MOUNT VERNON — The sport of volleyball runs thick through the Bush family of Mount Vernon. When Terry Bush began his career as a volleyball referee in 1977, it was the first in a number of officiating stints he and his family would grow to love.
High school and college volleyball officiating were the first jobs Terry had in his refereeing career. He also has been a referee for middle school basketball, but volleyball was his passion. Wanting to branch out from the high school ranks, Terry then pursued becoming a referee in the USA Volleyball organization.
USAV was founded in 1928 and is the governing body for the sport of volleyball in the United States. There are currently over 260,000 USAV members, including players, coaches and officials, with an estimated 4,500 junior clubs. There were initially eight Regional Volleyball Associations, and 40 regions now serve its members.
Terry began his journey through the USAV ranks in 1998. Referee certifications are then achieved which allow individuals to officiate at the progressive levels of Junior Olympic, Provisional, Regional, Junior National, National and International. Terry’s involvement in USAV caught the attention of his son, Jacob, who later began his own USAV refereeing career. Jacob had already been officiating high school basketball, high school volleyball and women’s college volleyball.
Since then, Terry has worked his way up to National Referee (2008), and Jacob achieved the status of Junior National Referee earlier in 2010. “To make Junior National, they look at knowledge of rules, court protocol and bench control,” said Jacob. “You move up by evaluations in a two-year process. Then you have to referee a girls USAV tournament.” Evaluations take place throughout each level, and patches are issued when you qualify for each level. A Junior National Referee can officiate any match except adult open championships.
“To be named a National Referee, you must master all the elements in volleyball officiating learned at your previous levels. Then you must referee a USAV boys tournament,” said Terry. On top of being a National Referee, Terry is also certified as a National Scorekeeper.
What’s special to the Bushes is the fact that while it is an honor and achievement to be named National or Junior National Referee, it is a rarity to have two in the same family. Terry and Jacob both are officials in the Ohio Valley Region, one of 40 regions in the USAV. OVR serves all of Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania and has over 16,000 participants. With just over 400 referees in the OVR, there are currently 18 National Referees and 13 Junior National Referees in the Region. At the age of 24, Jacob is currently the second youngest Junior National Referee in the nation. “I am pursuing becoming a National Referee,” said Jacob. “I’ve been going to girls’ Nationals and will later ref boys tournaments. It should be about a three-year process.”
The final level of being an International Referee isn’t really an option for Terry. “I’m a bit too old,” said Terry, explaining that you must achieve International certification by age 40 and retire by 55.
But the Bush family legacy doesn’t stop there. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, is also an OVR referee, currently holding Provisional certification. “She will probably pursue being at least a Regional Referee,” said Jacob.
Another family member involved in the officiating arena is Jacob’s twin brother, Isaac, who umpires for Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball.
