Yup, Intramural Officials are the Problem

[Snake~eyes]

Officials need to cut a little slack to the intramural teams that are participating just have some fun.

You kno what happens if we cut a little slack? The teams complain.

Secondly, I bet they don't get paid a whole lot. And you know how the saying goes "You get what you pay for."

[Junker]

Maybe a good follow up story would be to have the writer take the test or work a game with an experienced official? Maybe they'd have a better idea of what is supposed to be going on during a game.

[Jurassic Referee]

[Dan_ref]

Originally posted by DownTownTonyBrown
In my opinion (ha-ha-ha) this is one of the major problems in our society today - everyone thinks they should be allowed to evaluate and that their opinion should count... but in general, they have no basis/foundation/ability to perform an unbiased, valid evaluation. Why should that count or have any bearing in life?

And the basis for your unbiased, valid evaluation is what?

[Randal]

I actually volunteered a couple years ago to take over the training of the "in house" officials for the school district that my kids go to (this is sort of like intermurals). The program includes games at 3rd through 9th grade. The officials are high school athletes.

We actually take the training seriously, and less than half the high schoolers who try, make it through the program. (It warms the cockles of my heart when I see the vasity coach ask one of "my people" for an explanation of a call or a rules interpretation during a vasity game.)

Nonetheless, the single most important activity leading to a huge recognized "improvement" in the quality of my officials was the instigation of a mandatory rules meeting that the coaches must attend at the begining of the season.

I believe that ignorance of the rules on the part of the players and coaches (I don't much care about the fans) is the cause of the vast majority of disputes. As such, I believe that the system needs to be thinking about how to reduce this ignorance.

[Jimgolf]

Originally posted by DownTownTonyBrown
What in the world does this last clause mean. There was so much off-base stuff in this drivel, that the last clasue probably went unnoticed.

"If you're not seeing what you want, that little office downstairs in Carmichael is the perfect place to speak your opinions about game officials, which just so happens to be one of their responsibilities."

Whose responsibility? And what is the 'responsibility?'

In my opinion (ha-ha-ha) this is one of the major problems in our society today - everyone thinks they should be allowed to evaluate and that their opinion should count... but in general, they have no basis/foundation/ability to perform an unbiased, valid evaluation. Why should that count or have any bearing in life?

No, there was not a baby in the bathwater; I just threw it out.

I think he's talking about the intramural sports authorities who hire and train the referees.

[Axe Man]

CaptStevenM, I am going to guess this is NC State. As someone who runs an IM program and trains officials, this stuff usually burns me a bit. I know the staff at NC State and they do a good job.

We do a four day, 8 hour training with our student officials. Our kids get paid $6.35 an hour. They work for us as an official instead of slinging hash at the dining hall. Kids like the writer appear in the paper every other year or so. Complaining about how they lost, got screwed, or worse by our staff of untrained officials. Funny thing is, it is usually the games with my best officials on them that they have the problem with.

Sorry...I'll get down off the soap box now.

[DownTownTonyBrown]

Originally posted by Dan_ref

And the basis for your unbiased, valid evaluation is what?

You apparently missed the (ha-ha-ha)

[CaptStevenM]

Originally posted by Axe Man
CaptStevenM, I am going to guess this is NC State. As someone who runs an IM program and trains officials, this stuff usually burns me a bit. I know the staff at NC State and they do a good job.

We do a four day, 8 hour training with our student officials. Our kids get paid $6.35 an hour. They work for us as an official instead of slinging hash at the dining hall. Kids like the writer appear in the paper every other year or so. Complaining about how they lost, got screwed, or worse by our staff of untrained officials. Funny thing is, it is usually the games with my best officials on them that they have the problem with.

Sorry...I'll get down off the soap box now.

You are correct Axe Man. I do goto NC State and couldn't ask for better staff to learn from. Our starting officials get $6.50 an hour, with raises coming if you get certified or work year after year. I am surprised that he wrote it this year. This year we have one of the best crop of first year officals I've seen in my four years here. As to our training program. Its 4 days long, where the first two days are in the classroom/court talking about the rules, getting practice on positioning, calling fouls, etc. The second two days are scrimmages where the new refs are shadowed by experienced ones and everyone watches the games and talk about what happens.

It does seem the games where people complain the most are the close ones with the experienced refs.

If I had a nickle for everytime some yelled about over the back or when people flop and then want a player control foul.

[tmp44]

As I've stated in a previous thread, I am both a student (senior) and the director of intramural basketball officials at my university (which I will leave nameless). My duties for this include being a Teaching Assistant for the Basketball Officiating class that my university offers. This is the only way that my university's Intramural Dept. can get referees for its basketball games (the same goes on for football in the fall). We currently have 118 teams, spread out over 23 divisions, and I have a total of 24 officials for all of this. Out of these 24 officials, 22 of them have never before put a whistle in their mouth. My job, along with the professor of the class, is to try to teach these students the very basics of officiating so that by 3 weeks into the spring semester, they can begin to work games. The class is held once a week for 1 hour. That means that I have 3 hours to attempt to show 22 people who have never heard of the trail position before how to officiate basically the equivalent of a high school varsity game. Besides the one credit that they get for taking the class, they get paid 6 dollars a game. That's right...6. Although none of this are in it for the money, I'm sure that many of us would have second thoughts about working a game for 6 dollars. Further, about half of these students are freshmen or sophomores, which means that the majority of the games they officiate are with fellow students who are older than them. That can be a tad intimidating at times.

In 3 years of being the head official/supervisor of officials, sure I've had my problems. Who wouldn't when 90% of the class has never put a whistle in their mouth before (btw, I am the only state licensed official to ever come through the program at my university, which is now 15 years in the making)? So I take great offense when someone who does not know the processes and hardships of training officials criticizes those same processes and people who do them.

[wizard]

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[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by WyMike


Make a call and they cried "too tight". Let one go and they cried "He was all over me!".

Same thing in intramural leagues . . .

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by Ref in PA
If this is what collega academia is producing, I fear for our Country. It was a whine from the get-go. Unfortunately, it was not well researched. The writer is an expert on officiating without being an official. As Bugs would say "What a Maroon!"

I fear even more after my grad-league games last night.

How is it that I haven't gotten into a grad program yet, yet people who consider it completely appropriate to call people "fat f**ks" are in such programs?

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by CaptStevenM

You are correct Axe Man. I do goto NC State and couldn't ask for better staff to learn from.

Having worked with officials from NC State, I can say that the "columnist" is probably off his rocker.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by Mark Dexter

I fear even more after my grad-league games last night.

How is it that I haven't gotten into a grad program yet, yet people who consider it completely appropriate to call people "fat f**ks" are in such programs?

Hmmm, perhaps because they are the ones most in need of the education?