Indiana HS Officials...need your help!!

[Indy_Ref]

If you are an Indiana HS basketball official, or if you're an official who is interested in what some jackass coach (and EX-official, I might add!) thinks about "the state of game"...including officiating, read this link:

http://www.hoosierauthority.com/Girl...mid=61&id=4314

For any of you who've had Coach Todd Salkoski roam the sideline in one of your games, you know what a complete jackass he can be. For those of you who've never had the "privilege," allow me to enlighten you.

Back when I was still officiating girls' basketball in Indiana, I was "blessed" with his presence twice. The last time I was so "graced," his team Shenandoah was playing a rivalry game vs. one their most hated opponents, New Castle. After his team's VERY FIRST POSSESSION of the game, he gets up and walks to my partner who was @ the C position and exclaims, "Is that the way it's going to be today? Am I coming into this building to get screwed again like I always do!?!?" In retrospect, I wished my partner would have whacked him right then & there...20 seconds into the game. However, since this was my partner's first experience with him, it took him by surprise...and he didn't do anything. From what I've heard about Salkoski, he may have known my partner had never seen him before, so he thought he could get away with it. He tends to push the officials as far as he possibly can before he gets the stop sign. After that, he normally picks & chooses his moments when he offers his opinion on our calls. He was a pain in our asses that whole day...but he didn't "test" the other 2 of us that day like he did our 3rd.

What galls me the most, is this guy was considered a decent and respectable official when he worked ballgames. For those of you who do not want to click on the link, Salkoski used to officiate for 10 years prior to becoming a coach, after which he quit officiating. He was asked to give a "state of the game speech" and write a journal for the Hoosier Authority website as he prepares for the upcoming Indiana state tournament. He believes the game itself has "never been better", the coaches have "never been better" (love the way he breaks his arm patting himself and his profession on the back), but the state of officiating has gone down the toilet.

This idiot obviously has NO IDEA how hard most of us officials work to become better...more qualified officials. No...he is self-absorbed in all the games he's coaching in the summer months of June & July, "free of charge of course!" just to help his girls get better. He is blind to the fact that most of us work 11-12 months of the year, go to multiple camps...that we PAY to go to!, watch hours of game film, discuss plays over & over, read & re-read rules again & again, etc., etc.! We all have a certain level of ability & a certain amount of "the gift" that the good Lord has given us. The best officials are working VERY HARD to maximize these talents. ALL of the guys I schedule games with do ALL of the things I've listed above. For all of the guys & gals I know who put so much time & hard work into this avocation called officiating, I will not stand by and let some ex-official butcher us without allowing us a chance to defend ourselves.

If you read the article after clicking on the above link, please feel free to email Mr. Salkoski your thoughts, or share your thoughts in the Girls' Basketball Forum by clicking on that link at the end of the story! Mr. Salkoski can be reached @ [email protected].

Thanks!

[tjones1]

He has an interesting theory on the "missed" travels... too bad lifting your pivot isn't a travel until you dribble or return it to the floor.

[AFHusker]

His first complaint is that he has seen many officials that aren’t ready to work girl’s varsity yet. I don’t know about Indiana, but in the area of California that I’m in, we are short on officials. I was worked some varsity games this year(my 2nd year of officiating) due the shortage.

Does Indiana have rules against public criticism of officials? The NFHS Coaches Code of Ethics state: “The coach shall respect and support contest officials. The coach shall not indulge in conduct which would incite players or spectators against the officials. Public criticism of officials or players is unethical.”

After reading his article, this guy sounds like one of the biggest A**holes around. As tjones mentioned, he doesn't even know what constitutes a "travel". He complains about a lot of missed calls, but I'm sure he'd b1tch plenty if they were called against his team.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by Indy_Ref

For any of you who've had Coach Todd Salkoski roam the sideline in one of your games, you know what a complete jackass he can be. For those of you who've never had the "privilege," allow me enlighten you.
...

After his team's VERY FIRST POSSESSION of the game, he gets up and walks to my partner who was @ the C position and exclaims, "Is that the way it's going to be today? Am I coming into this building to get screwed again like I always do!?!?"
...
He tends to push the officials as far as he possibly can before he gets the stop sign. After that, he normally picks & chooses his moments when he offers his opinion on our calls. He was a pain in our asses that whole day...but he didn't "test" the other 2 of us that day like he did our 3rd.

