Improve the Officials

[rviotto13]

Hey Guys,

I got a question for you, i live in a small town with 6 highschools which means alot of us refs do alot of games for the same schools and coaches, we get to know eachother real well. There seems to be a problem with coaches complaining about refs which should be no surprise right. But in this case as a former coach and current rookie ref i would like to help bridge the gap between coaches and refs. What are some suggestions on getting every one on the same page or at least trying to. I have heard of having a pre season meeting to go over rules and expectations or answer any questions about rules. Also how about the coaches rating the officials throughout the year and get the highest rated refs to officiate the finals. Any other suggestions or help would be great.

Not to mention that alot of these refs are not improving themselves by way of camps in the summer. I will be the first ref in the board to go to a camp within the last 10 years. That is scary!! I want to improve in order to be as best as i can when i get into those tough games with the challenging coaches etc.

So who do you blame? What do you do?? Any help??

Thanks
V

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by rviotto13
Also how about the coaches rating the officials throughout the year and get the highest rated refs to officiate the finals.

Will the officials get to rate the coaches and decide who gets to coach in the finals?

[Rich]

Originally posted by BktBallRef

Will the officials get to rate the coaches and decide who gets to coach in the finals?

Exactly. Why are the coaches "qualified" to evaluate officials but nobody ever asks us about how well the coaches do their jobs?

[ref18]

Does the teacher's advancement depend on the evaluation of the student?? Absolutely not.

Then why should the officials advancement depend on the evaluation of the coaches??

[tjones1]

Originally posted by BktBallRef

Will the officials get to rate the coaches and decide who gets to coach in the finals?

Couldn't agree more. There's a senior official around here who's a good official but he has never put in for a single post season assignment. And that was his reasoning--why would he want someone to rate him when they didn't know the first thing about officiating.

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by tjones1


Couldn't agree more. There's a senior official around here who's a good official but he has never put in for a single post season assignment. And that was his reasoning--why would he want someone to rate him when they didn't know the first thing about officiating.

TJ,

Well your friend is not being straight with you or does not know our system. Playoff games are not based on "coaches" ratings. Our playoff assignments at the very low level are based on power rating and ratings are just one factor. There in this state where coaches do not even take the time to rate the officials. That just sounds like a cop out from your friend when there might be other reasons he does not get playoff assignments.

Peace

[tjones1]

Originally posted by JRutledge

TJ,

Well your friend is not being straight with you or does not know our system. Playoff games are not based on "coaches" ratings. Our playoff assignments at the very low level are based on power rating and ratings are just one factor. There in this state where coaches do not even take the time to rate the officials. That just sounds like a cop out from your friend when there might be other reasons he does not get playoff assignments.

Peace

JRut,

May I e-mail you?

[JRutledge]

Yes.

[Oz Referee]

Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser

Exactly. Why are the coaches "qualified" to evaluate officials but nobody ever asks us about how well the coaches do their jobs?

At my old association we did get to comment on how well the coaches did their job. We presented an award for the "best and fairest" coach voted on by referees. There was also a referee's representative on the Board of Directors of the association that was responsible for appointing coaches. That way if a coach had repeated run-ins with referees it could be raised when they applied for a job the next season.

Seemed to work pretty well....

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by rviotto13
Hey Guys,

I got a question for you, i live in a small town with 6 highschools which means alot of us refs do alot of games for the same schools and coaches, we get to know eachother real well. There seems to be a problem with coaches complaining about refs which should be no surprise right. But in this case as a former coach and current rookie ref i would like to help bridge the gap between coaches and refs. What are some suggestions on getting every one on the same page or at least trying to. I have heard of having a pre season meeting to go over rules and expectations or answer any questions about rules. Also how about the coaches rating the officials throughout the year and get the highest rated refs to officiate the finals. Any other suggestions or help would be great.

Not to mention that alot of these refs are not improving themselves by way of camps in the summer. I will be the first ref in the board to go to a camp within the last 10 years. That is scary!! I want to improve in order to be as best as i can when i get into those tough games with the challenging coaches etc.

So who do you blame? What do you do?? Any help??

Thanks
V

In all seriousness, it might be that you'll need to go elsewhere to improve your reffing. The set up you're describing sounds like the classic ol' boys network with all the problems of that, and none of the advantages. You might shop around a little for another association, or a mentor who can help you find your way through the system to come out with a college schedule in a few years.

[ditttoo]

Ratings from the coaches should definitely play some part in the selection - afterall it is part of "the game". An otherwise excellent official with absolutely zero communication skills with the coach is not going to do the "finals" any good comparitively with someone more proven to "handle" the coaches". Make it a part of the selection process - how big a part is up to the association.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by ditttoo
Ratings from the coaches should definitely play some part in the selection - afterall it is part of "the game". An otherwise excellent official with absolutely zero communication skills with the coach is not going to do the "finals" any good comparitively with someone more proven to "handle" the coaches". Make it a part of the selection process - how big a part is up to the association.

Partners and evaluators also see how well a ref communicates. I think coaches are too biased to be able to have much say in the selection process.

[zebraman]

Originally posted by ditttoo
Ratings from the coaches should definitely play some part in the selection - afterall it is part of "the game". An otherwise excellent official with absolutely zero communication skills with the coach is not going to do the "finals" any good comparitively with someone more proven to "handle" the coaches". Make it a part of the selection process - how big a part is up to the association.

I disagree. Peers or independent observers can see if a ref has good communication skills. Coaches are just too emotionally involved in the game to be good evaluators. You might as well get the fans input if you are going to let an emotionally involved person have input.

Before my time in my association, coaches used to get some input. The "oldtimers" talk about how it was a popularity contest (leading to a lot of unprofessional schmoozing between refs and coaches) and how coaches used it as a way to get back at officials who expected sportsmanship. They also say that officials ended up being gunshy of giving well-deserved technical fouls for fear that the coach would give them a poor rating.

If coaches get input to officials ratings, then officials should be able to give input to the coaching hiring and firing process.

Z

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by ditttoo
Ratings from the coaches should definitely play some part in the selection - afterall it is part of "the game".

Disagree completely. Coaches have different agaends than we do. Their main priority is to win. We don't care who wins. Coaches also simply aren't qualified to properly evaluate officials. You're trying to turn officiating into a popularity contest, and that simply ain't feasible.

Ask the guys from states like Ohio that let coaches pick their playoff officials. They'll tell you how great that system is working in their state.

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Feb 21st, 2005 at 11:14 AM]

[JRutledge]

I think whether people want to realize it or not, coaches always have a say in who is seen as a good or bad official. If a coach complains, that draws attention that otherwise would not be there. If a coach gives praise, then that obviously gives the official some points they might not get. Not every place has evaluators that have a say in who gets a playoff game or not. Maybe one coach that has an opinion might not mean anything, but if 10 coaches think an official is terrible, then that could affect how that official advances.

In our state they found that the margin between ratings of a losing and winning coach was decimal points. It was not a huge difference at all. Even saying all of that, you had to have other factors pulling for you or you do not work playoff games. It really is that simple. The coaches might bring light to a situation that ordinarily would not have been there (good or bad).

Peace