt like Willie Sutton after a bank visit! Our fee at that time was about $60 a match, plus an extra half fee for working alone!

Well, eight years later it has gotten nuts: A couple of years ago, to save on bus trips, the local sports authority that schedules and pays us, decided to have the modified teams play each other once a year, with each meeting being a double match. What is crazy is that now I am up to 15-17 of these a year - at $1.20 a trip (move the decimal point :p)!

While it is easy, the travel here can be a bit much - we cover three counties in SE NYS, the written test is a b***h, even with it being open book; and those double matches sometimes can last a while. But still, I am never. ever looking to move up! The double matches are kind of long though - almost 2 1/2 hours sometimes...

Our local volleyball group is VERY short, as volleyball suffers from the same problem a lot of 'specialty' sports have - there are just not enough people who live and breathe the sport, who are available afternoons.

Yeah, but. None pay as well.:rolleyes:

This is my retirement.

Just my .02,

I ref both volleyball and basketball for a couple years. I have attended camps for both. Obviously basketball is more physically demanding and a lot more to keep track of since the players interact physically with one another. Also, the coaches and players get more heated with basketball.

That being said, any officiating is mentally demanding. I dive into the rule and casebook in both sports I officiate to better prepare myself. Additionally, I work on mechanics and professionalism at all times. Volleyball is more straight forward as far as situations and rules. The lineups and alignments can be a beast to keep track of as well as the touches at the net on a hard spike. There are subjective calls in volleyball just like in basketball. One ref could call a lift in volleyball differently each game just like in basketball where a ref might call more hand-checking and less aggressive play.

Volleyball is easier than basketball, but requires work and practice in order to perfect it just like any sport.

I'm rambling now......ugh.........I will tell you what I say to people when they give you a hard time for being a teacher.....

"It's not a private club. Anyone can join. Feel free to sign up. And then we can talk."

pfan

I am a basketball scorekeeper with 8 years experience & a 1'st year volleyball official after a lengthy (6 yr) tenure as a volleyball scorer.Volleyball is quite the mental exercise-having to keep track of rotations,watch the ball handling,monitoring the net & center-line,and making sure your line judges and table crew are doing their jobs.Basketball is the better physical workout-but the previous poster is right.If you're doing your job correctly at the end of the night you'll be tired.I did three volleyball matches in two days last week & was wiped out.This week I'll work 4 in 4 days (2,off,1,1) and would've been 5 in 4 if my MS match didn't cancel.

Based on this I checked into the local VB officials association. Seems like a good way to keep busy for a couple of months after softball and before basketball.

I checked with the president of the officials board, he said there is a very small number of officials and they like to have people who work other sports.

Most days are junior high and JV games or JV/Varsity and the same officials work both matches and he said that most of the competent officials move on to college play after their 2nd or 3rd year, we mostly only have D3 and JUCO schools.

Moosie74-you'll have a lot of fun.our unit has a former division 1 softball official who is R2 on a lot of high level public school matches out here in her second year.your skills in handling coaches from basketball and softball will come in handy-all you need to do is learn volleyball.I as a first year got a handful of middle school matches on my own and some small school varsity along with a lot of line judging.What state do you work?

I live in Maine, there are a lot of schools with programs here that are either a couple of years old or just starting up in the next couple of years so the quality of play shouldn't be all that intense to start.

I always believe that new officials learning game management and dealing with people is the hardest part so with that out of the way, focusing on the game itself will be easier.

I am looking forward to giving it a shot.

welcome to the club Moosie-join us over on the vb board.

Volleyball Officials
 

Are you guys kidding me? Officiating any sport ... to a high level of proficiency ... requires a lot of skill, focus, effort, and tremendous dedication.

It is a very good gig to officiate any sport poorly and without passion ... I have seen far too many basketball officials walk during dead balls, call out of their primary (from the division line), and comment to coaches "relax, its not the NBA. Without question, a similar scenario can be painted about volleyball, or soccer, or football officials.

It is no easier to be a competent volleyball official than a basketball official ... I do both at a collegiate level. Where basketball is more physical (obviously), volleyball is far more psychologically stressful.

I will say this ... there is no hiding behind 10 players, 2 partners, and advantage-disadvantage. In volleyball, if you ere, everyone knows it and everyone can see you.

But hey ... if you are the type that does not take pride in your officiating, and are looking for something easy, might I suggest you take up football officiating ... it pays far more and, according to google, there is only 12 minutes of live play in a game. Now thats a good gig.

As one of the regular contributors on the Volleyball board likes to say:

"It's only easy if you don't want to do it right!"

Volleyball is definitely not physically demanding, but it is just as mentally demanding as any other sport I have worked. I have been a HS VB official for 20+ years and it is "easy" for me, just as it became easier the longer I was a basketball official, softball umpire, etc.

I will say that VB is the one sport it took me the longest to become comfortable and confident in my ability as an official.

Spectrum ???
 

