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Old Tue May 28, 2002, 02:37pm
Skahtboi Skahtboi is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Sherman, TX
Posts: 4,387
Robert:

I am not exactly sure what you are getting at with this post.
I don't know of any officials who aren't aware that there are times when they make mistakes. I blow a call myself every once in a while. Everyone does. However, what I am reading in your post is that you don't like the fact that during the game they fail to come over to you and tell you as a coach that they may have missed that call. Why should they? They are arbiters of the game. They are not answerable to either coach, but rather are answerable to themselves, the code that they are calling under, the body and association that sanctions them, and to the integrity of the sport.

I never have coaches, who holler things out on the field that prove they don't know the sport, coming over to me and saying something like, "sorry Blue, I know that what I said to you earlier indicates that I have no grasp on the rules of the game." I don't expect it. And no umpire should ever have to apologize for any of his actions on the field. The average umpire, in one hour of play, makes anywhere from 50 to 150 interpretations of play, based on both judgement and the application of the rules. If he misses one call in that same amount of time, that makes his/her job performance for the hour around 99%. In most jobs, that would be grounds for promotion or reward or a bonus of some sort. Why do you feel that for this kind of a job performance an umpire should be apologetic? Get real. The only thing that any umpire owes to you as either a coach or a player is to do his absolute best at applying the rules, being in position to make the call, and applying his judgement wisely on the field. That's it, nothing else! Nearly everyone that I know of who are in the field of sports officiating do exactly this.


Scott
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