Several years ago, I was officiating a very competitive match. One of the best players on the court was phenomenally talented, but incredibly arrogant about it as well. She would not only "stare down" the opponents, but was certainly not shy about saying things to the girls across the net. Many of the officials in the area were somewhat bothered by her antics, but nobody really did much about it.

On this particular night, during the pre-match meeting with the captains/coaches, I carefully explained that I was not going to allow poor sportsmanship, and everyone agreed to behave. She was pretty respectful during the first set, but became mouthy and cocky once the match tightened up. At one point during the final game I gave her a pretty stern warning and two points later I pulled a red card on her which gave a very crucial point to the opposing team. She was furious and had no problem telling me so. Her team ended up losing the match and I was a tad nervous for what might happen next.

After the match, she was talking to her parents, and I walked up to her, shook her hand, and explained why I had pulled the card. I let her know that there is really no need to get so mouthy when she makes a great play. She was very upset, but said she understood. Her Mother turned to me and said, "Thank you so much - you called a great match".

Anyway...about a week later I was again assigned to officiate one of her team's matches. During the pre-match meeting, as soon as I explained that I was not going to allow poor sportsmanship, this particular young lady answered with an emphatic, "And he's not kidding". During the first set, this girl made a very impressive kill, turned to me, flashed two thumbs up, and turned around to hug her teammates.

She now plays for BYU and every time I see her get a kill and celebrate with her teammates, I smile just a bit.