Language
 

I'm just curious what the volleyball culture is regarding cursing. I've had a couple situations this season where a player cursed loudly enough to be heard (since our gyms are rarely packed). But he was cursing only at himself for a bonehead play, or at a teammate.

In basketball, we tend to be a little more tolerant of cursing. Maybe because (around here, anyway) there is a large urban/street culture surrounding the game. If the cursing can only be heard by the player and the ref, it's usually ignored.

But since I never played or coached volleyball, I'm wondering if the volleyball community takes a different view. If a player shanks a dig out of bounds and drops a fairly quiet F-bomb, do you address it? If a player tells a teammate to get his head into the f-ing game, do you address it?

I'll give the big ole, overly specific answer, "it depends." :)

If it's directed at themselves, I will almost never sanction. If I hear it, but it's not that loud, I usually ignore it. If I'm pretty sure others hear it, I might just say to the player, "Language..." which usually tells them instantly what I mean, and it's not a problem.

If it's directed at me or my partner specifically, sanction.

I'm with Felix....I usually use some thing like: "I understand that you are frustrated, but take it easy on the language."

If it is loud enough to be widely heard, it will be sanctioned, no matter who it is directed at. We are told that HS sports are an extension of the classroom...Would a student swearing loud enough to be heard in the middle of English class be penalized? Probably.