VB: This Week in Volleyball -- Volume 3, Issue 5

By Dr. Deborah Moore
OHSAA Associate Commissioner

Coaches, are you a member of the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association? If not, please consider joining this outstanding organization. Copy-paste the following link to learn more: www.ohsvca.org.

Hair-control devices
Question: Does a hair ribbon need to be tied on, or can it be clipped on? Answer: The ribbon needs to be soft and no wider than 2 inches. It needs to be tied on.

Here are the rules references regarding hair devices:

• 4-1-ART. 5: Hair devices made of soft material and no more than 2 inches wide may be worn. Bobby pins, flat clips, and flat barrettes – unadorned and no longer than 2 inches – are also allowed.
• 4.1.5 SITUATION: A player enters the game wearing: (a) hair tied back with a 2-inch ribbon, (b) decorated barrette covered with tape, (c) hair tied back with a bandanna folded so it is only 2 inches wide, (d) a bandanna covering the entire head, and (e) unadorned bobby pins or flat metal clips no longer than 2 inches. RULING: (a), (c), and (e) are legal; (b) and (d) are illegal.
• COMMENT: Unnecessary delay assessed and the illegal items must be removed.

From last year's case book new situations:

• SITUATION: During warm-ups, a referee notices a player wearing (a) reflective, sequins headband 1½ inches wide, (b) metal charms on shoelaces, and (c) tape around one wrist or at the top of one ear. RULING: (a) and (c) are legal; (b) is illegal.
• COMMENT: A headband must be made of soft material. The reflective material or sequins should not be hard, unyielding, or easily removed. As with any legal hair device or adornment, if the item falls out or delays play in any way it shall be removed or the player(s) must be replaced. Metal charms are considered jewelry and must be removed before a player can enter the set. Unless it is obvious there is jewelry present, referees need not look under tape to see if there is jewelry as the head coach has verified the player’s legality in reference to the equipment and uniform rule (Rule 4-1-5, 6).

Accommodations for students with special needs
NOTE 2 (PRIOR TO NFHS VB RULE 4) – PLAYER EQUIPMENT AND UNIFORM permits the OHSAA to authorize exceptions to playing rules that provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities or special needs or who may have unique circumstances, provided such accommodations do not fundamentally alter the competition or endanger anyone. Thus, we have issued letters of approval for players to wear various medical devices such as insulin pumps, heart monitors, and cochlear implants as well as head coverings for both religious and medical reasons.

We expect that school personnel – either the head coach or an administrator – to secure a letter of authorization for any student who might require special accommodations. This letter from the OHSAA shall be made available to the first referee at or prior to the pre-match conference in the event that a medical, religious, or other special need requires the modification of player accessories/equipment or uniform. If you have not taken care of this request, please do so immediately so that the student may enjoy participation in interscholastic volleyball if otherwise qualified.

REMINDER: 4-1-1 prohibits the wearing of any type of guard, cast or brace – even though it might be of soft, pliable plastic – on the hand, finger, wrist, or forearm.

Rating officials (coaches, please keep up on this requirement!)

• Access the myOHSAA system at http://myohsaa.ohsaa.org.
• Logon to myOHSAA using the login credentials provided by your athletic administrator. After logging in, you may be directed to set a new password and provide a security question and answer. Follow the on-screen instructions for setting a new password, and save your account information.
• The home page will appear containing all the tools and information currently available to a head coach. A summary of post-game reports appears at the top of the home page.
• Click on your sport in the list of post-game reports. The varsity schedule will appear.
• Click “Record” under the score column of the varsity schedule. The Report Score/Rate Officials page will appear.

To rate officials:

• Scroll down to the “Rate Officials” section.
• In the box marked “Requested Officials,” the names of those officials that did not accept the contract prior to the contest will appear. If these officials worked the contest, click the box in front of their name(s) and then click the “Add Official” button. This adds the official(s) to the rating form below. (Note: officials that electronically accepted the contract before the contest will automatically display on the rating form.)
• If you were the away team and your opponent has not entered the officials for the contest, “Click to Add Officials for Rating” will allow you to enter the officials for rating after the event has occurred.

For more detailed instructions, click on http://ohsaa.org/sports/vb/girls/Manual.pdf.

Online rules meetings
The complimentary rules meeting availability has expired. From now until Sept. 14, the fee for watching the meeting is $50. Visit http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/vb/girls/default.asp.

NFHS ‘Coaching Today’ magazine
Among the many excellent resources available to coaches is the NFHS publication “Coaching Today.” This is a national publication by the NFHS for high school coaches. You can access this directly at http://www.nfhs.org/CoachingToday/.