[iref4him]

I was evaluating the officials for a double header. Two varsity coaches, who came to scout the teams playing, saw me and came over to ask me how my recovery was going. They asked me what I am doing and I told them that this year I am evaluting officials since I am able to officiate. I asked them to sit and watch with me for a minute or two and get their perspective.

I asked them what they thought of the officiating so far. They said they thought it was ok. Just about then, a blocking foul was called. I asked them if they thought the official made the correct call. Both of them said yes. I asked them where was he when he made the call. What was his angle? Did he referee the defense? Did he give the right signal? Did the other officials freeze after the call to watch the other players? Did the calling official stay with the play to make certain there was nothing happening afterward? Did the ball go through the basket (it did)? The official did not count the basket yet, did the non-calling official tell him the ball went in? Did he stop and give good signals? Are the other officials getting the players to the line?

After a few more plays we talked about positioning, angles, primary, weakside, strongside, dead bal officiating, etc. The coaches did not realize how much goes into the officiating perspective and mechanics and what to look for. I asked them how do they rate the officials then. Both agreed that it is more about rapport, commuication, and if they know the official or not. With known commodities, they know what they get. New faces are hard to determine what will happen until they see them enough. So they don't rate officials as officials, but whether they feel comfortable with them or not. SO, I asked them, it really doesn't matter how good they are, you just want to communicate with them and feel comfortable with them. Both said basically yes. So I asked them who is better at evaluating the officials, officials or coaches. They agreed it's officials, but they still insisted on communication, comfortability, and iknown commodities.

Interesting perspective.