Adding Volleyball to my resume..

[Bearfanmike20]

Any tips you guys have... I'm currently a basketball ref, and I'm going to add volleyball to my job title.

Any help/ suggestions would be appreciated.

[refnrev]

If I woke up in your shoes, here's what I would do:

Work a lot of Jr. High ball first.
MAke sure you get to a clinic this fall.
Make sure you get to the mandatory rules meeting.
Work with as many GOOD veteran partners as you can. Veteran does not necessarily = good ... and watch them well.
Have fun. VB is a great game to officiate.

[martin71a]

I started doing volleyball this year. Here is how I have approached being a new volleyball official.

1. Go to a LEVEL 1 clinic. Make sure it is level 1. I have read some of how the Chicago area does clinics and am very impressed on how they separate out new/inexperienced officials.

2. Scrimmages/Rec League - If you can get schools to let you come in for scrimmages and you have the time go for it. Also don't be afraid to do rec. leauges just for experience in the stand. Gives you a chance to work on mechanics and things you will be seeing from up there.

3. I will second the working with veteran officials. Find a good mentor and let them help guide you as you get started. Even though I was licensed to do high school last fall I mainly just went to numerous matches and watched an experienced crew. They would arrange for me to sit at the scorers table. This gave me a view of the scorekeeping aspect plus alot of the R2 duties. In general it allowed me to see how a crew worked together and what to expect. It also gave me a new found respect for the speed of the game even at lower level HS varsity matches. One warning on veteran officials, some are better than others.

4. If you don't want to wait for JH next year try to find some lower level Fresh/Soph matches in the fall. Other than that JH is an excellent place to start. I signup for just about any JH match I can get. I worked 4 last week plus a Satuday morning match.

5. Ask your fellow officials to give you advice. Some won't but others can give you great advice. Remember just to accept it as advice and not take it personal.

6. Depending on your volleyball experience what you will probably find most difficult to learn is ball handling and alignment. Ball handling mainly because there is no "one way" to make a call since it is based on judgement and how loose or tight an official is. Alignment because if you don't have alot of volleyball experience it is just a mystery at first. The more matches you do the easier it gets but no amount of reading can prepare you for it.

7. More than any other sport I think volleyball has more what I term "administrative" rules. At first it may seem overwhelming but it isn't nearly as bad as it may seem.

8. This forum and the forum at NFHS.org have great people that can provide advice and answer questions. At first when I would encounter a situation I was not familiar with I was afraid to ask my partner or anyone what I should have done. Now I just ask away.

[Retrozetti]

Originally Posted by Bearfanmike20

Any tips you guys have... I'm currently a basketball ref, and I'm going to add volleyball to my job title.

Any help/ suggestions would be appreciated.

BearfanMike20,
You are already starting off on the best foot. Though you obviously are at the infancy stages of officiating volleyball, your future with this sport is highly promising... and I think you'll get a lot farther a lot faster, and in the next few years surpass plenty of volleyball officials. Why? Simply because you are "seeking advice" ! ! ! When you experience an official who thinks they know everything, and worse, they stop learning and improving... that is the absolute worst. So, take the great advice these officials gave you, keep asking questions and advice, and keep that open and inquisitive mind. A last bit of advice from me: Read, re-read, and re-read the casebook of rulings for your area, and secondly, ask the upper level officials around your area about a recommended official to observe (and maybe mentor you)... the officials know who are the best officials. I wish you success.

[Andy]

Lots of good information and discussion in this post along the same lines:

Volleyball anyone?

[MCBear]

martin71a, in addition to working MS volleyball, contact your regional volleyball association that handles USAV juniors. You will referee more volleyball in one season of club ball than you get in about 8 or 9 years of MS/HS only volleyball. Of course, you have to be willing to learn a new set of rules and be open to doing things differently than is done in MS/HS volleyball games, but you will see everything from beginners to some of the most athletically talented young ladies playing the game today. Good luck as you embark on this adventure.

[martin71a]

MCBEAR, Thanks, ironically I just contacted them yesterday. When I realized my MS season was about to come to an end I wanted to find more volleyball to officiate. Every match I learn something new and get more comfortable so I don't want to lose the momentum.

I also want so send out a big thank you to all of the officials on this forum and NFHS. Before I even officiated my first match I went through the forums and absorbed as much knowledge as I could. I know of at least two occasions where something came up and I knew how to handle it because of the discussions.