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What is Going On?

An official must be well prepared in terms of rules knowledge, technical skills, game experience, and match management. Despite all this, Murphy’s Law of “Anything that can happen will happen,” including mistakes is an officiating fact of life.

Handling a Mistake

If you make a perceived mistake in judgment or rules application, make every diplomatic and preventive effort not to penalize the affected team again with a sanction for venting frustrations or expressing disagreement with your call. However, sometimes you will have no other recourse if the players or team bench are vocal and contentious. Allow only the team captain to approach and question you (or the head coach to the second referee). Do not get caught up in the probable heat of the moment. Be open-minded and non-confrontational while keeping your authority and composure. Let the team captain have a say and be done with it. If necessary, get helpful clarification for the play from your work team either verbally or preferably through signals. If a consultation is needed, summon them to your stand and banish eavesdroppers. Make a swift, conclusive decision and convey it with confidence. Your decision might not be popular, but render what’s fair and proper to right a wrong.

Judgment error

If you are viewed to have made an error in judging a play, doing a replay or reversing your call is permissible if your work team can provide sufficient justification for doing so. On the other hand, an unwarranted re-play or call reversal leads to second guessing by the teams and loss in credibility. Minimize replays for judgment calls. Be decisive, such as for double net violations when usually one team contacts the net first by a split second. Stick with your judgment call unless proven otherwise, particularly when it deals with ball handling. Believe in your skills and abilities. Doubting yourself produces mistakes.

Rule misapplication

If you realize you have misapplied a rule, don’t make it worse by staunchly defending your position. This could result in a loss of integrity with the coach or coaches, which is a “no win” situation for you because at the minimum the match is delayed with administrative procedures. Acknowledge your mistake and dispense the fair and proper ruling. If any measure of respect is to be gained from your inadvertent predicament, it will be for admitting you are human and not afraid to correct your error.

Focus

Don’t worry about the last play or dwell on your mistake. Initiate the necessary damage control quickly and properly, then forget about it. Be concerned and focused on the next play. If you don’t, another mistake is likely to happen.

Review

After the match, discuss the troublesome match situations in private with your work crew and/or co-official, but not with the participants … that’s unwise. Determine what you could have done differently to prevent or better handle these occurrences. These might have been unavoidable, but mistakes can be reduced in future matches when sticky situations are reviewed with regularity. Be honest with yourself. The first step in fixing a technical weakness is admitting there is one. Implement your findings to become a better official by being a quick study in not making the same mistakes again. Make every match a learning experience.

An official can and must limit mistakes. However, mistakes are inevitable and can be an acid test. It’s how you react to these mishaps that will determine the kind of official you are. An outstanding official is distinguished not only by the few mistakes made, but by how well the mistakes that happen are managed with poise, speed, and resolve.

By Corny Galdones, Chesapeake Region Volleyball Association


This Weeks Updates & Reminders

Next Chapter Meeting:  NEW Officials ONLY – Monday, September 26
Location:  Plano High School
Start:  6:30 p.m.

Education Forum:  Basics 101

On-Line Clinic

The On-line Clinic is now open.  TASO has set a deadline of October 7 to complete the clinic.  Please go ahead and take the clinic if you have not attended a clinic in person.  Don’t wait until the last minute and then find out you’re not able to get on the system.

Test

If you have not taken the State Test please do so now.  The deadline set by TASO is October 7 just like the On-Line Clinic.  If you have not completed the test you will not be allowed to officiate after that date.

Mentoring Initiative

Please be sure to contact your mentee on a weekly basis to check in on how he or she is doing and answer questions they might have.  As a mentor you should take the initiative to ask leading questions – remembering that new officials are sometimes uncertain about “what” to ask you.  This can be a very beneficial program working to strengthen our officials and chapter but only so far as we work together to make it successful and vibrant.  I am counting on our veteran officials to lead STRONG!  New officials, if you are not being contacted by your mentor you can take the initiative.  If you need assistance please contact Mark Krone @ MLKTexas@prodigy.net.

Elections

We are currently receiving nominations for the 5 Board positions that will be up for election this season.  The deadline to submit nominations is September 30.  There are 3 Division Representative positions and 2 At-Large Representative positions to be filled this season.  Mark Krone will be serving as our Board Liaison and give leadership to our Elections Team.  Remember, this season our elections will be On-line. For clarification regarding eligibility and the position responsibilities please see our DVOC By-Laws.

Our elections will open on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:00 a.m. and conclude on Saturday, October 15 at midnight.  Results will be announced at our Chapter Meeting on Monday, October 17.

Rules

Please be attentive to knowing your rules!  Read & Review your Rules Book daily.  When we have veteran officials misapplying rules on a regular basis it suggests one of two things:

  1. You don’t know your rules
  2. You don’t care

Neither is acceptable.  Suggestion:  Read a section a day throughout the season just for the purpose of reviewing and being ready to make the right call.

Call Your Partner

Call your co-officials for any assignments you have each week and confirm the game, time, and location of the game you are scheduled to work.

A message left IS NOT a confirmation.

  • A conversation about your assignment with your co-official IS a confirmation.
  • An email sent is NOT a confirmation.
  • An email sent AND replied to IS a confirmation.

If your co-official has not replied to your attempts to confirm 24 hours (preferably 48 hours) before your assignment you need to contact Don Melton and let him know. It could be that the match needs to be filled with another official.

New Officials: Observation Opportunities

If you have not received an assignment yet please consider attending some matches and observe. It can be a great time to see live action, make some notes and visit with the officials working the match at its conclusion to ask your questions.

Opportunities are posted on our website under the Members Area on the Education & Training Resources page.

Zebra-Ware

Please be sure you have checked your Zebra-Ware profile and/or updated your information to make sure it is correct. You can’t be reached to confirm schedules by your fellow officials if we do not have your correct information.

Let Us Know

Your input and active participation in communicating situations and issues concerning our chapter are both needed and solicited.  EVERYTHING we do should be for the benefit of all.  Your eyes, ears, and ideas will move us forward to where we need to be.  your Board is in place to serve you and help in any way possible.  If you to contact anyone of them their contact information is on our website under the Members Area

Make this season your best season ever! Work hard. Be professional in all areas. Set goals and find at least one area you can improve upon. Help one another become better along the way. Have a great season!