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So this Saturday I was all set to officiate the semi finals for the county volleyball championships. Both semis are played back to back, with one official up for the first match and their partner down the first match, and then the two officials y switch for the second match. For most parts of the country, county championships mean little, but in New Jersey, they are a big deal because there are so many schools in each county. Last night I got a call from my assigner. He said he had to remove me because I am on the "no" list for one of the schools. Not because of my ability to officiate a volleyball match, but because, according to the athletic director, of a "bad attitude." This past September I was at this AD's school for a big match with a very talented team. In the first set I heard the student section call out two visiting players by number. In New Jersey, that's a no no because of our sates's position on good sportsmanship. I motioned for the AD to come over to the referee stand because I wanted to let him know what I had heard. When he came over to the stand he said ,"If you're going to talk to me, you're going to come down off that stand. I'm not talking to you while you are up there." So I did. I told him what I had heard and he said, "I was over there and didn't hear anything." To which I said, "I didn't say that you did. I did." He replied, "So what do you want me to do?" I told him that if I heard something like that again, I was going to ask them to leave if the culprit was not found, to which he said, "Do whatever you need to do." The road team lost the first set and one of their players punched the ball into the floor and it bounced pretty high. Upon seeing that, the AD approached my stand and said (while I was still "up there") and advised me that perhaps I should pay more attention to what was happening on the court more than what was going on in the stands. I said nothing to him. Just stared in disbelief. I guess I am guilty as charged. No defense allowed. No witnesses like my partner who heard the same thing I did. Not the coach who has indicated in the past that she actually enjoys having me on her matches because I make her team play with better ball handling. Game, set, match. Let the masked man do his job..... Mrs Kevin_K and I shall now dine at our leisure this Saturday evening in a restaurant to be named later. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming

394 107584 R1 11/19/2016 Sat 2:00 PM Volleyball, Tournament of Champions William Paterson University TBA TBA $80.00 Accepted on 11/3/2016 Just received this assignment today! Better than state finals...... all the pressure of winning for the teams is off. Can't wait to allow this match call itself!

I just received notice that I will be the lead official next Saturday for one of the state finals in women's volleyball. Just like good baseball, good volleyball is a joy to officiate. Most of the time, the game calls itself. I will do my best to not suck!