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Trainer’s Corner
October 2, 2011
Between the
points in a volleyball match – what can go wrong? The ball’s not flying over the net… there are
no decisions to be made. Now’s the time to mentally make out your grocery list, right? Well, no.
There’s plenty to do between points to achieve a consistent tempo and
make sure the little things get done to prevent the match from running off the
rails.
At the end of
the rally – the officials need to communicate the result of the play.
Blow the whistle
as soon as the violation occurs.
Why? Because
both the R1 and R2 have whistles and different responsibilities. If the whistle is blown as soon as the
violation occurs, then whoever blew it first has the violation that
counts. The only thing you need to do
fast is blow the whistle – the teams aren’t going anywhere without you.
Remember, as the
R1, blow the whistle as soon as the ball hits the
ground – even if you don’t know whether it’s in or out. If it hits the ground, somebody’s at
fault. Look to your partner for help.
If the ball hits
the ground, or you, the R1, call some other violation, the second thing you do
after blowing the whistle is to look at your partner. Maybe he/she blew the whistle and you didn’t
hear it. Look at their signal and decide
whether you will take their call or yours came first. You want to avoid signaling one violation and
then seeing the R2 signaled something else and changing the call. Get it right the first time.
If the R2 has
whistled a violation, he/she should step to the violator’s side of the net and
signal the violation first. This
communicates clearly that which team committed the violation. Allow the R1 to mimic the signal and lead
with the result signal. If the R2 has
called a net/centerline violation, the R2 signals the number of the player to
the R1 BEFORE telling the coach. The R1
needs to be let in on the secret, rather than say to an inquiring player, “I dunno – he called it.”
If there’s a
mind change on the play, before starting the next rally, the R2 must confirm
that both scorekeepers have corrected their scorebooks and the visual score is
correct and both teams have rotated to their correct positions.
Make sure the
point is properly recorded on the scoreboard.
All right, a
team has won a rally – now’s not the time to take a break. Now, both the R1 and R2 need to engage in the
most important between point activity – the SCAN. The SCAN is a 450 degree check of the
facility for anything that could delay the start of the next point. It should start with the team’s bench that is
more likely to engage in some sort of activity, i.e., substitution or
time-out. If the team the won the rally
was not serving, they must rotate. If
they rotate, that team could very likely wish to make a substitution. Check along the bench,
see if anyone moves towards the substitution zone. Take a peek at the coach to see if there’s a
timeout request. If nothing’s happening,
next check the opponent’s bench. They
may want to make a substitution or a timeout.
If nothing’s happening, take a quick check of the receiving team and the
environs nearby. Is someone tying a shoe? Is someone mopping the floor? Has a ball escaped or is it being returned? Has a child run out on the floor? If all’s clear, check the serving team for
same types of activities. Then check the
bench most likely to sub/take a timeout once more. If the serving team won the point, your focus
should be on the receiving team bench.
In either case, this should be a quick, a visual check for activity and
then move on.
When the R2
observes a player approaching the substitution zone, the first thing he/she
should do is take a quick peek at the opposing bench for a substitute from that
direction. It’s not good to be
surprised, it’s not good to administer one sub and not notice the other one and
it’s very very bad to not notice the other team’s sub
and have them enter the game without being directed to do so.
To administer
the sub – the R2 blows the whistle (two toots) AFTER THE SUBSTITUTE ENTERS THE
ZONE or THE COACH REQUESTS THE SUB AND NOT BEFORE. The coach can halt a sub if they catch them
before entering the box, if they make a request. Vocalize the numbers of the players entering
and leaving to the scorekeeper. Tell the
player to enter the court. “On the left,
19 for 24 – Go!” Gesture
with your hand to enter the court.
Then turn your attention to the substitutes on the right, if there are
any. Make sure the scorekeeper has the
information. Urge the SK to say, “Got
it” or “Go” or “How’s your mother” when they are ready – and not before. It’s better to take 5 extra seconds and
complete the info correctly then spend five minutes trying to find the error
the SK made in haste.
