Fresh Meat

[packersowner]

During our pre-game the other night, we had a partner that stated he often felt like he was taking the brunt of tongue lashings by coaches who were not familiar with him even though he's been an official for 20 years, but has primarily worked college games in the past 5 - 7 years. He said, "They look at me and think I'm fresh meat." Plus he's youthful looking which makes him look like started officiating a few years ago.

What tips would you have for an official who felt this way?

We kind of discussed some of the obvious things like, be really solid on mechanics, be approachable, be firm when you need to be firm, etc.

Thought this was a good forum to generate some ideas.