Officiating

[Linda L Caruso]

How do I find out who will be officiating the rest of the Miracles or Sols home games!!!!

[JRutledge]

Originally posted by Linda L Caruso
How do I find out who will be officiating the rest of the Miracles or Sols home games!!!!

Nobody would have that information than the officials that officiate those games, or the WNBA themselves. If they are like the NBA (basically the same organization that runs both), it is not the practice of them to tell the public until they show up on the court. So that might be an impossible thing unless you know the Supervisor of WNBA Officials (it was Don Rutledge, no relation) and he or she would probably lose their job by telling you.

[BktBallRef]

Such infromation is not released to the public, Linda. The officials are entitled to their safety and privacy. It also protects the integrity of the game. In fact, I don't know of any major sporting events that publicly discloses who the officials will be prior to the contest.

[Brian Watson]

No offense, and I say this very tongue and cheek because I don't think anyone would do it, but I am sure there are a few bookies who would like to know this info as well.

Because all that can go bad with knowing who will be working, it still is one of the best kept secrets.

[Richard Ogg]

I've heard that in division I college the officials are charted by the better teams. They know the tendencies for each official -- how tight they are on hand checks, contact in the paint, etc. Once they know the officials for a game, they adjust their game plan accordingly. I understood that they do know the officials in advance.

If college does that you can bet the pros would too. Good reason to keep it private. Good teams will still adjust during the pregame, but it is a bit more difficult to gain a large advantage.

[BktBallRef]

Richard, that doesn't just happen in college. In happens in high school, too. Our booking agent sends a schedule to each AD. Those coaches who don't routinely get the schedule from their AD also request a copy of the schedule from our booking agent. Coaches use it to prepare based on the crew that's being sent. They can get very upset when a substitution or change is made.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally posted by BktBallRef
Richard, that doesn't just happen in college. In happens in high school, too. Our booking agent sends a schedule to each AD. Those coaches who don't routinely get the schedule from their AD also request a copy of the schedule from our booking agent. Coaches use it to prepare based on the crew that's being sent. They can get very upset when a substitution or change is made.

I have heard this too. In fact, about 2 years ago I asked a fairly successful coach in my area about it. Believe it or not, he told me his concern is not necessarily how tight or loose an official's calls are, but how tolerant that official is to behavior. He elaborated that he felt some officials could be "worked" more than others.

I asked him where he rated me on that scale and he said, tongue-in-cheek I think, that it was a waste of time to try to work me because I never cared what any coach thought in my entire career, and besides, I was always right anyway.

[JeffRef]

Originally posted by Richard Ogg
I've heard that in division I college the officials are charted by the better teams. They know the tendencies for each official -- how tight they are on hand checks, contact in the paint, etc. Once they know the officials for a game, they adjust their game plan accordingly. I understood that they do know the officials in advance.

If college does that you can bet the pros would too. Good reason to keep it private. Good teams will still adjust during the pregame, but it is a bit more difficult to gain a large advantage.

D1 officials are very careful with their words and gestures. They know they are being videotaped and that some coaches watch the tapes trying to read officials. Most show no facial expression, remain gestureless, and cover their mouths during a verbal exchange.

I always wondered why the "thinker" pose was so popular with officials. Now I know...it allows them to look interested in the conversion and hide their mouth so nobody can read what they are saying.

[BMA]

Jeffref: Thanks for that tip on the "thinker pose". I'm going into my second season and can use all the advise you and the other veterans put out on this discussion board.

[Ref42]

Was at a camp this summer where a D1 coach was talking to us about his philosphies and views on officials. He eluded to fact that there is an assistant coach (D1 Level) on each bench who is being paid as part of his job to be able to provide information to the head coach about the officials for the game. This information of course includes knowing the tendancies of the officials, however, it is also knowing such things as where were these guys last night & did they have any problems in their previous game, how many games have they worked this week, and even personal information. This coach told a story of when he was an assitant at UCLA under Jim Harrack. There was a young official they had one night that they had not seen all year, so Harrack wanted to know everything. Well to make a long story short, at introductions, Harrack says hello to all three officials and then to the young who is the U2 on the crew and last shake his hand, he says, " I hope your daughter had a good birthday yesterday".