Had good comeback yesterday....
 

8th grade game yesterday...one team was just flat out better....

Dad of kid on the less talented team in stands: "Oh, come on ref, didn't you hear the slap!?"

I ingnored it during the game....

At halftime, I went to get a bananna from the concession stand, I stopped at the bleacher where he was at and put my arm on his shoulder and said to him...

"Hey, I wanted to respond to your question about midway through the first half but I couldn't stop the game so I thought I'd stop by now..."

He laughed and said "Whatcha got...Is this about my slap comment..."

Me: "Yeah...I was just wondering if I was supposed to officiate the game with just my ears?"

He cracked up laughing and said we were actually doing a good job.....

Insert Larry Craig joke here. http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ges/toetap.gif

NO, don't.

Coltdoggs,

Your growth as an official will be stunted if you continue to listen to fans. Furthermore, I would never suggest doing what you did. No matter how much you may think a problem will never occur, one parent in the wrong frame of mind could back you into a "corner" and you could very well end up with egg on your face. IMO, there are just too many bad things that could happen.

I hear you tome and I agree on some points...

First, I've been officiating 7 years, so I'm past the point of listening and really caring what fans say...I've developed my thick skin to those who feel they are "getting to me" or being malicious (living through their kids).... I tend to hear them but don't listen to them other than for my own entertainment factor...

In this particular case...The rec/travel league I work in each weekend...I see the same 8-10 teams every week of each "season" (they run 10 week seasons year round)...and I see the same parents on a weekly basis as well...If I felt the guy was malicious in his comments, I would not have said anything and I do let most of it go and not say anything...He had some other light hearted comments and I've seen the guy before....

Having said all that...again, I hear you loud and clear and I appreciate any feedback from other officials...so Thanks....

I think we should develop a growth chart for officials. The progression from:

1. Not calling anything and not hearing anything
2. Calling everything
3. Calling less and hearing everything - letting it affect you
4. Calling more quality calls and passing on some calls
5. Having somewhat total control over your actions, hearing everything and responding to nothing but questions from head coaches.

item 6: Having complete control over your actions, and responding appropriately to everything.

I think 6 is an acceptable re-wording of 5. :)
Most times, the appropriate response is to ignore it.

Frankly, in a hs game, I'd never even consider this. Only if you've seen the parent a hundred times, know his general demeanor as well as his current demeanor, and are comfortable with him, could you do this. IOW, in exactly the situation it seems to have been done.

This is more like walking up to a friend in the stands you know has been razzing you all game.

"You can generally lump interactions with fans into two categories. There are those situations where the answer to the question of whether to talk to fans is definitely No. On the other hand, there are those times when the answer is Hell No! Knowing the difference is important" Back in the Saddle

Colt,
You should have simply presented the howler monkey with the banana. :D

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thu...costa_rica.jpg

A pic of a real howler monkey from Costa Rica.

BTW this pic may actually rival that squirrel! :eek:

I'd howl too if I kept banging mine into tree branches all day long.

Rainmaker, I didn't see any smiley faces, but I hope you are joking. You are joking right?

Having complete control over your actions I can agree with although once an official perfects that they should probably quit because they've reached the mountain top.
Responding appropriately to everything I totally disagree with unless it includes no response to anything but questions. If you do respond appropriately to everything, a coach would be able to reel you in quick. What is the appropriate response to a comment from a coach? Nothing. Silence cannot be quoted.

If this is the appropriate response, then why do you disagree with responding appropriately to everything?:confused: :confused:

Couldn't an "appropriate response" mean different things? To me, an appropriate response could be silence, it could be a simple, one sentence comment, it could be stepping between two players to prevent something else from happening, it could be a "stop sign" (sorry, couldn't resist :D), or it could be a "T".

A response, at least to me, doesn't necessarily mean something spoken. I'm assuming (I know, that's dangerous) that's what she meant.