Miscellaneous Questions

[BlitzkriegBob]

I just had my first match of the season last week (freshman match) and I was working with a new partner. I found out after the match that this was his second year doing volleyball and first time working a match above middle school level. It was also his first match of the year. This is just my third year so obviously I'm still learning as well, which is why I have several questions about our match.

During the match (I was U and partner was R), my partner either delayed or completely ate his whistle at the conclusion of many rallies. His signals were also delayed, and I found myself (even though I waited longer than I wanted) on a few occasions giving a touch signal just prior to my partner coming up with an out signal (even though he had a touch also he was simply signalling out). Also, he didn't call any ball handling violations even though one of the teams could have received a handful since their skills were not close to the opposing team.

So here are my questions:

1. What do you do when you're U and your partner forgets to blow the whistle?
2. How long do you wait for your partner to give a signal?
3. What if he's giving a signal that might cause confusion as to the outcome of the rally? Do you still mirror?
4. What can you do if your partner isn't making the call on blatant ball handling violations?

I always shudder when I think back on my very first volleyball match. I pity the partner I had to work with since I know I made all of these same mistakes. Now I find myself on the other side and am seeking guidance again. After the match was over, my partner wasn't really interested in a postmatch powwow, so another question I have is how to go about initiating one and offering advice when you're not sure your partner wants it.

One last question which is a leftover from last year and I would like reassurance that I was making the correct call. I was doing a middle school tournament and I had one 8th grade match where a player on one team kept losing track of where she was on the court and ended up getting tangled up in the net three or four times even when there was no play going on in the vicinity of the net. Is this an immediate dead ball all the time and LOPR? That's the call I was making, and on one occasion she did this just before the opposing team was about to lose the point for a fourth hit.

Thanks for your help!!!

[FMadera]

1. Try to address it during a time out. Not really your place to kill the rally unless you are calling a specific violation within your realm of jurisdiction.

2. A reasonable amount of time. Your mileage may vary. Might wanna address this too while you're over there telling him to blow his whistle.

3. Probably, unless he's obviously pointing the wrong way on the point signal, then you might want to help get that right.

4. Be ready to take heat from the coaches. Really, unless he's screened, it's his call. Don't make ball handling calls while umpire unless you're 100% (not 99%) sure your partner was screened and couldn't see it.

Others:

1. Talk about whether you want a post match debrief BEFORE your match. That way, you're just following up on what you agreed upon earlier. If you have a rough match, and then someone wants to talk, it might be taken defensively, so talk about it beforehand.

2. Yes, they were net violations under NFHS rules, and would probably have been let go under NCAA/USAV rules.

[refnrev]

We all have had partners like the one you describe. In basketball we always stress the pre-game. That's the ideal time to address things, but not much can prepare you for what you describe. I ALWAYS tell the U to call anything that I miss. We're a team and need to work as such.
Now, having said that, I didn't do that once. I walked into the gym and saw who who my partner was. I hadn't worked with him, but his reputation for incompetence in every sport proceeded him. He is hands down the worst official I ever worked with... and he is terrible in every sport. He has actually been told by many schools, even Jr. High Schools, they could no longer use him any more... and that was in baseball and basketball, too. The night we worked together he looked the wrong way on every serve, watched the ball when he should have been watching the net, called a foot fault on a serve from the floor.... which he was notorious for even when they were not even close. He always argued that he was doing fine when partners tried to help him out on these things. So.... what do you do? You get in, call the games, shake hands, and say good-bye afterwards, and get out. Some nights that's all you can do. And PRAY HARD that you don't work together again, but if you have to, make the best of a bad night and look forward to your next match. When I coached soccer, I could always tell when one official was good andone was incompetent. Most coaches will see that, too.
Finally, if you are 2000% sure of an obvious ball handling I'd call it... but don't expect a bad partner to like it very much.

[MCBear]

refnrev, like basketball, we do stress the importance of a prematch conference, but we also want to have a post-match debrief so that we can talk about things that happened. This year, all of the rules making bodies are emphasizing professionalism in their rules presentations. Part of being a professional is acting like one and, in the sport of volleyball particularly, talking with each other prior to the match so you know what you are going to do and then, again, after the match so that you can talk about what you did.

I am sorry that you had to endure that particular individual! One thing that might be done is to contact the assigner/league commissioner/AD and report the ineptitude of the individual and just flat out let them know that you do not want to work with this particular person. You can also contact your state association and report his ineptitude to the person responsible for officials in volleyball. There have been instances where state associations have rescinded the officiating permit of incompetent officials.

Good job (as always), Felix!

[refnrev]

MCB,
I agree with what you say 150% and under normal circumstances the post game is a very good thing. But only for people who want to improve. What B'bob said was that his partner was not interested in a "post game pow-wow" so there really isn't much that he can do. And in my case, you can't talk to a fence post. This guy threw a fit when two well seasoned officials waved off his foot fault calls from the floor in previous games in the season, and ignored their attempts to tell him that he was doing everythng backwards and watching the wrong things. So I have better things to do than argue with an idiot! I did tell the AD at the school where we worked, who happened to be my former asst soccer coach, never to call him again. I rarely see this kind of incompetence in V'ball or soccer, but have encountered it in basketball on a few occasions. If you have someone who doesn't want to get better and won't listen, in basketball we just have an understanding that we get in, get the games done, get out, and look forward to the next night.

[BlitzkriegBob]

Thanks Felix and everyone else for your replies. It makes me feel better that everything I did during the match is what you recommended, other than going over to talk to the R during a time out. Since we didn't have a single time out during the first game, I would have had to wait until its conclusion but I'll know next time that's how it should be handled.

The tough part of the match was knowing that I was not looking sharp either with the delays for the whistles and the signals (including one painfully long pause after a ball near his sideline went uncalled for what seemed an eternity as he and the linesman looked at each other with deer in the headlights looks for at least five seconds with the whistle never being blown).

A kinda funny story about the conclusion of the first game of the match. I was at the scorers table verifying the score sheet and instructing the timekeeper to put 3:00 on the clock. After I had done that I turned around and noticed that both teams were still at their endlines looking up at my partner who was looking over at me. I gave him the change of courts signal and I guess the lightbulb went on in his head and he gave the signal to the teams. He then came over to the scorers table telling me "Okay, your turn next." Puzzled, I asked him "My turn for what?" He replied that it was my turn to go up on the stand. When I told him that we weren't supposed to switch positions during the match, he said that he had always done that.

By the way, I'm not insinuating that he was incompetent, just inexperienced. And here in rural Indiana, while I have an assigner for softball, during volleyball season I schedule matches on my own. I probably will work with this guy again since as we were leaving he mentioned that he had a couple of more freshman matches scheduled at that same school and I'm pretty sure his next one is a match that I have scheduled also! I'll be sure to volunteer to go up next time!