I hate to harp on the subject I’m about to get into. I really
do. But the past few weeks have just made it too easy for me.
I’m talking about bad officiating.
I hate to harp on the subject I’m about to get into. I really do. But the past few weeks have just made it too easy for me.
I’m talking about bad officiating.
It started a few weeks ago with a ball in the dirt at a Gavilan baseball game. The batter didn’t swing, but the ump still ruled a strike.
The following week, during the Gilroy-Palma baseball game at Gilroy, there were a few questionable calls, including one that involved a wrong interpretation of a hit-by–pitch rule.
But Friday sealed it for me. I watched at least five obvious lift violations go uncalled in the boys’ volleyball game between Gilroy and Hollister.
Let me preface by saying, I know how hard it is to be an official.
Though I never quite reached the high school ranks, I have reffed basketball at the most hostile level: The Frat Blue division of the University of Illinois intramural leagues.
Laugh if you must, but remember one thing: The parents of these young fraternity brothers were not in the stands to make sure their sons were minding their manners.
I understand that most officials are part-time. They do the job because they love it. They want to be a part of the game. But some of the calls I’ve witnessed in the past few weeks have me worried that some officials are becoming too much a part of the game.
I have to be honest, the sport with the poorest officiating this spring, in my humble opinion, is boys’ volleyball. And I believe it’s hurting the quality of play.
If there’s one Golden Rule in volleyball, it’s that you never receive a serve with an overhead set. Back in the day, my junior high volleyball coach, who was also a referee, used to tell us, “Just don’t do it. Nine times out of 10, it will be called a lift.” And she was right. I watched it happen all the time. A set off a serve had to be perfect to be legal.
For those of you who spend most of your spring on fields shaped like diamonds and not in a gym, a “lift” occurs when there is prolonged contact between the player and the ball. According to volleyball rules, the ball should not rest in a player’s hands at any time.
Now, maybe my old coach told us this because we were young and still learning, and she didn’t want us to get into bad habits. But I watched this same rule taught on through the varsity level of high school by my alma mater’s head coach, who led her program to the Illinois state finals one year.
So I was continually surprised in that Mustangs-Haybalers match when lift calls weren’t being made. Granted, neither side was favored, but in the long run, the no–calls caused the quality of play to be compromised. Like in any sport, when the rules are relaxed, play gets sloppy and players get into bad habits.
I don’t have too much trouble with a missed judgment call here and there. No one’s perfect and an official can see a play from only one angle. But when a call comes down to the wrong interpretation of the rules, that’s just unacceptable. In the Gilroy-Palma baseball game, the plate ump did not award the batter first base after he had been hit by a pitch – which had hit the ground before hitting the batter. That’s just plain wrong. According to the rules, a pitch that hits the ground is not a dead ball, and if the batter is hit, he still gets first base. Fortunately, the field ump corrected the call and all was well with the world.
I know officials are doing the best job they can (I hope) and should be commended for even taking on such a job. I mean, they’re doomed to be disliked at some point, by somebody. After all, what their job comes down to is telling someone, “No, that was bad. You can’t do that.”
And who wants to be that guy?
Not me. Which is why I sit on the other side of the boundary lines, with you fine spectators.
One more thing before I go. If you agree with me and are really ambitious about changing the state of officiating, I’ll tell you exactly what we at the University of Illinois Department of Campus Recreation used to tell complaining intramural enthusiasts:
“They’re always looking for new officials. Maybe you’d like to apply?”