What galls me the most, is this guy was considered a decent and respectable official when he worked ballgames. For those of you who do not want to click on the link, Salkoski used to officiate for 10 years prior to becoming a coach, after which he quit officiating. ...

tomegun, who is from Indiana, will be so happy to hear about officials giving this guy the stop sign.

BTW how can one officiate for 10 years without knowing what traveling is?

[tomegun]

I have three comments and I know one will not be welcomed.

1. I think his first comment is accurate. I don't know about everywhere, but in Southern Nevada, Maryland/DC and Mississippi high school officiating isn't where it should be. The people on this board are a small percentage of officials; many other officials do not work hard on anything except getting their checks.
2. Why did the OP go into a game with this coach without telling his partner about the coach in pregame? He said the coach surprised the official 20 seconds into the game.
3. Hopefully, I made my position clear in another thread concerning the stop sign. The OP mentions the stop sign like it is a necessary step towards this coach getting a T. This is one reason I don't care for it much. This coach seems to repeatedly display bad sportsmanship in a high school game. This is high school! If this coach does this constantly, he should constantly get a technical foul. IMO, this is one of the main problems with the high school game. Coaches and players do not display good sportsmanship and technical fouls aren't given enough.

BTW, I'm sooooooooooooo dissappointed in Indiana basketball for going to multiple classes.

[mick]

Salkoski - "I remember 10 years ago when I was out scouting, it seemed like very few coaches were out watching other teams play. Maybe it is just me, but everywhere I go now the crowd always has five to seven other coaches watching future opponents play."

Seems the state of coaching in Indiana is lagging. 44 years ago my high school team had scouting reports before each game, not from the head coach but by a designated scout.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by tomegun

I have three comments and I know one will not be welcomed.

1. I think his first comment is accurate. I don't know about everywhere, but in Southern Nevada, Maryland/DC and Mississippi high school officiating isn't where it should be. The people on this board are a small percentage of officials; many other officials do not work hard on anything except getting their checks.

I can attest that the same is true in Northern Nevada.

[Nate1224hoops]

I can also agree. Officiating in my little corner of the world in VA is not what it should be. To be frank on most nights I get embarrassed by what some of my collegues do. We too are short on officials, and this sometimes puts younger, less experienced guys on the floor. Many of our older officials do not have a good understanding of the game. IMO here is the problem: Officials in my area receive I nice PAYDAY. It's easy money. 3 man crews. Most work 3-5 games a week. The money is attractive, even if you have no clue. The open book test are a joke also.
Last week I was the L on the baseline, quick steal. My partner wasn't ready for the change of possesion(boys game, very fast). He quickly spinted behind the two players. Team A who had just stolen the ball was being chased by Team B. Player A was in the act of taking his 1-2 for the lay-up, when he went to the floor hard and the ball rolled out of bounds. Player B stepped on the back of his shoe and they both hit the ground. My partner has::::NOTHING. Team B's ball. I wanted to just crawl under the bleachers. This call was made with 2 min left in the 1st period. As you can imagine the fans and coaches were on us all night. It makes everyone look really bad. We have some great officials in our association as well. However, you put two bad ones with a great one and you have 3 bad ones. LOL

[DC_Ref12]

Originally Posted by Nate1224hoops

My partner has::::NOTHING. Team B's ball. I wanted to just crawl under the bleachers. This call was made with 2 min left in the 1st period. As you can imagine the fans and coaches were on us all night. It makes everyone look really bad. We have some great officials in our association as well. However, you put two bad ones with a great one and you have 3 bad ones. LOL

Nate, can you talk about how you helped this young official and made him better? Not to be rude but it seems like, just from this post, that you have spent most of your energy "crawling under the bleachers" and groaning at his mistakes rather than taking a deep breath and creating a teaching opportunity.

We young officials NEED HELP. We can't do it alone. We're gonna make mistakes and if you come after us with a red face and smoke comin' out of your ears, it's not gonna help. Put your arm around us, teach us. Don't just get frustrated with us.

Thanks.

