NFHS rules.
JV high school tri matches.
The coach is standing up between every point ( during dead ball ) and talking to her players - sometimes on the floor and sometimes on the bench. I advised her that she needed to remain seated and that she was only allowed up during time-outs and substitutions. She said " the new rule allows us to stand between points ". I said that was not the case and she repeated that she knew this was the new rule for this year.
I thought the new POE was to be sure that coaches remained in their seats officially by rule now.
Did I miss something or is she wrong?
I checked my book after the match and found NOTHING to support her statements.
Please provide an NFHS reference if she is correct.

Or should I have given her the Yellow Card?

Thanks in advance.

Tony,

Not knowing what state you're in, a few states are experimenting with allowing coaches to stand. Not sure if yours would be one of them, though.

what state?
 

Sorry.
We are in Ohio.

I believe Ohio is one of the states experimenting with coaches standing. You may want to contact your local rules interpreter for further guidance.

Thank You.
I will do that immediately.
Again - I want to do the right thing.

tony, Ohio IS one of the states experimenting with the bench decorum rule. See the discussion thread on the NFHS discussion board - it has a lot of information concerning what the officials have been told by the State relative to the experimental rule.

Definitely talk with your local rules interpreter because the coach was correct. She is allowed 1 step toward the court to coach her players in a non-disruptive manner during any (and every) dead ball.

Since I started officiating when I lived in Ohio, I am wondering if you attended a state rules interpretation meeting per your officiating requirements to be a licensed official with the OHSAA. You should have heard either Steve Trout (Northwest), Diane Plas (Northeast), Keith Fisher (Southwest and Southeast) or Dr. Moore (Central) - the four rules interpreters for the State of Ohio - talk about the new rules and the bench decorum experiment that Ohio is using this year.

Tony,
Does your state give you the NFHS Preseason guides at your rules meetings? There's an article in that. If they don't you can buy them through Referee magazine for about 3 bucks.

Yes, I did attend the State meeting in July in Columbus, Ohio.
The Seat belt rule was never discussed.
I did connect with my local interpreter ( Diane Plas ) and they apparently covered it at our local State meeting ( which I missed because I was out of town with work and wasn't worried because I figured they would cover the same things at this one as they did in Columbus - they did not! ).
However, I have since found all the information I needed and will aplly it from now on.
The coach I was involved with, however, was wrong. She was wandering up and down the bench and was approaching the court - well outside the one step in any direction decorum. I will enforce that from now on.
Thanks to all for the help.

It's a fact of life. All rules interpretation meetings are not equal!

tony, that'll do it every time! Did Dr. Moore lead the meeting you attended in Columbus? You want to attend a state meeting as late in the schedule as possible because by then, all the questions and glitches have come up and most of them have been fixed.

Dr. Moore ? nope
 

Diane Plas led the discussion in Columbus as part of an Officials conference held for all sports.
There were only 10 people in the room and we were very informal.
We talked about uniforms and new signals, but nothing about seat belt rule.
I did however, get all I needed on it from several people. It was in a manual provided to all officials in Ohio which I skimmed through and found out later I missed it.
MY FAULT!
I will not skim again.
Anyway, I now have all I need.
Thanks for all the help.

No problem! I know Diane and she does an excellent job as an official, an interpreter and an assigner.

I got that same packet since I still register with OHSAA as a "retired" official (even though I live in California and have never stopped officiating volleyball in the twelve years since I moved from Ohio). I register as a "retired" official so that I can get the Rules Book & Case Book and Manual (I get it sooner from Ohio than I do from my local associations out here on the left coast!).

Valuable lesson learned - read the material you receive, don't just skim it! Sometimes they do stick some valuable information in there...you just have to find it! LOL!!!

