What problem is most common among second referees? Some might say coaches chewing them out about questionable decisions or missed calls by the crew. A better guess would be tunnel vision. When second referees glue their eyes to the net during rallies, hoping to catch a net or centerline violation, they can lose sight of other things happening on the court. Focusing on the net isn’t a second referee’s only responsibility. The second referee should also be aware of playing actions and faults away from the net. Open up that vision. Spectators have the best view in the house. They see the entire c ..read more

You have two chances to make a great first impression at the start of every match: (1) your arrival courtside when you’re tending to your prematch responsibilities, and (2) the captains’ meeting. Wisely use the time during prematch activities. Be efficient. Develop good habits and have a consistent routine. It starts when you first enter the court with your partner, as a team. Like it or not, you are being sized up by everyone in the gym, whether you’re a new face or a veteran. The players, coaches, event management and the spectators — they’re all watching. They’re looking at your uniform. Be ..read more

We have all had matches that move along just fine — ballhandling on point, bench management under control, good tempo to the match … and then it happens. It is a play that can make or break your credibility. It is a play that can put your partner in an awkward position. It is a play that can take a calm coach and turn him or her into being infuriated in milliseconds. The play I speak of? A back-row setter attempting to save a ball that is near, or maybe in, the plane of the net. You are going to have one of four outcome ..read more

Hey, referees. Remember years ago, when you used to show up at a match, went about your pre-match duties and focused on your responsibilities without worrying too much about scorekeeping? After all, referees had the “important jobs,” and scorekeeping was easy anyway, right? Well, those days are long gone. It may have taken us years to realize how important scoring is to a match — arguably, some of us still may not realize it — but the state of our sport today requires referees to know the scoresheet just as well as the scorers who use it. It’s no longer a matter of retrieving the lineup sheet ..read more

As we prepare for each season, we study rules and interpretations, casebooks and officiating manuals, and attend preseason clinics and meetings. And once the season starts, we usually have a list of goals that we try to accomplish. For many referees, especially those who are gaining experience, the goal list probably includes something like ballhandling consistency, overlaps/alignments or back-row awareness. But what about the veteran referees who have mastered those skills? What are they working on? Professionalism It shoul ..read more

Have you ever looked back on a tough situation in a match, one that maybe you wish you had handled better, and said to yourself, “Boy, that situation really surprised me”? Then, upon further reflection, maybe in the post-match debriefing with your officiating team, you realize that the events leading up to that tough situation were there for you to see and you just missed them. You (and likely your team) may have, if only for a brief time, fallen victim to a loss of situational awareness (SA). Aviation safety researchers have been studying SA in pilots for several decades. Clearly, even a mome ..read more

We have all made mistakes, there are plenty of reasons why, but officials can’t compound missed calls with phantom calls. It can happen with ballhandling. Maybe your mind wandered momentarily, and you lost focus, or you were distracted for a split second and took your eye off the ball. The bench erupts, you hear the spectators booing and you wonder what you just missed. And of course, the ball looks like it is in a tornado, but you have no idea whether it was played with one hand, two hands, a forearm pass or a foot dig. How about a net fault ..read more

Line judging, at any level, has its challenges. The game can move quickly and there are so many things to watch and think about as you prepare to make a call. Being able to read and react quickly are keys to getting the call right. Here are some tips and techniques to consider to help take your game to the next level. Pregame With Officials As a line judge, be sure to take an active role in the prematch discussion with the officials. While it’s important to listen, it’s just as important to ask questions. Does the first referee have preferences about a secondary signal? Are there specific inst ..read more

“Spectacularity” sounds made-up and highfaluting, doesn’t it? Au contraire. This actual word should be in every referee’s vocabulary. What does it mean, anyway? And how is it relevant to officiating? Spectacularity is a hustling or extraordinary effort by a player to play the ball that results in the inner fan in you, the referee, silently raving, “Wow! Nice play.” It can occur at any level of competition. What may apply for one level doesn’t necessarily apply for another level. Spectacularity is to be judged in relation to the caliber of the competitors present. Regardless of the degree of sp ..read more

Staying focused as a referee or line judge is of the utmost importance. Whether it’s a tight match or not, first point or last, long rally or quick kill, you need to be on your “A” game. When rallies and matches get long, it can sometimes be difficult to keep your concentration at the level it needs to be. Use these simple tips to help keep your mind and body ready for each point of the match. Before the Rally As a referee, keep focused on your routine. As an R1, the routine might be to scan the benches, scan the players on the court, scan the work crew and then one final scan to check if the ..read more