LineUp Situation

[BearBoy]

HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE THIS SITUATION?
(Rule applications....enforcement protocol.....appropriate sideout/point assessment...re-positioning/re-checking player positions.....etc.)

Situation:

It is Team A's service. A4 serves when referee whistles for serve. A4's serve is misplayed by B1 and goes OOB. At the approximate same moment, both umpire and scorekeeper discover A4 is "out of service order" and was the wrong server.

(It was obvious that umpire should have recognized the A4 was the wrong server, as that player is readying to serve.....Is the appropriate action to take, is an "official's TO" to correct the service order.....or wait till the service violation.....then administer to the appropriate penalties?) After the violation.....then what should be done to correct the situation?

And then....of course....Coach A gets upset that the "umpire" lets this occur....their service point is taken away.....a point is awarded team B along with team A losing their service. Do you also card (R or Y) the coach for her bad conduct as well?

Sounds easy.....but much confusion when coach A won't listen to any explaination due to the fact she is running a "non-stop" dialog about how her team is being wronged.

HELP!!!! What say you all?

[TimTaylor]

Don't have my books handy, but here's the short version.....

From a purely technical standpoint, the Umpire is not required to track the servers, only to make sure everyone is in the right position according to the submitted lineup at the start of the game. Once the game begins, tracking the proper server is the scorekeeper's job. Neither is required to tell a team when the wrong server goes back to serve - the players are supposed to know where they are in the rotation, and if they're not sure, either the coach or captain can request from the umpire who the next server is, at which point the scorekeeper will provide that information. Bottom line, if the coach is looking to blame someone in this situation, they need only look in the mirror..............

[FMadera]

It is not the responsibility of the officiating crew to correct an incorrect server until that person has actually served the ball. That coach was clueless.

Also, as Tim indicated, the umpire does not have to track the server on his/her card anymore. In addition, the umpire tracks the alignment of the *receiving* team, so I fail to see what was done wrong here.

[MCBear]

The Umpire should have caught that the serving team had the wrong person in the serving position when Team A's starting players were checked on the court prior to the server being given the ball by the umpire at the beginning of the game. Also, the scorekeeper should have noticed immediately that the wrong server was beginning the game.

In addition, where was the Team A Head Coach during this whole situation? After all, the head coach should have recognized that the server was NOT the person that was entered on the lineup sheet in the first serving position.

No matter HOW it happened, once the ball was contacted, the serving team is penalized with a loss of rally for the wrong server. The lineup is corrected and the game goes on.

Unless the Head Coach is a real jerk and the behavior is really bad, I do everything I can as an Umpire to defuse the situation to avoid having to give a card for MY screw-up. To stop the coach from continuing the monologue, say the following, "Coach, can I ask you a question?" and then don't say anything for moment or two; or say something to break their pattern like, "Coach, I was wondering, would you like to go to the concession stand with me right now and we can discuss this as we go?" Although that last one may sound really out of left field, I am sure the coach will stop talking because you asked such an off-the-wall question. The coach is running a pattern of learned behavior and asking a different question or responding differently than they expect will interrupt the pattern and give you a chance to have a civil discussion with them.

[BearBoy]

Originally Posted by MCBear

The Umpire should have caught that the serving team had the wrong person in the serving position when Team A's starting players were checked on the court prior to the server being given the ball by the umpire at the beginning of the game. Also, the scorekeeper should have noticed immediately that the wrong server was beginning the game.

In addition, where was the Team A Head Coach during this whole situation? After all, the head coach should have recognized that the server was NOT the person that was entered on the lineup sheet in the first serving position.

Thanks MC for your comments....I knew I should have used maybe A4 instead of A1 for the reason that may have lead you to believe that A1 was indeed the first server. (The serving rotation had already gone one full cycle and player #4 served instead of player #9. #4 served out of rotation order.)

[TimTaylor]

Originally Posted by BearBoy

The serving rotation had already gone one full cycle and player #4 served instead of player #9. #4 served out of rotation order.

I kinda figured that was the situation, but threw in the reference to the start of the game just in case.....

You'll notice that I started my reply "From a purely technical standpoint...".
That said, Jan & Felix both know that I'm a strong believer in preventive officiating. At lower levels (FR/JVII & maybe even JV once in a while, especially early in the season), when I notice the players looking confused about who is supposed to be where, or who the next server is, I've even been known to turn to the coach or captain and ask if they'd like an alignment check.....but I only do it once. After that, they have to ask......

Oddly enough, sometimes the best way for them to learn is to penalize them & then explain why, so they can learn how to correct the problem.

Jan makes a good point on how to deal with an upset coach. Giving them something they don't expect makes them stop & think for a second - gives them a chance to draw back before they say something you have to card them for......