Be the Referee: Air Ball

By Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials

February 20, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Air Ball - Listen

We’re on the basketball court today, where a player fires up a shot that fails to make it to the basket. An air ball.

But he is able to catch the ball before anyone else touches it. Is this a traveling violation? If not – what is this player able to do now?

It is not traveling as long as the referee judges the first release of the ball as a shot attempt. After catching the shot – it’s treated the same as grabbing an offensive rebound that hit the rim. The player can now restart his dribble, pass the ball or shoot again. A shot attempt is a shot attempt regardless of it hitting the rim or backboard.

Previous Editions

Feb. 13: Hockey Penalties - Listen
Jan. 30: Wrestling Tiebreakers - Listen
Jan. 23: Wrestling Technology - Listen
Jan. 9: 3 Seconds - Listen
Dec. 19: Unsuspecting Hockey Hits - Listen
Dec. 12: No More One-And-Ones - Listen
Nov. 21: Football Finals Replay - Listen
Nov. 14: Volleyball Unplayable Areas - Listen
Nov. 7: Pass/Kick Off Crossbar - Listen
Oct. 31: Cross Country Interference - Listen
Oct. 24: Soccer Overtime - Listen
Oct. 17: Tennis Spin - Listen
Oct. 10: Blocked Kick - Listen
Oct. 3: Volleyball Double & Lift - Listen
Sept. 26: Registration Process - Listen
Sept. 20: Animal Interference - Listen
Sept. 13: Feet Rule on Soccer Throw-In - Listen
Sept. 6: Volleyball Jewelry - Listen
Aug. 30: Football Rules Similarities - Listen
Aug. 23: Football Rules Differences - Listen

Be the Referee: Volleyball Serve

By Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator

October 22, 2024

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.

Below is this week's segment – Volleyball Serve - Listen

We’ve got a volleyball question for you today.

At the moment of the serve, which statement is NOT true:

  • All players, including the libero, shall be in the correct serving order.
  • All players, including the libero, are not required to be in the correct serving order.
  • No player, other than the server, may have any part of the body touching the floor outside of the boundary lines.
  • All players, except the server, shall be within the team’s playing court and boundary lines.

If you said – all players, including the libero, are not required to be in the correct serving order – you are correct.

At the moment of serve – all players must in the correct serving order and only the server can be outside of the playing court and boundary lines.

Previous 2024-25 Editions

Oct. 15: "You Make the Call" - Soccer Offside - Listen
Oct. 8: Roughing the Passer - Listen
Oct. 1: Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18:
 Libero - Listen
Sept. 10:
 Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen

(Photo by Gary Shook.)