Be the Referee: Intentional Grounding Change
By
Sam Davis
MHSAA Director of Officials
August 23, 2022
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 – Intentional Grounding Change - Listen
New this year in football is a change to intentional grounding.
What’s staying the same? A quarterback in the free block zone – who throws a pass to an area with no receiver nearby – will continue to be flagged for intentional grounding. That’s a five-yard penalty and loss of down.
So what’s different? Now … a quarterback outside of the free blocking zone can legally throw the ball away as long as the pass lands past the original line of scrimmage. This used to be flagged for grounding, but is now legal.
In fact, this rule doesn’t just pertain to the quarterback. Any passer, outside of the free blocking zone, can throw the ball away as long as it lands past the line of scrimmage.
Be the Referee: Back Row Setter
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
November 12, 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 – Back Row Setter - Listen
We’re on the volleyball court for today’s “You Make the Call.”
Team A serves the ball over net. Team B’s number 9 passes, or bumps the ball up toward the net, where number 2 tips it over for a point.
But number 2 is a back row setter and moved to the front row on the serve.
Is this a legal play?
If you said it depends … you are correct.
A back row setter can move to the front row and play the ball over the net as long as the entire ball is NOT above the net.
If the ball is completely above the net, then the back row setter is not allowed to play it over the net from the front row.
Previous 2024-25 Editions
Nov. 5: Football OT - Listen
Oct. 29: Officials Registration - Listen
Oct. 22: Volleyball Serve - Listen
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