SEC (9-12) League – Rules Clarification

Each year, there are misinterpretations of the rules that govern male players in the SEC League (oldest age group). This is the toughest rule to interpret; most of our referees are not familiar with this rule as it’s not used in middle school or high school leagues. However, DYA did not invent this rule; it is utilized in various adult co-rec leagues across the nation.

Here are the rules pertaining to male players:

• Male players may not spike or attack the ball. To further define this, the ball must rise before it falls when playing it across the net. Male players may block and the action of blocking the ball may direct the ball downward.
• Male players must serve underhanded.

In the first bullet, ‘spike’ and ‘attack’ are synonymous.

While determining whether the ball did rise before it falls is difficult, for the most part, our referees do judge this accurately. Judging whether an action was a block or an attack seems to be the most controversial issue in the past. A block is defined as:

• The action of a player(s) close to the net that deflects the ball coming from the opponent by reaching higher than the top of the net. A block may involve wrist action provided there is no prolonged contact.

In this situation, much latitude is giving to the blocker. In other words, the blocker has a lot of options to direct the ball downward without the action being an attack.

Also, just to clarify, blocking the serve is not allowed.

As a part of their referee instruction, they will also get this handout. Please respect the decision of our youth referees in this and all aspects of the game.