First, if you haven’t already heard, there are several rule changes this year for USA Volleyball this year. The most significant rule change, is the change to the net violation rule. Good or bad, this change is here to stay for at least two years. In this article, I would like to use the perspective of not having coached or officiated a single match with the new rules and what I expect the positives, or the fallout to be. I was very upset several years ago when the rules changed allowing lets, rally scoring, and a libero. I felt like they were trying to ruin the game that I loved. Now, after a few years I feel that it’s helped the game and made it more exciting. This is my new experiment to see how my opinion changes based on experience with the new rules. I will write this article again in March to see how my perspective changes.
The rule, in essence, means contact with the net is not a fault unless it interferes with play. the phrase “interferes with play” is specifically defined as contacting the top band of the net (or the tape); taking support from the net while playing the ball; creating an advantage over the opponent; or making actions which hinder the opponent’s opportunity to play the ball. That means there will be fewer net calls this year. Before reading further, I encourage you to view the following video to familiarize yourself with how this rule will be applied. The old “fault/no faults” are to the left and the new “fault/no faults” are to the right:
After watching the above video at a pre-season rules meeting recently, my initial comments were, “Let’s just get rid of the net altogether, it’s just in the way!” in my best sarcastic tone. Trust me, coaches and referees moaned and groaned throughout the video, so fans of volleyball, you are not alone.
I’ll do my best to breakdown the issues:
Coaching Consistency: Is it a good thing that we are teaching kids in club that touching the net is acceptable, while their high school coaches are telling them it’s not? This isn’t a simple, “Nope, Liberos can’t serve in club, only in high school” issue. This is a change in the fundamentals of the game. Should I, as a coach, teach them the new changes, or just let them know it’s legal? I feel that if I try to gain an advantage by teaching something to them, I will ingrain something in them that could cost them a match during the high school season.
As a coach, even I sometimes get screwed up and forget which season I’m in because there are a lot of minor differences in the game depending on the level I’m coaching. Imagine what we will be doing to the kids?
Obnoxious Parents: Whether on purpose or not, parents are going to be a problem here. Many parents were raised on old school volleyball rules. Millions of people still audibly moan when a first contact is ugly and there is no call. How many years will it take to educate fans on this new change. “Yes Mrs. Smith, there was a net there, but there wasn’t a violation.” As coaches and clubs, it is our responsibility to educate families on the rule changes, and I feel my club will do so, but will every other club out there? I don’t know. If I perform referee duties while my team is working at a tournament, I don’t want to deal with unruly people who are ignorant of the changes. This is bound to happen, no matter how hard clubs and coaches work to educate their fans. And trust me, some parents can be downright nasty.
Referee Discretion: The only thing I hate about volleyball is the term “Referee Discretion.” In many cases, the governing bodies of the sport put the game in the hands of the officials as opposed to the players. Of course, the dynamic sport of volleyball needs to have some discretion when it comes to close calls, but in many cases where discretion exists, a fine line of right and wrong could be determined with some clever writing. The new net violation rule is one such instance of referee discretion causing problems.
Ref A hates the rule change, but decides that he’s going to call every net violation by the player playing the ball, not just the actual “Tape touch.” This includes the follow through where the player grazes the netting. He’ll justify it by saying, “The player was playing the ball, coach”
Ref B follows by the book. He’s going to call nothing unless he sees a player touching the top tape while in the act of playing the ball, including the follow through.
Ref B is correct, Ref A is old school, and wrong. But we all know there are a lot more Ref As than there are Ref Bs. Of course, there will be variations of both and a literal gaggle of differing opinions. This will only create discord during matches and we’ll see even more cards than years before.
Its just ugly: Isn’t it? Some of the examples in the video above look like the local bar leagues where people play in their jeans and are armed with a beer can in their non-hitting hand. I’m worried this is going to make volleyball less of a skill game and more of a lazy one. Especially when there is nothing holding this type of play back.
Why is it Changing?: I don’t know the answer to this, I am just a coach. But I have an idea or two; Television exposure and Marketability. Neither of which USA Junior Volleyball needs to worry about. However, we always follow the International rules of the FIVB. So, we must continue even though we may disagree.
My assumption is that rules committees think fans want to see long rallies and net calls confuse them. “People are confused when whistles blow in the middle of a rally without a termination of a point.” “Fans don’t like when referees blow whistles for touching the net.” I believe rules committees assume that we need to cater to people who don’t watch, play, or coach volleyball so the sport can grow. I think the real way to help the sport grow would be to get more players involved. Those players grow up and want to watch it on TV. If 5 people don’t care about volleyball, it’s not like changing a net rule is going to change the mind of even 1 of those 5.
When is enough going to be enough? Volleyball used to include dribbling the ball when it was called Mintonette, much like basketball. Should we do that too? How far can we push the envelope.
In Closing: Granted, in the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I have not coached a single point of the new rule, yet. My club team hasn’t even started practicing, that’ll start tomorrow. I’m curious to see how my thoughts evolve. Please leave comments with your thoughts. Am I just being dramatic? Personally, I think the net exists for a reason, or does it?
