Rookie-my hat is off to you veterans

[dan74]

How do you handle the constant criticism? I'm a rookie who is getting tired of the comments from coaches and fans. I worked boys' B and JV games this week and they were all close games, but all but one of the coaches was decent, the rest were jerks.

For my double-header on Tues, my partner held a pre-game with the coaches and introduced himself as a varsity official who sometimes helps the assignor by working a couple less than varsity contests each season. He then introduced me and added that I was "pretty inexperienced." Both of the games that night were buzzer beaters, so things were tense. All but one of the coaches griped about almost everything. One coached yelled at me, "THAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU." Hate to say it, but a kid moved right in my line of sight before I could adjust to see the supposed violation.

I'm getting better at seeing violations and fouls and immediately responding, but I acknowledge missing a bit more than my share or just plain hesitating on blowing my whistle. I issued my first "T" to a coach two weeks ago, but I'm still not sure when to draw the line and how to draw the line.

I want to do a good job, I study, I work at it, but I'm having trouble tolerating the comments. Does it get better? Any advise? Or is retiring at the ripe old age of 41 my best option?

[Adam]

Sounds like your partner hung you out to dry in the pregame. He may have had good intentions, but it's none of the coach's business how much experience you have (or how much he has, for that matter). There's no reason to give the coaches your resume before the game.

Now, he's told them that he's slumming and you're green. He set you up without even trying (I'm being charitable here).

Coach screams at you like that, it's worthy of a T. At this point for you, though, you have to decide how much of the griping you can handle. To keep your focus, you probably want to stop it early by telling the coach politely but firmly that you're not going to tolerate the officiating from the bench. If you have to, give him the T and you'll likely have a much quieter game from that point forward.

[Time2Ref]

LOL. As Homer Simson would say...."Its funny 'cause its true"

I am also new, and believe me brother, "I feel your pain". Sometimes, I think the verterans don't remember how painful it can be.

Its part of the game. You study the rules, you learn the mechanics......then you need experience.

Another memorable saying:
You can't be good unless you have experience. Experience is learning from your mistakes. You can't learn from your mistakes unless you make mistakes. (or something like that)

So, for now, our job is to go out there and make mistakes. LOL.

It might help if you look at it this way:

I am new, so I am working the lower levels. I am trying to learn out there and I'm going to make some mistakes. When I get better, I will be working Varsity.

The players at the lower levels are new. They are trying to learn and they will be making mistakes. If they were better, they would be playing at the Varsity level.

It just follows that......The coaches at the lower levels are new. They are tyring to learn and they WILL be MAKING MISTAKES. If they were better, they would be coaching at the Varsity level.

If the fans were any good, they would be on the floor. They will never learn, but they will continue to make mistakes. (in reality, its a few, vocal, bad apples making the rest of the crowd look bad. Ignore them)

So, in a nutshell. The whole gym is full of people making mistakes. Get used to it. It comes with the territory.

Also, it helps when you work with a veteran that remembers how was to be new. It won't always happen. Sometimes, you get a jerk for a partner like you had that "throws you under the bus".

The leader of my association put it this way. There are basically four types of officials working the lower levels:
a) New officials working there way up the ladder
b) Veteran officials who are "giving back" to the game. (helping newer officials & schools)
c) Older officials who have been to the top and are slowing down in there career. (slowing down, but still good)
d) Older officials who NEVER DID and NEVER WILL make it to higher levels.

Sounds like you got one from catagory D.

Hang in there. Learn from EVERY game. NEVER listen to the crowd. After each game, write notes about your game. Note things you did right and things you did wrong. Pick out TWO things that you did wrong. Concentrate on getting those two things right the next game. Work on them until you get them right. Go to the next two things on your list and work on them until you get them right. Listen to veteran officials, don't waste their time explaining why you did something wrong. Just listen to what they say. After a while, you will learn which category they fall into. Listen to all. Immediately forget what officials from category D tell you. LOL.

Don't forget to come to the forums to learn QUITE a BIT about the rules and situations. (Don't forget to apply the above paragraph to the forums........Uh, Hum.....no names, you have to figure out who is who.....LOL)

Have faith in YOURSELF and your PARTNER. You can do it. It won't be easy, but it WILL be worth it.

