The IGHSAU is pleased to announce that Tim Keating has been hired as the Coordinator of Volleyball Officials.  Tim will serve as the IGHSAU liaison for volleyball officials in Iowa. He is responsible for the identification, training, evaluation and selection of officials for the IGHSAU volleyball postseason series. In addition to assigning, he will work with official organizations, conference and local assigning groups and will be the primary contact for NFHS rule interpretations. Tim has been involved in the sport of volleyball as an administrator, official, coach and player for 13 years and has been around the sport his entire life.  Keating was an IGHSAU volleyball official for five years, held a PAVO certification, officiated at the Division III, NJCAA and NAIA level. He was a Certified Line Judge in the NCAA, Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences.   Varsity Pre-Game Warm-up The first five minutes will be spent with both teams on the court for ball handling.  The next six minutes the visiting team gets the court for hitting and serving.  The home team may ball handle on the playing surface BUT must remain off of the court.  The following six minutes the home team gets the court for hitting and serving.  There will be no mutual serving time. Flexibility is permitted for pre-game warm-ups for Saturday tournaments, however mutual serving and mutual hitting (shared net) are discouraged. The NFHS conducted a study on volleyball concussions that indicated the majority of concussions occur prior to the start of the match, which is the result of shared hitting and mutual serving. Make sure all coaches are made aware of the warm-up protocol prior to the start of the tournament   Milestones – The IGHSAU would like to recognize volleyball players for any significant achievement on its Twitter page. Please contact Jason Eslinger ([email protected])  if your player reaches a significant milestone (1,000 kills, 1,000 assists, etc.) or breaks any school records or does something you believe is noteworthy. We’d love to hear about it. A milestone the IGHSAU would like to share…Waverly-Shell Rock’s EaVon Woodin won her 1000th career volleyball match on September 12. She is the first volleyball coach in the state of Iowa to reach this milestone and is just the 27th high school volleyball coach in the nation to reach 1000 wins.  Congratulations Coach Woodin!   StatisticsThere are a number of videos, manuals, power points and hints regarding the proper way to compile statistics on our website. For some quick guidance on keeping stats, download the NCAA Quick Tips for Volleyball Statistics. Coaches, if you are not personally keeping the statistics, please review accuracy of the stats submitted for your team.   Regional Assignments – Regional assignments will be released October 2-4. Regional assignments will be posted on the IGHSAU website.   Sub-Varsity Scoring (junior high, 9th and 10th grade, JV) – Rally scoring must be used but point requirements and time limits can be determined prior to the start of each match. No scoring cap may be used. Two timeouts are allowed per set. The winning team must win by two points. The let serve shall be used. Sub-varsity teams should switch benches after each set.   JewelryPlayers may NOT use plugs, strings, rubber spacers, plastic spacers, straws, retainers, etc. in lieu of the actual piece of jewelry during competitions.  All items (metal or otherwise) are considered jewelry and not permitted per NFHS rule.   Cancer Awareness If your school would like to have a cancer awareness event, please refer to the link, Guidance on Cancer Awareness Activities, on the main page of our website. Cancer awareness jerseys are legal, provided the number size and placement adheres to the NFHS rule. Cancer Awareness matches are not allowed during postseason matches.   Best of luck as you continue through your season! Lisa Brinkmeyer IGHSAU Assistant Director/Volleyball Administrator