Tonight during the NewCath@Boone Co. games, 3 times (twice in one game) the head official had to overrule the high school girls acting as line judges. ALL 3 balls were CLEARLY "in", yet the HS girls (Boone Co. freshmen players I think) called them out. The head official didn't hesitate with his call that they were "in" (all 3 pts. going to NewCath). The one girl looked like she might have been in the 6th grade and the other was more interested in the students in the student section then what was going on on the floor. I think it's a tough job to ask of freshmen, or any high schooler....especially during varsity matches.

 

Shouldn't this be a job for parents, instead of these young ladies? :idunno:

 

Just wondering what the "more seasoned" volleyball folks think.

It's amazing that pretty much anyone who comes in off the street can ref an official KHSAA sport. Can you imagine if Uncle Bob wanted to ref a basketball game or Aunt Susie wanted to call bases in a softball game?

I think each school should supply non players to line judge each hone game. Either parents, school personnel, or other athletes or interested students that get proper training maybe in exchange for admission to the matches.

We only allow team parents to be line judges, book, and clock, etc.

When I was coaching, we hired a couple students who were athletes but not volleyball players. Paid them 20.00 each and gave them community service hours. They worked all 3 matches. We rarely had any problems. Totally worth the money!

I used to think parents would be the right choice, as the kids doing line judging duty tend to be abused by fans and coaches, such as the Simon Kenton coach, but after years of club and school ball I'm not so sure. Let's just say that if a coach said half the things they say to the kids to a parent it could make for a very interesting match. lol To me the best solution is to have line judges be additional officials, but I'm sure the cost would be prohibitive.

Why are their not officials doing this?

Why are their not officials doing this?

 

They never have true officials line judge in volleyball unless its in the finals of a major tournament, such as State.

Why are their not officials doing this?

 

$$$

In general, kids probably have a better idea of what to be looking for as a line judge. Should be looking for foot faults by server, touches on blocks, balls outside the antenna, not just ball in or out.

 

On the other hand, parents probably give a better effort. Most of the players doing it (not all) seem to be disinterested and their attention wanders.

 

It can be very difficult for the officials to see block touches right in front of them because they are too close and can't see the line of flight change or the spin of the ball change. This is where the line judges can be most helpful if they are doing a good job. Other than that, I'd think the games might be better without inexperienced line judges. I've seen many balls called in or out that were obviously wrong to everyone in the gym and the official refuses to overrule, just accepting the easy way out.

$$$

 

Bull, volleyball officials make more than any other sport, your saying they cant split funds between three officials.

They never have true officials line judge in volleyball unless its in the finals of a major tournament, such as State.

 

So what you are saying is there is nothing impartial about regular season volleyball.

Multiple things here...

 

Of course money is the issue. It will always be the issue because, usually, the only way to get a qualified individual to call the lines, they need to be paid for it.

 

I personally have called lines at the highest high school level and even collegiate games and know how difficult some of the calls are to make. Touch calls in particular have the potential to be very difficult when even a finger tip touch can make the difference if a ball is in or out.

 

I think parents do try harder as the girls have had to do it so many times that they do not care to pay enough attention. The girls probably have the most knowledge as they have been directly involved in the sport the most.

 

I will say that I have seem some of the bigger schools (SHA, Assumption, etc) employ official line judges for games vs each other. This is probably a very smart move as the rivalry can get heated and one call can change the outcome of the entire night or even the season (hence - Mercy only losing one time last year, their season would have been much different had they had zero losses). Granted, I don't think a call made the difference in that game, but it sure could have with 3 of the 5 games being only decided by the manditory two points.

 

I think it is smart to employ line judges in big games and obviously for any game that is in the district, regional, or state tournament as this is where teams seasons end and sometimes every point is crutial.

Volleyball officials do make the most and they would be splitting between 4 officials. I would also mention that most schools have a very minimal budget for the "olympic" sports like volleyball.

So what you are saying is there is nothing impartial about regular season volleyball.

 

I don't think I said that at all. Just because you belong to one team or the other doesn't mean you aren't impartial when it comes to performing a duty. Many officials have ties to schools, are you saying they aren't impartial? In volleyball, having kids do a good job of being line judges is a sense of pride for most programs. It's an extension of good sportsmanship. The other night we had a few kids who made some close calls against us during crucial moments. I was proud of them to make the call based on what they saw, and not the outcome, even if they were wrong. lol JK