[Indy_Ref]

Originally Posted by tomegun

2. Why did the OP go into a game with this coach without telling his partner about the coach in pregame? He said the coach surprised the official 20 seconds into the game.

It was only my 2nd game with this guy. He was not too bad the first time. After this game, and after speaking with several other officials across the state, I found out just how much of an a$$ he is.

Originally Posted by tomegun

BTW, I'm sooooooooooooo dissappointed in Indiana basketball for going to multiple classes.

So are 65% of the people in Indiana. The other 35% of the population either don't care, are the coaches @ small schools, or are the only ones (principals & school administrators) who could decide such a fate.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Nate1224hoops

I wanted to just crawl under the bleachers. This call was made with 2 min left in the 1st period. As you can imagine the fans and coaches were on us all night.

Sh!t, I'm a pretty decent official who works an all Varsity HS schedule and a few JuCo games and I still make a couple calls a year that make me want to crawl under the bleachers. We all blow calls. It's the ability to recognize your mistakes on your own and then learn from them that leads you to being a better official and separate you from the pack.

As a young official, your partner may not have known he missed a called. First chance you get you ask him what he saw on the play. After replaying the play in his mind he might say "You know what, I think B1 probably did trip A1. I probably should have had a whistle on that play." More than likely that's a play he'll never miss a again.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by DC_Ref12

Nate, can you talk about how you helped this young official and made him better? Not to be rude but it seems like, just from this post, that you have spent most of your energy "crawling under the bleachers" and groaning at his mistakes rather than taking a deep breath and creating a teaching opportunity.

We young officials NEED HELP. We can't do it alone. We're gonna make mistakes and if you come after us with a red face and smoke comin' out of your ears, it's not gonna help. Put your arm around us, teach us. Don't just get frustrated with us.

Excellent post. And point. Something for all of us to to think about.

[Ignats75]

I am very hard on myself. I strive to be as perfect as possible, knowing full well that its unrealistic to expect perfection in a avocation this difficult. But, what really bugs me is the veterans who are more concerned with whether they got Regional or state final games. The veterans who are more concerned with "getting a flow" than getting the right call. How many times have you heard the words "call the obvious" in your pregame and then seen a fellow official bypass the whistle so that the game can develop a "flow"?

I have noticed that certain associations have a stronger quality of officials than others. I cringe when I get a partner from one association (fortunately its only been twice this whole year) as I have yet ever seen a good one. So while I don't think its as bad here as other people are saying, it could still be better.

[Nate1224hoops]

Originally Posted by DC_Ref12

Nate, can you talk about how you helped this young official and made him better? Not to be rude but it seems like, just from this post, that you have spent most of your energy "crawling under the bleachers" and groaning at his mistakes rather than taking a deep breath and creating a teaching opportunity.

We young officials NEED HELP. We can't do it alone. We're gonna make mistakes and if you come after us with a red face and smoke comin' out of your ears, it's not gonna help. Put your arm around us, teach us. Don't just get frustrated with us.

Thanks.

Sorry guys, but I didn't say that he was a young official. This was a guy who has been doing varsity games for about 6 years. The coach ask me why there was no call and all I could say was "I'm not sure coach." At the half, I asked what happened on the play (acting as though I didn't see it) and my partner replied with "they just got tangled up, nothing worthy of a call." I said, "could it possibly have been a trip or push." He replied, "no, are you saying that you think I blew the call." CONVERSATION OVER.

My experience and I would hate to agree with coaches, but most of their complaints are that officials can't and won't admit when they missed a call. When coaches disagree or get on officials many of them take it personal. The guy missed the call. There is nothing wrong with saying "yes coach, I missed that one." To often, and I see this with partners every night, we get defensive and take it as an insult when we are questioned.

I am all for helping the younger officials. I miss my share of calls as well. BUT YOU KNOW WHEN YOU MISS A CALL. Not being able to admit it is where some officias get into trouble. Making bad calls and thinking you made the correct one is how officials get a bad rap. In the situation I just described, my partner left the gym thinking the INCIDENTAL CONTACT from behind isn't a foul. He argued with the coach about the play until he finally had to T the coach. And the sad thing is..........it will be a no call tomorrow night, followed by a T as well.