Terri Swaney knows volleyball from every angle: inside the square as a player, outside the lines as a coach and above the net as one of the leading officials in Southern Arizona.
That does not mean she has seen it all.
"There are rule changes all the time, and you have to adjust," said Swaney, who also helped build the Flowing Wells High School soccer team into a state power as coach from 1995 to 2005. "Like starting this year, coaches are allowed to stand up in the replacement zone during live play. That is something new for everyone. All officials have to get used to things like that no matter the experience level."
Swaney, who played volleyball in high school and college in Colorado, is refining her skills for the upcoming season along with an estimated 1,100 Arizona officials at the 27th annual Sports Officiating Summit at the J.W. Marriott Starr Pass going on through today.
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It is the largest gathering of officials in the history of Arizona, according to the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
Terry Lantz, a Southern Arizona boys basketball referee, is in a similar situation as Swaney — a former player, coach and now an official. He also has the additional vantage point as the athletic director at Tanque Verde High School and at highly successful Catalina Foothills before that.
"It allows you to have a feel for the relationships between players and coaches, and coaches and officials," Lantz said. "As a coach, I never thought the guys in stripes knew what was going on. Now as an official, I can see where the coaches' frustrations come from and have a better appreciation for what they're going through."
It is the details that Lantz picks up from clinics like the Officiating Summit.
"You might see a play once in your entire life, but when that time comes, you should know the call without a question," Lantz said. "There are any number of scenarios that can happen at anytime. These clinics give you an opportunity to mull scenarios over alongside the people you will be working with when they do happen."
For 17-year high school football officiating veteran Brian Canady, the summit is an opportunity to impart knowledge and to continue learning simultaneously.
"Field mechanics for officials don't come with the rule book. There is no standard," said Canady. "So knowing how to be in the right position to make calls, how to look for specifics, is going to be a focus.
"And we'll be working with a wide variety of people on different levels. You try to take the best of what they do from these (clinics), and then apply that to yourself."
it's official
• What: The 27th annual Sports Officiating Summit
• Where: The J.W. Marriott Starr Pass
• The theme: "Judgment and Decision Making – How Officiating Leaders Make Great Calls"
• Notable speakers: Four-time NFL Super Bowl official Jerry Markbreit, NCAA D-I men's basketball official Bob Scofield, and NCAA D-I women's (including the Final Four) basketball official Lisa Jones, among others