While the
substitutions are being taken care of the R1 to get back to his grocery list,
right? NO! The R1 should be glancing everywhere around
the gym – everywhere except where the R2 is administering the sub. Be especially aware of activity happening on
the team’s bench not actively substituting.
This should prevent missed subs and timeout requests. Be alert for substitutes sneaking onto the
court before the R2 has admitted them to the game and take steps to prevent the
action.
Timeouts: The R2 should whistle a timely request with
two toots. The R1 echoes the signal, but
not the whistle. If the R2 does not immediately
see a coaches request the R1 should signal with a “T” to let the coach that one
member of the team has it and give the R2 the opportunity to pick up on the
request either from the coach or the R1s signal. If, after several seconds, the R2 still hasn’t
picked up on the request, the R1 may blow the whistle.
During the
timeout, the R2 should check with the scorekeeper to make sure everything’s
copasetic; all subs have been accounted for in the team count section of the
book and signal the number of TOs each team has used. R1 continues to scan the court for potential
hazards. If there a controversial
situation has arisen since the last timeout, the R2 should never cross the
court to talk to the R1, whether that’s the topic of conversation or not. It makes the officials look like they aren’t
sure of themselves. At the end of the
timeout, the R2 toots the whistle at 15 and blows them back on the court at the
end of a minute. Both R1 and R2 signal
the number of TOs used and the R2 should also signal a team if they’ve just
used a second timeout without making a nuisance of themselves.
We’re ready to
start play again. The R1 and R2’s eyes
keep moving. Check the server. Identify the setter’s location before each
rally. 95% of illegal back row attacks
and blocks are caused by setters, so you need to know if they are in the front
or back row. Develop a continuous
awareness of key player positions. Start
with the setter, then learn the player opposite the
setter, then the players adjacent the setter.
It is useful to check the front row players of the serving team so, when
they lose the serve, the R2 can more readily identify where they are located
for tracking serve receive.
As the R1 raises
his hand to beckon for serve, the R2 should focus on the receiving team, while
the R1 should focus on the serving team.
That way the court is equally divided.
Not only are you checking for rotations, but you’re also making sure that
you haven’t missed other anomalies – shoes being tied, etc. Once the whistle is blown, no other
interruptions (timeouts, subs, line-up checks are allowed).
At the end of
the rally, repeat. Just forget about the grocery list until
after the match.
September 29, 2008
There seems to be some confusion on
how Referees should stand during the pre-game coaches and captains
meeting. As stated on page 53 in the Case Book and Manual (2008-09),
“The pre-match conference is conducted by the first referee, by the second
referee, standing together facing the court.”
Schedule the pre-match conference and duties so the match will
start on time. Suggested time for the pre-match conference is 25 to 20
minutes before scheduled match time. Please feel free to share this
information with your partners in the event they have not read this or is not
sure.
Also, the following technique shall be
used for the coin toss (refer to page 54 in the Case Book and Manual).
·
Determine who is calling the toss from the
visiting team.
·
Engage an opposing team member to echo what
is called.
·
Show the coin to both teams’ members (include
coaches) explaining which side of the coin is heads and which is tails.
·
Instruct the caller to make the call while
the coin is in the air, and tell them if it is dropped it will be flipped
again.
·
Flip the coin in the air, catch it in an open
palm facing up, and immediately cover the coin with the other hand (like
sandwiching) the coin. Do not catch the coin and flip it over to
the back of your other hand.
·
Ask the teams what was called then show the
coin to both teams and announce the result of the call.
·
The winner of the toss gets choice of Serve
or Receive and the serving team uses the first 5 minutes of the 5-5-2 warm up.
To ensure consistency, everyone within
our ranks shall use the above procedures.
Thanks,
Willie
Jones
CVVOA – Chairman of Training Committee
804-814-4065
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