Diane is good
 

I didn't mean to imply that Diane was anything but the best - if you inferred that from my post.
I don't think she was lacking in presentation at the Columbus meetings.
I think we let it get informal, and I am not sure she even had the seat belt rule interpretation yet. As far as my history with Diane, in the past three years she has always been right on with everything. She is the one who directed me to the proper paperwork and information. She also helped with the interpretation that Dr. Moore came out with.
She has my deepest respect.
Thanks again to all.

tony, nope! I knew what you were saying and I couldn't agree more with you.

I think what happened is that the Columbus meeting was taking place at the same time that the State Interpreters were meeting in Indianapolis and that is when NFHS asked Ohio to experiment with the seat belt/decorum rule. So there was no way that you would have had the information that Ohio was going to be doing the experiment.

Great questions, great attitutde - I wish that I had the opportunity to ref with you someday, but I don't think that Ohio has reciprocity with California!!! LOL

YC'd a varsity coach for this last night....
 

During a substitution in game 5 of the match, she stepped into the substitution zone with her players and began giving verbal instructions to the players remaining on the court. I'd previously cautioned her twice about standing and approaching the court, and in this instance her actions directly interfered with the efficient administration of the substitution, so I requested the R to issue the YC.

Other than that it was a great match. I was the U, and in the course of the match caught illegal alignment of the receiving team 4 times, the serving team once, and one incorrect server.

Tim,

Why are you looking for illegal alignment on the serving team? :)

Felix,

I wasn't looking for it - just happened to catch it & pass it on to the R. It was after a LOR, and as I glanced at the player going back to serve I noticed the CF on the serving team overlapping the LF by 3-4 feet. I made quick eye contact with my R & gave him a discreet letting him know there was a misalignment on the serving team, then took my position to observe the receiving team. He then beckoned for serve, and when the ball was struck for serve, the overlap hadn't been corrected, so he whistled the misalignment. I then simply turned to the coach & told her the CF & LF were out of correct serving order at the time of serve, she nodded in acknowledgement & we moved on.....

Good job, Toolman! I was working a scrimmage last week with our assigner and we had four rookie officials watching us work together. I was the referee and, as I checked the receiving team, I saw that the LF had her left foot off the court. I discretely signaled to my partner the illegal alignment and whistled for serve. When the serve was contacted, my partner blew his whistle and I told the coach that #7 was off the court during the serve.

As an umpire, I routinely look at the serving team prior to the referee's beckon for serve so that I am sure that they are in the proper serving order. If they are not, I also signal to my partner that they are out of rotation.

Tim, in the situation that you posted, you could have assessed an Unnecessary Delay Time-Out because she was interfering with the substitution and delaying the game. If she didn't have any T-O's left, it would have cost her team a point (maybe she is just a slow learner or she has done too many years of club ball!!!!) and maybe she would have gotten the idea to stay at the bench to greet her replaced player and instruct her team.

Jan,

I see your point, & very briefly considered the UD, but it was match point in the final game, her team was down 14-10 & had no timeouts left. Since I had the option, I went with the YC for the minor unsportsmanlike conduct instead. I don't think anyone would want to see a match end that way unless the action was clearly intentional & over the top - let the girls decide it on the court.

In her case, I don't think it was - more like what you suggested...too many years of club ball. After the YC she asked me if that was a new rule this year..... I told her no, that Federation rules don't allow the coach to stand & approach the court to coach the players during the game. I'll bet she remembers it from now on.......

Tim, let her know that a coach is NOT allowed in the sub zone on any level - NFHS, NCAA or USAV. She is supposed to know that. Tell her to look up USAV rule 21.1.1 and then PLEASE, stay out of the sub zone from now on!!!!

V game Tuesday night. Somehow the school booked 3 officials by mistake. I did the stand on the JV and sat the V. I was at the end of the table helping a JV player track the libero. Head coach turns to me and asks, "Can I stand up?" I pointed to the R and said, "If you do, he'll make you sit down." Just then he blew the whistle and told about 4 girls on the other team to sit down. She didn't ask again.

Thanks for the info. I knew that was the case for both NFHS & NCAA ..... wasn't sure about USAV......