I got a call from one of my assignors today that I have been blackballed from a previously assigned game by the coach. He is a D1 independant and has been working with a pool of 12 officials. That pool has dwindled to 2 because he gets mad if you won't give him "Home Town" calls. He has told several officials that they won't be back because they haven't called the game to his liking. Obviously, I didn't cheat for him either because I cant come back.

I can hardly believe he can get a job at that level with those expectations. At least my assignor has stood up to him and told him we won't work for him ever again.

Wow. :rolleyes:

I have always said that if coaches can have input to officials ratings (and blackballing), officials should get input to coaches ratings (and hire/fire).

Z

So Cal is no longer assigning that school?

Screw'em. I'd send whomever I wanted to. What's he gonna do, refuse to play the game?

Exactly!

Stripes,

If you have not been blackballed from somewhere, you have not been working long enough. This is part of the territory. Many assignors are not going to send you to a bad situation. So just accepted it and thank God you do not have to go back. This coach will probably be fired in a few years or quit and you will go right back to that school. Or you will see him on the road and your assignor will have no say in that game. Consider it a blessing.

Peace

Coaches shouldn't have any say in which official goes where.


Is any ref that has done his games where he lost welcome back there??

Actually...I like to get back to that school as soon as possible. Maybe not the next night...but sometime during the regular season.
I want to redeem myself from a crappy game. You know you can do better...so prove it the next oportunity you get with this coach and school.

It is not about having a bad game. Familiarity breeds contempt. I usually like to see a team no more than twice a year. Once on the road, once at home is as much as I want to see any coach. It usually does not work out that way all the time. It does not matter if you have a good game or not. If I have a great game, I still would rather not see the coach again. Depending on the coach, they might have one and he was riding you all night or questioning some calls. It is harder for the coach to remember that much about a game if they see me only once. When they constantly see me (or my crew) it just brings more contention.

Peace

I don't think there is anything you just said that I disagree with.
What I am saying is...that I want the oportunity to see that coach again if it is perceived that I screwed the game up.
I want to redeem myself.

This is really all about personal feelings. I just do not care what a coach thinks in the long run. If he does not appreciate my answers to his questions or my hustle on the floor, then I do not want to go back and see them again. Not a big deal, if I see a coach again I will just have to deal with it. This year I will see two coaches three times. It just worked out that way. One of the coaches is a great individual and hardly complains. Another coach is a jerk and thinks he can intimidate me. This all comes with the job.

Peace

BITS, Cal will not assign the games after this year. BTW, did you hear I'm moving back?

For everyone else, this place is totally screwed up because the coach has so much say in what occurs there. Blackballing may be a right of passage where you are Jeff, but it has never happened in my neck of the woods. I'm not upset about it, I'm amazed by it. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

The coach is a major league @$...le. I don't miss working for him. He would most likely not play the game with officials he didn't want and, being an independant, there is no league to punish him. The AD obviously has no backbone (or thinks the coach is within his right to do this) or he would put a stop to it.

Life definitely goes on.

I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying to you. I never said it was necessarily a common practice. I stated that it happens. It happens even if you are unaware of it. I am sure most assignors do not even tell most officials that this even happens. In my area it seems kind of rare. Many assignors could give a damn what the coaches think. I had a coach this year that was really upset with me. I worked two games for this coach in less than a week. I was assigned each game from two different assignors. Well after the second game, the assignor weeks later saw me and wondered what was up with me and that coach. I told him the story. I even told him he had me going back later in the year. This assignor was pleased that I was going back and life moved on.

Now this particular assignor decided to tell me or have a conversation with me. I know there are other situations where no one even knows a coach had a conversation with an assignor. The assignor might not just send you back anytime soon. I am sure it happens all over the country, you just do not know when it happens. Maybe you do not see a coach for a couple of years or you do not work certain games, but do not tell me the assignors do not at all consider things coaches tell them. It may not be the main reason and many coaches might have to show some tape to back up there complaints. I just doubt that many assignors go into detail. Just like assignors might listen to other officials and certain coaches more than others.

Peace

Stripes,

I did a preseason scrimmage for this coach. What a joke. You should consider yourself lucky not to have to work in front of him again. The fact that there are only two officials left that he will deal with says it all. I know its hard to loose a D1 assignment, but this might be a break for you.

I'm not sure the AD has any idea about what is going on. He's a neighbor, and we've spoken a time or two about his program, but he's not mentioned the problem of officials to me.

I have a good working relationship with the assignor. He hasn't mentioned any problems on the women's side. However, I'm not sure he assigns them. Can't see why he wouldn't.

I've had the privledge to see you officiate a couple of times. Your good! Keep working hard and another break will come your way.

Stripes

Glad you are moving back.
I think I have heard about this school... Is it the other school in the south and not SUU?

They need to get into a conference bad.

I do know the administrative vice pres there pretty well, maybe he needs a chat about the antics :)

This approach to assigning cracks me up.

We don't have issues like that here in Ontario.

Our HS association allows a coach to mark off three officials a year.

Earlier this year, a coach marked off my entire crew after getting blown. My partner whacked him early in the first. Between quarters, I warned him that if he didn't calm his wife down, who was screamingly madly at us, that I would have security remove here. Then my second partner popped the asst. coach late in the game.

Quite honestly, I couldn't care less. The guy is a hot head and his school is a 90 minute drive, one way from my house. "Coach, don't misspell my name when you send the form in." :D

Now that is what I am talkin bout!!! :D

Peace

I once had a coach tell me "this is going to cost you a school." Normally this is a flagrant technical, IMO, but since his school was 105 miles from my house I (instead) had to stifle a giggle. G'head, coach. Do what you need to do.

If this coach is such a jerk and everyone knows it, maybe the officials should get together and refuse to work any home games at his school period .... sorry, I've got a conflict that night.....

What would he do then?

That really is my point. I consider myself a rather good and competent official. If you do not want me, do not complain when you get the guys that do not hustle, call the game without consistency and do not follow the rules. I know I am not perfect, but I am going to give my best effort. If that is not good enough, then hire someone else. Then do not complain when the game is screwed up by a call and your team loses as a result (at least in their mind).

Peace

In Rookie Dude's area coaches rate. Good reason too go back and do better.

Hey Redneck Randy...how ya doing?

That's to bad we didn't get to work together this year.
We'll have to have a little chat with the assignor before next year's schedule comes out. :)

Good luck with your game tonight...oh and 12 team against a oh and 9, or something like that?...whew! Well, somebody's got to get a win. ;)

Looking forward to tonight. 1st place against 2nd place at 2nd place's house. Meet you at Applebee's after the game.
(BTW...Wayne and I didn't catch a thing today...should have worked, it was windy and cold on the ol' Columbia River) :)

Do better? You make it sound as though just because the coach rates/blackballs the official did something "wrong" in the first place.

I've had an interesting week and the one thing I'm reminded of it that some coaches are jerks no matter what you do. It all evens itself out in the end.

Do better? Some coaches just need to be scratched themselves.

Our state association has a rule in place where each school can 'scratch' up to 10% of the local membership of the association which they've contracted with to call their games. Some schools use their entire allotment of scratches while others scratch none.

We, as officials, also have the option to scratch ourselves from schools that we don't wish to call.

The amazing thing is an official might have worked several games over a several year span for a respective coach and never had a problem in any game. Then, because of one call the respective coach disagrees with, or being given a T, etc. in crunch time of a county tournament (or other highly emotional tournament or big area/region game), the respective coach will scratch this official the following year.

What's the old saying, "It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and 5 seconds to destroy it"??? Same in officiating as in life.