Pizza and Diet Cokes with colleagues

[ChuckElias]

Here's a question, just to see what you think. We briefly talked about officials who get together for pizza on Friday nights. Several officials on my board do this regularly throughout the season. It's been a great experience for me, personally. I enjoy it a lot.

Here's the interesting part. Several HS varsity coaches from our area come down to the same sports bar. So we often have a mix of coaches and officials drinking together on Fridays. I think that this has been beneficial to me, b/c I get to see and interact with the coaches on a non-basketball level. However, I can also see that there might come a time when this arrangement would be uncomfortable or confrontational. (Perhaps after a heated game, or when a coach was T'd).

Does anybody have any thoughts on whether this is a good thing or bad thing, or whether it doesn't really matter as long as we all get along? I'm just curious as to what folks here think. Thanks

Chuck

[JRutledge]

It is always a good idea to get to know people off the court, coaches or officials. It helps down the road let people know that you are just a regular person and that what you do is officiate too. If coaches are involved it helps them treat you like a human being, and yes the might not agree with your calls, but at least he or she knows you a little off the court and that can help down the road. See, if coaches only few you as an official, and do not know about you having a family or a "real" job, they only can be critical of the stripes. If they see you as a real person, it might not reduce all conflict, but they might have more control because you are not just some official trying to screw him or her. And also for you it does the same. You see these guys as human and hard working people with many are. You might even learn something from each other that you did not realize. It is so easy to be tunnel visioned when we officiate and when they coach not to see the bigger picture. But when you get to know people, I think it always helps when you are not in a confrontational situation.

Also realize that this happens for all officials anyway when they see you all the time. But it happens faster if you have a beer with them every so often. You surely do not want to seek it, but if you are situations that allow this type of interaction to happen, do not be afraid to benifit from it.

Peace