So? Let's see? Volleyball is not as physically demanding, but is just as mentally demanding, not more, just the same, as other sports, possibly including basketball? Basketball is both physically, and mentally, demanding? Doesn't that make basketball harder to officiate? Simple arithmetic addition. Are there sports that are not mentally demanding, but are very physically demanding?


Could it be because you did not play interscholastic, or intercollegiate, volleyball?

Note: I'm sure that every sport, including volleyball, is difficult to officiate, but some sports must be harder to officiate than others, they can't all be exactly the same? The hardest part of basketball for me is to see plays, both violations, and fouls, with "jiggling" eyeballs while on the move. We're not always on the move, but we are several times a game. I'm sure that there are sports harder than basketball to officiate. Baseball? Ice hockey? I've talked to about a half a dozen guys (certainly not a statistically valid group) who work both and say that volleyball is much easier than basketball, not necessarily easy, just easier.

I played club volleyball in college, and officiated intramurals. Calling the live aspects of the game itself are pretty straightforward. Keeping track of substitutions, libero movement, rotations, and overlaps are the tough part and require a lot of thinking during dead ball situations. I tried taking the NFHS test a few months ago, thinking I could work this fall, but gave up after 15 questions. It was the hardest NFHS test I had taken, by far.

What's your point, Billy?

All I was trying to point out is that VB appears to be an "easy" sport to work, mainly due to the lack of physical requirements. I freely admit that. I also agree that some sports are more difficult overall to officiate due to the requirements for officials of the specific sports. IMO, basketball is the most difficult to officiate due to the combination of physical and mental requirements.

Mentally, every sport I have attempted to officiate requires a high level of study of the rules and mechanics, understanding of the objectives of the game, and focus and concentration while you are actually officiating a contest. From a mental standpoint only, I can't say that one sport is more demanding than any other in my experience.

One of the reasons it took me a bit longer to get comfortable with VB was because I only did HS VB and only worked for the HS VB season in the fall, whereas with basketball and softball, I worked at those year round.

Where On The Sports Officiating Spectrum ???
 

This:

Sure ... I think football is FAR more physically demanding than any of the other sports I officiate. Yet it's also FAR less mentally demanding, at least on the field (well ... most of the time - multiple fouls and a turnover can be messy). Volleyball, I think, is more mentally demanding than any of the others. Tracking, mentally, who can do what, when you have to lose focus on one team when the ball's on the other side - it's a chore. Physically, it just requires maintaining focus while standing in one place (as R), or while shuffling back and forth (as U).

I never leave a volleyball match huffing and puffing, even if my feet and back might be sore. But I definitely leave mentally drained.
I very rarely leave a football game mentally drained, but I definitely get winded at times.
Basketball and softball/baseball - in between on both.

In both cases, it's beer time, albeit for different reasons. :)

First part extremely true.

It's the on-field focus and concentration that differs. Football and baseball, you have consistent and significant breaks where you don't have to be concentrating. Breaks between plays, for example. You must be alert - but the focus is less intense except at specific moments.

Volleyball and Basketball, the between play breaks are far shorter, and (esp in VB) the focus is very multi-tasky. Take the focus on responsibilities, who you're looking at, and what you're watching for in basketball ... and then add to it that you have to remember that the 2 guards can only jump shoot from parts of the field, but may set-shot from anywhere, and the center must be the first person up the court in transition... and then remember who the guards and center were on the other team when the ball changes sides, even though they might be of similar height; and the guards change each play

Agreed. Just finished my 3rd year of VB. Working at certain things, but alignments is still the weak point. As I get to understand the game more, that will come.

And, I changed careers and am now a teacher.

Welcome to the club lol. If you are not mentally tired after doing vball then you aren't doing it right.

I watched the Miami-Wake Forest Volleyball game that was on TV last night. It was mentally tiring just watching it trying to take it all in.

I think working any sport is mentally demanding, because as you start out, you're thinking about where you are, where you should be, what the call is, what the rule is, etc. Throw in the the physical part and it's that much more of a challenge.

I know a guy who is a flagger at a local NASCAR track, he is gets tired from all the mental and organizational tasks he's doing while the cars are racing.

The throwing of the flags is very little of all the things he does.

Its the same thing though to officiate something well you have to have the energy invested in it

I agree with you about alignment/rotations. It continues to be a work-in-progress. One of these days I may just call a violation for it.

Congrats and kudos to you on your new career.

alignment/rotation
 

As a down Official (R2), I keep a piece of paper in my pocket that have the original alignment. On this paper I record subsitution and serves. The 1st time they serve I place a '1' near their number. The 2nd time thru I turn the '1' into a '+'. The 3rd time I circle the plus sign. I cheat and look at this throughout the set. It has helped me in identifying overlapping many times. Maybe someday I will be good enough and won't have to use my cheat sheet.

I did VB for about three years. It was by far the most mentally challenging of any sport I've worked. I put it down to the constant decision making as R1. They only thing that comes close is calling balls and strikes in baseball but that's only once every 20-30 seconds.

At any rate, I've never come away from a basketball game any where near as mentally fatigued as I did from an average VB match.