Believe it or not bringing out the cards is the last thing officials like to do. Hopefully by the end of this article you will have a better understanding of what circumstances would cause an official to pull out the cards. First let’s look at what the rule book say’s on Sanctions.

Warning: verbal or hand signal, no card
Penalty: yellow card
Expulsion: red card
Disqualification: yellow and red card (jointly)

Warning – Minor Misconduct

• Any type of minor unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Warnings are issued by verbal or hand signal warning to a team member or to the team through the game captain.
• The warning is not a sanction and has no immediate consequences.
• An official may give as many warnings as deemed necessary to prevent the team from approaching the sanctioning level.

Penalty – Rude Conduct: action contrary to good manners or moral principle, or expressing contempt.

• According to the judgment of the first referee and depending on the seriousness of the offence, the sanctions to be applied are recorded on the score sheet.

• The first rude conduct in the match by any team member is penalized with the loss of rally.

 Expulsion – Offensive conduct: defamatory or insulting words or gestures.

• A team member who is sanctioned by expulsion shall not play for the rest of that set (that game) and must remain seated in the penalty area.
• In most cased you will not see a penalty area in club ball. In that case the sanctioned player must remain seated on his/her bench for the remainder of the set.
• The first offensive conduct by a team member is sanctioned by expulsion with no other consequences. (no point or side out)

 Disqualification – Aggression conduct: Physical attack or intended aggression.

• A team member who is sanctioned by disqualification must leave the competition control Area for the rest of the match with no other consequences.
• The Competition Control Area included the playing area, bench, warm-up and spectator area.
• The first aggression is sanctioned by disqualification with no other consequences. (no point or side out)

Misconduct before and between sets (games) is sanctioned accordingly and all sanctions would apply in the following set. (Game)

Other things to consider: There is no scale, an official does not have to give a warning first, they can give a penalty or an Expulsion or a Disqualification right from the start if it’s deemed necessary.

Once a yellow card comes out there is no going back. If a yellow card is given on the first point of the first set (game) to a coach or player the next offence no matter if it’s the second or third game would be a Red card (expulsion) the next offence would be a Red and Yellow jointly (disqualification).

In the case of a coach by his/her self with a team that gets an Expulsion could cause his/her team to forfeit if there is not another impact coach available from that club to coach that team.

Can officials give cards or warning to parents and fans? The answer is ‘no’ the process above only applies to those playing or coaching the teams. However I have and I know other official have told coaches they need to get their parents under control or cards will be applied to him and or his/hers team. Usually this is all that needs to be done.

Sometime we may have a parent that needs to be removed from a facility. As in the case where they may be giving the official or the kids that are helping with the officiating duties a hard time. In this case the official should find the person in charge of the tournament and ask them to remove the person.

Libero: From Italian adj. libero ‘free,’ a shortened form of battitore libero ‘free beater’ a similar position in soccer that originated with a Milanese team in the late 1960s.

Now we know what the word came from let’s talk about what this role means to Volleyball.

In 1998 the libero player was introduced internationally. In 1999 it became a part of USA club volleyball. The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills: they must wear a contrasting jersey color from their teammates and cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any back-row player, without prior notice to the officials. The libero’s replacement also does not count against the substitution limit each team is allowed per set.

The libero may function as a setter only under certain restrictions. If s/he makes an overhand set, s/he must be standing behind (and not stepping on) the 3-meter line; otherwise, the ball cannot be attacked above the net in front of the 3-meter line. An underhand pass is allowed from any part of the court.

Furthermore, a libero is not allowed to serve, according to international/club rules.

Two things  parents need to keep in mind when they see the opposing libero attack or set the ball: When you see a libero attack the ball keep in mind the officials have to judge if the ball is completely above the top of the net at the time the ball is contacted. If the libero sets the ball the officials then have a couple of things they have to pay attention to. Was the libero behind the 3-meter line when they set the ball? Was the ball completely above the top of the net when the attacker contacted the ball?

Hopefully this will help parents and specters understand the role of the libero and what officials have to pay attention to when calling a match.

New Rules for the 2009-2010 Club Season: Useful for Players & Spectators

Net Violation

When a player interferes with the opponent’s play:

• Touching the top band of the net or the top 80cm of the antenna during his/her action of playing the ball.
• Taking support from the net simultaneously with playing the ball
• Creating an advantage over the opponent
• Making actions which hinder an opponent’s legitimate attempt to play the ball.

Basically this means the only time a net will be called is when the player touches the top of the net while playing the ball.

Warm Ups

As you have seen in the past when a team is on the court warming up the other team will be somewhere around the court passing balls or the coach will be hitting down balls at them. This year when a team is off the court they have to be at the team bench and will no longer be allowed to do any ball handling while the other team is on the court.  This change in warm ups stemmed from a lawsuit out in California.  A player seriously injured her knee during hitting lines by landing on a ball that rolled onto her team’s court during warm ups.  The ball rolled loose from the opposing team that was on the side of the court practicing “ball control.”

Centerline Violations

The only time a center line violation is to be called is when the foot is completely across the centerline or if a player interferes with the opponent’s ability to play the ball. Hips, elbows, hand, arm, etc. will not be called unless the officials rules interference.

Now a couple things you also might be interested in to help you follow the game.

• As you know a back row player can not attack the ball in front of the 10ft line, but what most parents don’t know is that the ball has to be completely above the height of net before it’s considered a back row attack.

• In the case of a back row block a player from the back row has to have a part of her body about the height of the net and make contact with the ball before it is considered a back row block.

• Also remember a double hit is legal on any first ball over the net.

Remember, even the worst officials could care less about who wins, they are not making bad calls so your daughters team will lose.