Your job is to prevent cheating on the line calls. (Limit worry on trivia, i.e., bathroom break time, singles net stick to the quarter inch, four balls or three, etc.). The trouble comes when cheaters cheat.
Think the philosophy of line calling is wrong with solo chair umpires. Referees tell me they are reluctant to overrule far line calls. Why? You are the only neutral person there! In a professional match, you are overruling a colleague. In college teams, the person you defer to is biased. Don’t be afraid of confrontation with players or coaches. The third overrule is powerful. Once you’ve corrected once or twice, the cheating stops. So what if they have to play close or even slightly out balls? That’s what the code says, anyway.
They cheat on the far line. Get someone on that line if you suspect it.
A note to coaches: Don’t complain about the refs. Don’t allow your players to complain or insult them. If you do, it will be like the teacher shortage, badgered to death until the refs finally quit. Then you’ve fired Donald and hired Daffy. Again, coaches, we are an extension of the referees. Back them. I constantly hear players who admire coaches for overruling or disciplining their own players.
Questions for the rule makers: When a court is next to a sidewalk and fence, how far back do the team members stand? Can they crowd right behind an entrance to the courts? Shouldn’t a coach stop that even before a referee? Who is really in charge of crowd control? What is permissible? How should violators be handled? People are saying some nasty things to people in foreign languages. It is not all that unusual to interpret these words which, spoken in English, would be deplorable. Come on, Coach!Vic Braden says he can prove scientifically that players are the worst choice to call lines accurately (moving, bouncing, etc.) My contention is a referee knows pretty soon who is cheating. Should we have a rule to allow a solo chair to take over all line calls on a suspect side, or both sides? Believe me, it would be better than some that we are seeing. We can see, too!
