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Old Sat Jun 25, 2005, 03:58pm
Bob Lyle Bob Lyle is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 180
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When you make such an obvious bad call, you have to change it. Failure to change it will cause you to lose all crediblity for not only the game in question, but also for future games. It will take a year or more for the offended team to forget your mistake. They may not take it on you but they will make sure to tell all the other umpires about it. That won't do you any good, especially if you have hopes for advancement. The pros change calls so we can do the same thing.

Here's a way to make it go down better. Before you announce the change, walk over to the coach of the team that you are about to screw and explain that you made a mistake and are going to correct it. Only after you have had a 15-30 second conversation with him and given him an opportunity to have his say, should you announce the change. He'll appreciate that you brought him into the process and he might surprise you by agreeing with your change.

OTOH, if he starts to get hot, here are two questions that you can ask him. "Coach, what did you see?" He either has to lie or change the subject. Second you can say "How would you want to be treated if the situation were reversed?" Again, he either has to lie or change the subject. Either way, you have gained the upper hand if an ejection is in the offing. FWIW, I've never had a coach go ballistic when I brought him into the process before announcing a change. It has an enormous calming effect.
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