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Originally Posted by Rich Fronheiser
I didn't have a huge amount of time to post when I threw out this one sentence, but I want to clarify.
I want coaches and teams to think we hustle, work hard, and don't care who wins. But asking coaches whether we know the rules, use proper mechanics, etc. is useless unless the coach has as much experience as me or more AS AN OFFICIAL.
I've had observing assigning commissioners who have never worked the sport say they "question my positioning" on a certain play. While I'm polite (I do want to be rehired, for the most part) but I wonder how someone who's never walked in my shoes is somehow qualified to rate me.
Can I rate the HS varsity coach who wanted an uncatchable pass called? Can I rate the HS varsity coach who tried to make #73 "eligible?" Can I rate the varsity coach who thinks a personal foul is an automatic first down?
Frankly I don't want to. And I don't want those coaches rating me cause they don't think I know the rules.
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I have mixed feelings on coaches' evaluations. First, most coaches don't know rules very well and mechanics even less. But, they can tell if an official can communicate and handle the game. I think we should look at the big picture in coaches' evaluations. Last year we sent out cards to coaches that they would receive on the Monday after the Friday game so that they would have a "cooling off" period. We gleaned two consistent points from the coaches that they saw as areas needing improvement: (1) communication; (2) rules knowledge. We threw out the occasional cheap shot, etc. and looked at the trend in our results. This year we made those two areas an emphasis in our association and I think we are better for it.
My advice is to look at the big picture (consensus if you will) of the evaluations that you get from coaches and act on those items. I think coaches can give us valuable feedback if we throw out the garbage and look at the big picture. In my profession and in my avocation of officiating I like to use the term "feedback" rather than evaluation if possible. Feedback gives the process a more positive look to it and we view it that way now.