Why ref volleyball?

I get this question a lot from friends and co-workers when they find out I ref volleyball. A lot of folks don't quite understand why anyone would willingly be a ref or official (sometimes I agree with them).

I always ask this question of new officials when they start their training. I think it's really important to consider why are you getting into this trade? Is it for a love of the sport? A desire to give back? Wanting to be involved at some level? Or just to make some extra money?

Most of these are perfectly valid, we all have our interests for different reasons. Although I do always tell folks that no one ever got rich officiating volleyball, so if it's just another sport to you, I'd say don't do it. No one likes to work with the ref who's disengaged and not really interested in what they do. I've worked with officials like this, and I've seen them work as a spectator, and it really just makes it harder for the rest of officiating community to be respected.

Fortunately, the vast majority of officials that I've worked with have been great. And for me, I officiate volleyball because I love the sport (both as a fan and a player), and I love helping teams have a great match. I'm a member of a community that is fun to be in. And I'm working on improving my skills to be the best possible official I can be.

That's for me. But the question remains: Why do you ref volleyball?

Signals, Signals, Signals

With the end of another fall season, I mentally prepare myself to switch from high school and college to USAV volleyball. That means different rules, formats, but... most importantly.... different signals.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I HATE the USAV signaling system of Result, Reason. It's completely backwards to how I think.

During the fall season, as I watch a rally, I process a ton of decisions on a continuous basis, looking for a fault or dead ball. Once I see something, I whistle quickly to kill the play, then I can signal the fault that occurred (such as double, back row block, out, whatever). As I'm making this signal, it gives me just the 2-3 seconds I need to figure out who the heck gets the ball, then I get to signal the result.

With USAV scoring, I have to do all that thinking up front, resulting in sometimes having to process the entire play in my head, figure out what went wrong, then figure out who gets the ball, then signal that. I find that a lot more cumbersome.

Another reason why I don't like USAV signaling is it doesn't answer people's question. Usually the first question people have is "What did he just call?" With Reason, Result signaling, it's very clear. But with Result, Reason signaling, it's backwards.

I understand that FIVB sets Result, Reason signaling, but that doesn't mean they're right. I also know I may be tilting at windmills a bit on this topic, but it's something that irks me to the core. Even worse is the NCAA considering switching their signaling to USAV/FIVB methods (and high school would follow a few years later). Please, please don't do it!