One last thing. NEVER throw your partner or ANY official "under the bus". That includes making comments about the calls being made on the floor of the game you are watching.

Enjoy the experience you are gaining now. Never forget how it feels to be new. So, when you become a veteran, you will help newer officials.

AND NEVER FORGET: Have fun out there.

[wfd21]

I feel bad for you. Your veteran partner hosed you! Tell him to go F!@# OFF!
He should not have said that. Period! He was only trying to show boat himself.
He is a jerk.

[Terrapins Fan]

Rookie,
I started refereeing at 44. I am now 51 and I love it. Stick with it. It gets better and better.

Bad partners are something you have to live with. Coaches on the other hand, never change. They try to work a referee forever. After 3 years I began to do Varsity games. The first year all I ever heard was " That's a JV call" I still make the same calls now that I made my first year on Varsity, but no more complaints from the coaches, well, I mean no more " That was a JV call", now that just tell me I was completely wrong about the call regardless of what the call was....I can be 6 feet from the play and they are 60 feet away and they see it better than I do.

Stick with it, with time you will learn to love it much more than you do today.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

Stick with it, with time you will learn to love it much more than you do today.

Terrapins Fan,
Are you the official from the other forum?
Nice to see you again !
Thanks for coming.
mick

[rainmaker]

It always gets worse this time of year, as the overall record starts to catch up with the coaches, and they've got to find someone to blame it on.

THere are two things you can do to help you feel better about all this, and get your head back in the game.

First, I think you're nearly at the end of the Not-Enough-T's stage. It's time to morph into the Way-Too-Many-T's stage. This is a normal stage of ref development, especially the very old (you and me and Terrapins Fan) and the very young. Go through it, knowing that there is balance in another year or so. WHACK everybody. Well, okay, that's an exaggeration. But quit hesitating. You'll find that a lot of the time (especially at your level) it actually helps the coach by getting him out of officiating mode and back into coaching.

Second, get a tape of one of your games, and study ways that you might appear green and uncertain. Facial expressions, body language, habits of voice that seem tentative or less than confident. I remember the first time I caught a glimpse of myself as I ran past a mirror on the way off the floor into the dressing room. Wow, I looked awful. No wonder coaches yelled at me. I made a change in my make-up routine and the very next game the yelling was cut down by half. Now that particular change probably won't help you much! But find something in your appearance that could look significantly more calm. Work on it.

It also might help to take a few days off, right now, if you can. You might be able to collect yourself, and feel better, and also come across better to observers.

One more thing. Learn to ignore the fans. They are the definitive Clueless and not nearly as attractive as Alicia Silverstone. Learn to have a curtain up that just stops all the yelling and all the crap. You can do it. It's not always easy.

We are all here for you, Dan!! Stick to it!

[mplagrow]

Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan

The first year all I ever heard was " That's a JV call" . . .

"Sorry, coach. It was a JV violation!"

[Chess Ref]

Well Dan I have had some of the same things happen to me. i was working with the D level official who showed up and promptly told both coaches it was my first year. And yes I got to work on my game management skills ALL NIGHT while my so called partner went through our 2 game set without a care in the world. He also lectured me on the T I awarded the coach for his screaming at me as I reported a foul. It just comes with the territory....

Last week working with a 6 game vet. He had a total of 6 games under his belt. The only problem was he knew all the coaches. He played on an adult rec team with them and didn't block them from his schedule. So I became the mark. Gratefully my personal POE this year is coach/bench control. We didn't have too many problems after my first T minutes into the game.

I also started at 41. My first year I worked on mechanics, my coverage area, and putting air in the whistle. I am into my 3rd season and I am a competent Frosh/JV ref. Perfect-not even close. But my assignor handpicks me for the bigger match ups in town. The second half of my JV game had over 1300 people show up to make sure that got seats for the varsity game.

This board has been the MOST important asset in my improving as an official. I do all the other things-listen to vets, watch the vets,read my books etc. but this board has made a difference in that I get to stay away from personal philosophy and stick to the books and manuals......

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by Chess Ref

I also started at 41. My first year I worked on mechanics, my coverage area, and putting air in the whistle. I am into my 3rd season and I am a competent Frosh/JV ref. ....

Maybe we should start a club!! "Late bloomers United!"

