Ref 101

In reflection of my pre-high school volleyball career (club and high school), I must have been sincerely unpopular among the referees in Pennsylvania. I used to complain about EVERYTHING! There wasn't a call I agreed with. Frankly, I was just extremely unpleasant.

Enter ONU Men's Volleyball, and that all changes..

As part of our team fundraiser, each year we host two weekends of junior olympic volleyball tournaments. We completely manage the entire tournaments (ref, confessions, set-up, tear down). We are all Ohio River Valley certified officials. It's a great fundraiser, and we've experienced a lot of success.

With that said, being a referee has completing changed my outlook on playing the sport and officiating. Officiating is a thankless job. You can never make everyone happy. You have complete strangers yelling at you aggressively. You are expected to know and see everything. I will say that I am a completely different player because of my experience with the OVR. My patience, understanding and support for officials has drastically increased. It's a tough job, and I can appreciate that now.

I learned quickly that my officiating career with most likely come to an end after I live ONU. It's just not for me. I love watching and enjoying volleyball, and as an official you have to worry about so many other aspects of the sport. It works for some people, but not me. I will say that I WILL NOT be the parent who screams and yells about every call. We all know a few.