Commissioner's Corner

Chuck McCracken

This year the Region has experienced another season of growth in the Junior division while the Adults have remained fairly stable. With this growth come new challenges (along with the normal ones). We are thankful for the many tournament directors and their tournament staffs who have hosted tournaments. Without them we would not be able to provide playing opportunities for all the players. There have been a couple of issues that have come up this season. While the percentage of these problems may not have increased much, with the increase in participation, the number of these incidents has increased.

(1) Facility policies on food and camping out. For some reason, people (especially parents) do not feel that these rules apply to them or their child. People have been asked to follow the policies and parents have not only refused to comply with the rules, they have harassed the tournament staff. We will enforce the rules and will penalize teams and restrict participation by teams and parents if this behavior continues. When people refuse to follow the rules and leave facilities trashed, we run the risk of losing the ability to use those facilities and thereby having to refuse teams the opportunity to play due to lack of courts.

(2) Coaching certification requirements. We have these requirements in place because they are in the best interest of the players and they are requirements of USA Volleyball. Each team is required to have a certified coach (IMPACT or CAP) on the roster, present and on the bench at each tournament. If the team does not meet that requirement, they are not allowed to play. If the coach is sick and cannot attend, or is at the match and gets ejected from the game, etc. the team becomes incomplete and must forfeit the game (in the case of the ejection) or not play in the tournament. Teams that participate without a certified coach or have an adult pass themselves off as that coach are subject to sanctions, fines, loss of membership privileges or other disciplinary actions as outlined on the Code of Conduct on the signed membership form.

(3) Teams are to take their officiating responsibilities seriously. None of us enjoys playing a match where the officials do not pay attention or do not know what they are doing. The team should be ready to officiate when they are scheduled. It is not the responsibility of the tournament director or the adult officials to hunt down the officiating team. We may have to penalize teams points in their next match if they are late to their officiating assignment. Only players who have been to the officiating/scorekeeping clinic are to be referees or scorekeepers. If a team uses people who are not certified, they are subject to sanctions and/or fines. If the certified players are not able to attend that tournament, the team is incomplete and is not eligible to play.

(4) Sportsmanship. I am seeing more and more cheering against the other team rather than cheering for your team. I would hope that all good plays would be cheered (whether it is your team or not). Volleyball is a great game, and striving to win is important. But it is just a game. The outcome of the game does not solve world hunger or bring world peace. Let's keep things in perspective.

(5) Parents and team chemistry. Whether you realize it or not, parents are probably the single biggest influence on team chemistry. If parents are supportive and cheer for all players on the team and for all good plays, the team has a chance to develop good chemistry. If, on the other hand, the parents are badmouthing the coach, other players, and other parents, it is no wonder the team has chemistry problems. How is your child supposed to be positive about the team when all they hear from you on the way home from practice and tournaments is how bad so and so is or how the coaches are not doing things the right way?

This year the Adult Open Championships are in Dallas, Texas. You can even play in both halves of the tournament by playing in two different age groups or by combining age group with a classification and or a coed division. If you are in the age groups and would like to play but do not have a team, check the USA Volleyball website for their player matching service. The tournament entry books are available online from USA Volleyball. The deadline for entry is April 10th (but teams must submit to Region Office by April 1 for verification).

USA Volleyball is offering the National Invitational Tournament this year for junior girls teams that applied to get into the Junior Olympic National Championships but were not accepted. This will allow teams from our Region who finish second (and maybe third) in the National Bid tournament (April 20) to go to a national tournament. The first National Invitational will be held in Louisville, Kentucky. The tournament entry books are available online from USA Volleyball. The deadline for entry is April 24th (but teams must submit entry materials to Region Office by April 12th for verification). The Girls Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships are in Sandy/Salt Lake City, Utah again this year. The boys will be in Louisville, Kentucky. The tournament entry books are available online from USA Volleyball. The entry deadline for the girls is April 24th (April 12th to Region Office). The deadline for the boys is June 12th (June 5 to Region Office).