Suggestions to linesman at Georgia Sectionals

TravelinMan · #1 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 24, 2005, 08:07pm

I am a 1st year official in Georgia and have been assigned as a linesman at the sectionals this Saturday in Atlanta. Any suggestions you can give me to help me do a top notch job would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
__________________________________________________ _________
"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it! - Dali

refnrev · #2 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 24, 2005, 10:05pm

Know your signals.
Sell your calls.
Watch your lines!
Know exactly what your referee expects from you because you asked in your pre-game conference.
Have fun and tell us what it was like!
Oh yeah, if you are anywhere near The Varsity, have a "chili dawg" without the onions!!!!!!!!

Gozer · #3 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 24, 2005, 10:30pm

Be consistant on what you call, and have fun.

FMadera · #4 (**permalink**) Tue Oct 25, 2005, 07:14am

Pay attention!

Watch the lines when judging in/out. Don't watch the ball and see where on the floor it lands, watch the line and see if the ball hits it. It can make all the difference in the world.

On attacks, focus on the blockers hands and see if the ball hits it, don't watch the ball and then try to figure out if there was a touch.

Make your call, and make it crisply and demonstratively, without showboating. The referee wants to see your call right away and know you made it confidently, otherwise, he/she might have to overrule you.

Make your signal WHEN THE VIOLATION OCCURS, do not wait until the whistle has blown. The referee will sometimes be screened and unable to see if the ball has hit the floor, and will look to you for the signal. Be sure you have the call ready to go.

And make sure that when a violation occurs, that you ALWAYS signal, no matter how obvious the call is. If the serve goes 50 feet out of bounds, still signal out. Getting used to making the call on every rally will make you more confident to make your call right away on the real close ones.

Good luck!

rainmaker · #5 (**permalink**) Tue Oct 25, 2005, 10:49am

Find another game or two to line for practice. Even one or two matches will make a big difference for you.

MCBear · #6 (**permalink**) Tue Oct 25, 2005, 03:12pm

In addition to the suggestions that have alread been given, be sure to watch the antennas. If the ball goes directly above or outside the antennas when crossing the net, get your flag up and be signalling that the ball was out of bounds.

Good luck!

TravelinMan · #7 (**permalink**) Tue Oct 25, 2005, 06:03pm

These are all excellent ideas and I plan to use them on Saturday. Thank you all for your suggestions. I will let you know how it was on Sunday. Refnrev - thanks for the restaurant recommendation. I'll suggest it to our group. Without onions for my friends and with onions for my .....

TravelinMan · #8 (**permalink**) Sun Oct 30, 2005, 11:27am

Well, I had a blast Saturday and came away feeling I did a good job calling the lines. What stands out most in my mind
were 2 critical line calls I made in the last match of the day that decided the winner. If I had not followed your advice about watching the line and not the ball I would have been only guessing on the calls (and I would have felt terrible for 2 teams that played their hearts out). Both plays were kills to the end lines, one I called in, the other out. What I was not accustomed to in the sectionals vs regular season was the speed and accuracy of the kills. These girls could HIT!

As far as knowing signals, I knew all the hand signals. That was fine, except we used flags. In pregame, ref assumed we had worked with flags, but when I asked "what are the flags for?", he kinda got the idea we had never used flags before. LOL

refnrev - didn't get a chance to sample those chili dogs at The Varsity, but will do so during bball this year. I'm located about 90 miles south of Atlanta, in Columbus. Host school had some great BBQ though. Can't wait for basketball season to start. Feel like a kid without his favorite toy......of course, enjoyed volleyball immensely and sure wish season wasn't over. It seemed to go by so fast.... way too fast. Can't wait until next year.

MCBear · #9 (**permalink**) Sun Oct 30, 2005, 12:23pm

You will have the opportunity to learn more in one junior season than you learn in about five high school seasons because you will referee so many matches during tournaments. For information concerning your local RVA, go to http://www.srva.org. Living in Georgia, your local RVA is the Southern Region of USAV. Another possibility is to talk with someone that you may already know who referees club or is affiliated with a club team. Hope to see you on the court.

TravelinMan · #10 (**permalink**) Mon Oct 31, 2005, 11:14am

Quote:

Originally posted by MCBear
You will have the opportunity to learn more in one junior season than you learn in about five high school seasons because you will referee so many matches during tournaments. For information concerning your local RVA, go to http://www.srva.org. Living in Georgia, your local RVA is the Southern Region of USAV. Another possibility is to talk with someone that you may already know who referees club or is affiliated with a club team. Hope to see you on the court.

Thanks MCBear for that valuable information. Sounds like I can start into club ball right after basketball season. I'm checking into requirements now.
Jack