Kicked Call Help

[garote]

I'm helping my association come up with topics of dicussion for our meetings. One I thought would be good to dicuss, is how to overcome a kicked call. What do you do, or tell yourself to get your head back into the game?????

Thank you for your opinions.

[Hawks Coach]

I don't ref, but I think you need the same mentality as the player that just turned the ball over. You can't allow one bad decision to take you out of a game mentally, as a coach, player or ref. You need to be aware enough of the issue that it doesn't occur again, but able to focus on the next play because that play is over. And you need to remain aware that can't fix the bad call - and you don't want to try. You can only deal with the calls ahead of you to ensure that they are the best calls you can make.

I think the hardest thing to deal with is when it isn't one call, but an entire night that is going bad. Players and teams have these nights, and it is the hardest thing for a coach or a player to address at the time it is all going bad on the floor. What I do with my players is try to get them back to basics - when it's going bad, keep it as simple as possible.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by Hawks Coach
I don't ref, but I think you need the same mentality as the player that just turned the ball over. You can't allow one bad decision to take you out of a game mentally, as a coach, player or ref. You need to be aware enough of the issue that it doesn't occur again, but able to focus on the next play because that play is over. And you need to remain aware that can't fix the bad call - and you don't want to try. You can only deal with the calls ahead of you to ensure that they are the best calls you can make.

I think the hardest thing to deal with is when it isn't one call, but an entire night that is going bad. Players and teams have these nights, and it is the hardest thing for a coach or a player to address at the time it is all going bad on the floor. What I do with my players is try to get them back to basics - when it's going bad, keep it as simple as possible.

This is a very good post, and really answers the question. The part that's the hardest is to deal with the bad evening. I've had plenty of these, here's how I've gotten out of a few of them. I choose one aspect of the game that I need to focus on, and just really let the rest go. Really concentrate on just one thing, such as a consistent count, or looking off-ball when it's appropriate, or moving strong-side, or whatever. Often this helps me block out distractions, and in other areas that need reffing, I find that often some good instincts take over. Sometimes, if I start into this fairly early in the game, I can work on it for a few minutes, and then step back and try to see things more over all.

When nothing works, and things go from bad to worse, I alert my partner (as if she didn't notice!!) and stick to the all-powerful mantra from mick, "get in, get done, get out."

[LSams]

It's always good when you're struggling to have a "home base" or a place you can go to in your mind to help you get things right.

I always focus on those few basic officiating principles to try to get myself back on track during a bad night:
1. Call The Obvious
2. Trust your partners
3. Stay in your primary
4. Referee the defense

If I've got coaches going "howler" on me then I remember a phrase taught to me by a veteran official "save your emotions." A great reminder, because things might really get crazy in a few minutes and your crew needs you mentally sharp and not emotionally spent because you kicked a couple of calls and whacked a coach in the first quarter.

[Junker]

Great ideas so far, I just thought I'd add my 2 cents. I had a JV double header one night last year and I just didn't feel into the game. I can't really put a finger on anything specific, but I just wasn't "there". At halftime I made a comment to my partner and he said he didn't really notice, so I felt much more confident going out after the half and the rest of the night I felt more like myslef. The point is that we're a team out there and every once in a while when one is struggling, we have to pick each other up. When I'm working with people less experienced than me, I make sure I emphasize the good points first and then discuss just one or two things to work on. I've found this to work pretty well.