I started officiating volleyball in 2008, having never played or coached the sport, but I had been a long-time basketball official. So even before I cracked open a volleyball rulebook, I understood the importance of great mechanics. I knew how to be a good partner. I had a lot of experience in dealing with irrational, I mean, passionate coaches.
But I struggled for a long time with all of the other essential aspects of officiating volleyball. I had no idea about how to call ball handling. I couldn’t have identified an illegal back-row attack to save my life. I felt like I was a first-year official for about 10 seasons, which was very discouraging.
And then I started working USAV events in 2019. (Yes, it took me 11 years to discover USAV tournaments.) Like everybody, I started as a Provisional official. After COVID, I decided to begin the process of earning my Regional patch. I vividly remember failing an observation because I was unable to provide help on an illegal back-row attack as the R2. I’ll be honest – I was mad. Not at the observer, but at myself, because I still hadn’t developed that skill.
So I watched a ton of videos, focused on that one aspect of the game, and worked really hard to get better at it. I worked on my knowledge of rules and the differences between high school rules and USAV rules. I think I gradually got better in my ball-handling judgment. It took me a year and a half, but I finally got that Regional patch. One other thing that I brought with me from my former life was an appreciation of honest critique and feedback. As a basketball official, I was a firm believer in the value of camp experiences. Watching video of yourself is always helpful, but there’s nothing like instantaneous feedback about a challenging play while you’re still on the court. So when I had the opportunity to apply for the Referee Advancement Program, I jumped at it. I felt like it was made just for me. It was a great experience. I got training and advice from high-level officials and assignors. Each match in the program became a miniature version of camp. Each match outside the program became an opportunity to review my notes and work on something that was discussed by one of my observers.
In addition to the training I got through the RAP, I discovered that PAVO offers officiating camps in the spring. I attended a camp in 2023 and then again in 2025. Camp is a combination of a classroom presentation – with detailed presentations on mechanics, or positioning, or handling coaches, etc. – followed by a day of on-court observation and feedback. It’s compressed, it can be intense, and it’s unbelievably helpful.
So after three seasons of pretty intense instruction and feedback, I found myself in Dallas a few months ago as a candidate for Junior National certification. And believe it or not, the observations and feedback were even more intense. Just me and 60 close friends, spending 4 days under a microscope. And the microscope wasn’t just focused on the court. It was made clear to us that our professionalism needed to extend to all our interactions with each other, our coaches/observers, and the tournament staff. Camaraderie was expected within our group. A passing grade on the court could turn into a fail if we made the group look bad. So, you know. . . no pressure.
Day 1 was a “camp day”. We were observed over four matches, then met with the observers to get feedback on what we did well and what we might need to improve over the next couple of days. We weren’t graded on these camp matches; they were intended to give us an idea of what needed polishing before being formally evaluated.
Days 2 and 3 were the crucible. We were graded in six matches over the two days. Each time, we received a formal evaluation, in which we broke down individual plays, techniques, mechanics, and coach interactions.
And then on Day 4, we received our verdicts. Each candidate was spoken to individually and given their results. Until that very moment, no one had been given any hints as to whether we were passing or failing. The uncertainty of the four days made the “reveal” incredibly emotional, with the release of all that stress in one instant.
It was honestly a nerve-wracking experience that made me very glad that I’d gone through two years in the RAP. I met people from several other USAV regions that don’t provide any formal training to their JN candidates. I think the process in Dallas would have been much more difficult without all the feedback I’d gotten over the last three years. Thankfully, and with a huge sigh of relief, I passed the certification.
It’s been a long journey, but an incredibly rewarding one.