[swkansasref]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Sounds like your partner hung you out to dry in the pregame.

My thoughts exactly.

This is also my first year certified doing hs ball. I just keep focused on the game and tune out the fans and their comments. If a coach has a question regarding a foul or something, then I will address him/her. However, if he/she is just griping about a call then I brush it off and move on with the game.

Just keep your mind on the game, you're going to miss some things, especially with a two man crew, you're not going to see EVERYTHING. But, just call the games to the best of your ability and you'll be okay. Just remember, one team is always going to be upset with what you call.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by swkansasref

My thoughts exactly.

This is also my first year certified doing hs ball. I just keep focused on the game and tune out the fans and their comments. If a coach has a question regarding a foul or something, then I will address him/her. However, if he/she is just griping about a call then I brush it off and move on with the game.

Just keep your mind on the game, you're going to miss some things, especially with a two man crew, you're not going to see EVERYTHING. But, just call the games to the best of your ability and you'll be okay. Just remember, one team is always going to be upset with what you call.

My thoughts, too. I've worked 2 games this year at the varsity level where it was the first game of one of our crew working 3-person. It does not benefit the crew or the game to hang the "rookie" out to dry. They each did a fine job, BTW.

I started working basketball a month after my 18th birthday, the first season in my area with the 3-pointer. This is season #20, although in my 5th year in Wisconsin I still feel like an outsider in a way.

I couldn't imagine being a new official now, although I recruited 2 experienced officials to my football crew and they are the best 3rd and 4th year football officials I've ever seen. Unless I take up volleyball or something like that, I don't think I'll have to worry about it.

[dan74]

Thanks for your input! It helps a lot.

As Rainmaker mentioned, I do feel like I am getting to the end of my non-T stage. I've had a nagging feeling for a couple of weeks that I've been too tolerant. I understand a certain amount of criticism comes with the stripes, but it's been more than that, especially in the two games when my "partner" introduced me as being "pretty inexperienced."

Although I'll approach each game from this point forward with the realization that I need to let some comments go in one ear and out the other, as it is a competitive environment, I will learn from the things you've mentioned and use some of the things I've picked up from various threads in this forum since finding this site last month:

1) Stop sign-"Coach that's enough"
2) If it continues-"Whack"

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by dan74

Thanks for your input! It helps a lot.

As Rainmaker mentioned, I do feel like I am getting to the end of my non-T stage. I've had a nagging feeling for a couple of weeks that I've been too tolerant. I understand a certain amount of criticism comes with the stripes, but it's been more than that, especially in the two games when my "partner" introduced me as being "pretty inexperienced."

Although I'll approach each game from this point forward with the realization that I need to let some comments go in one ear and out the other, as it is a competitive environment, I will learn from the things you've mentioned and use some of the things I've picked up from various threads in this forum since finding this site last month:

1) Stop sign-"Coach that's enough"
2) If it continues-"Whack"

Skip the stop sign & go right to the T. JV coaches normally have no idea of what the stop sign means, and there are some that say the stop sign should rarely be used at any level. Normally new officials wait too long before giving a stop sign anyway.

When you T, do it as calmly as possible - no emotion, it's just business. Quick tweet, touch the fingers of 1 hand to the palm of the other, get the other team's shooter. Stay calm. As rainmaker said, don't be afraid to become T happy, it won't be long before you figure out you tolerance level and start to apply it without wondering if you've done the right thing. That won't stop your partners from telling coaches your new at this (if that's what they like to do whee you work :rolleyeys: ), but it might get them to add that you will not take even the slightest amount of sh1t from then so beware.

Good luck, this part of the game is pure judgement. You'll learn a lot about yourself if you master this.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by dan74

For my double-header on Tues, my partner held a pre-game with the coaches and introduced himself as a varsity official who sometimes helps the assignor by working a couple less than varsity contests each season. He then introduced me and added that I was "pretty inexperienced."

OK, the first game - after his awesome pregame - I would have covered my mouth and told him if he ever said anything like that in a pregame about how great he was and how inexperienced I was - he could work alone! I assure you, if he doesn't need me there - I'm heading to the house. There aren't enough games or there isn't enough money to put up with a$$e$ like that.

I'm insensed at his actions and words.