Head coaches standing-The head coach may stand in the libero replacement zone to coach his/her players. During a live ball, the head coach shall be no closer to the court than 6 feet from the sideline. During a dead ball, the coach may advance to the sideline to instruct players. The new visibility of coaches by the adoption of this rule places additional emphasis on the conduct displayed by coaches during a match. Coaches are reminded that they are role models for athletes, schools and communities.
Match officials’ responsibilities-A volleyball match is administered by the first referee and the second referee. Assistant officials include scorer, libero tracker, timer and line judges. In order to administer a successful match, all officials need to be aware of their responsibilities. Since part of the R1 and R2 duties is to review specific responsibilities with the assistant officials, it is imperative that all officials are competent and updated on all aspects of these tasks. In training and preparation, officials should pay special attention to the areas of scorer and libero tracker responsibilities. Pre- match duties of the R1 include a conference with the line judges to review their responsibilities. Just as time is spent training the athletes for a match, the host school should train the scorer, libero tracker, timers and line judges prior to the matches they work.
Ball handling-A legal contact is a touch of the ball by a player’s body which does not allow the ball to visibly come to rest or involve prolonged contact. The only valid criterion for judging illegal hits is vision. If you did not see it, it did not happen. Referees should look ahead of the ball and watch the ball contacted by the hands to ensure accurate ball handling decisions. Prolonged contact is a call that NFHS rules require to be enforced. Any ball that comes to rest on a player should be whistled a violation. A ball rolling up the arms or a player over running a pass may result in prolonged contact. Officials should pay special attention to the setters during warm ups in an effort to become familiar with the styles of setting to be displayed during the match. Spin, sound, speed, body position, or technique are not criteria to determine illegal handling of the ball. Officials should strive to be consistent when making ball handling calls. A player may not throw the ball. If the body is divided into 4 quadrants, bisecting the head at the ears/ nose, a player may not carry the ball from the initial contact quadrant to the release in a different quadrant.
Libero uniform-The libero must wear a uniform top that is immediately recognized from all angles as being in clear contrast to and distinct from the other members of the team. When ordering libero tops coaches should consider the following: hue (color), value (lightness or darkness of a color), and saturation (intensity or purity of a color). Attention should be given to the color of the regular uniform as well as the libero jersey. Similar dark colors such as maroon and black or light colors such as gray and peach should not be used together. The number is equally important when ordering libero tops. It must be clearly visible and in contrast to the predominant color of the uniform top.