Thank You scheduler Hal for having faith, trust, and confidence in a border-crossing whistler from the Lower 48.

There I was at Kelowna’s Immaculata Regional High School on Wednesday, September 23^rd for three school-ball volleyball matches starting at 5:00 PM. It was A/AA/AAA girls on Court 1. Hal, the boss, had scheduled himself to work with me during my Canadian debut. He was the teacher – I was the student that hadn’t been between the VB lines since October 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That afternoon I re-read the 2015-2016 Volleyball Canada official volleyball rules. It was impossible to digest all 100 pages, most emphasis was placed on Section II – The Referees, Their Responsibilities and Official Signals. There were subtle nuances in mechanics and signals that needed to be absorbed and implemented intrinsically on the court.

 

Luckily for me, over the summer Volleyball Canada made a significant rule change. Rule 11.3.1 states:

“Contact with the net by a player between the antennae, during the action of playing the ball, is a fault. The action of playing the ball includes (among others) take-off, hit (or attempt), and landing.”

That was huge. During my 17 years as a VB official in Missouri, a player touching the net with any part of the body was a no-no and side-out for the other team. I was trained to watch for it and toot. Volleyball Canada had previously allowed players, in my opinion, to murder the net and have it bouncing repeatedly during the action of playing the ball. Not anymore.

 

 

Hal and I plowed through our matches with zero conflicts. For the first and third match, I was the second referee (R2) on the floor in front of the scorer’s table. For match two, I was the first referee (R1) up in the stand. Each position has its own authority and set of responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

Grading my own performance – T for Terrible. On the same day Pope Francis was blessing America, I didn’t have a prayer. Donald Trump called me a “total disaster.” My signals and mechanics were slow and tentative. I bumbled and stumbled around like I had never ridden this bike before?! That ain’t good. Nobody noticed (except Hal) because nobody watches the refs in this fast-paced sport. There’s only one way to go – UP.

 

I’m back at it on Friday (9/25) and Saturday (9/26) at a junior boys + girls tournament. Got three matches each day working solo as the R1. Thanks, Hal. Hopefully I’ll be able shake off the cobwebs and find a consistent rhythm with my whistle and mechanics?!