hey guys

i am friends with a few older gentleman who had reputations around the area as being very very excellent officials. all 3 are now retired. i asked recently if they ever admitted to making a bad call to a coach during a dispute. all 3 said that they never would admit it. in there mind they knew it was wrong, but during an argument they said that they never would bow out to a coach, apopogize for a poor call, or even admit to being wrong. is this proper?

thanks
jeremy

I think it is OK to let a coach know you "might have missed that one", but never appear unconfident or apologetic.

I really have no answer for you. I've never had the issue come up. ;)

There is a Davism for this, however:

Howler monkey: You missed that one
Dave: You're right, I did. But you're still ahead, 72-1.

jeremy,
this in my opinion is very oldschool. back then wearing the stripes meant credibility, now a days officials have to earn credibility. it is more credible to admit when you have obviously missed a play than it is to be stubborn and lie. you want to earn the trust of the coaches. do you listen to a coah who wines about every call that is right or wrong? no ref is perfect so do not try present your self as perfect. we are human, and error is human.

Hey, we all make mistakes and can't see everything. Being very new, I have found that the coaches just want an explaintion of your call. If the explaination is you missed it, at least the coaches that I've seen so far are OK with that.

IMO,
It's better to admit that you may have missed the play,
than insist you are right,have the coach watch the tape later and see you were wrong, and lose credibility.
The line we like to use in Utah is,
"You're right Coach, I might have missed that one. If we have a third referee, we probably would have gotten it right!";)
Two years ago it was proposed that we go to three person crew, it was rejected by administrators! NIce huh?:eek:

If i made a bad foul call, after the play has passed, I will tell the coach or even the player that it was probably a weak call. If i missed something i will tell the coach i may have missed it. Now the oppertunity has to be in place for me to do this i.e. standing next to the coach or player. However, it is inportant to pick your spots. You never want to say this more than once in a game.

Bart, you made my point for me! :) I don't see anything wrong with telling the coach that you may have missed that one. But don't make it a habit. Then you really will lose credibility.

Chuck

But would any of you in the "I'll come clean (a little)" camp admit anything in an adversarial encounter? J40 mentioned "argument." I generally don’t argue at all. I may listen attentively, even nod wisely, but I don’t argue.

I think coaches who remain calm and have minimal but pertinent input get more out of me by way of explanation or the extremely rare (we're talkin' Dodo here) "that was a weak one..." I think many of you will agree with that. The coaches who b&m from jump ball to final horn get nothing but my heels as I fly past.

And J40, you will notice that none of them have said they would actually come out and say they were wrong. The whistle sounds and a call is made, good, bad, or indifferent. Even if it's the wrong call, its still stands under normal circumstances (double whistles, set aside rules...notwithstanding.) Under no circumstances would any of us consider changing a call based on a discussion with only one coach. That’s another topic…

When i have an adversarial encounter, i'm not thinking should I admit or not admit kicking a call. Two different situations. I first have to take care of business. So, its not a question of admittance.

The response
 

I must say that most coaches get a good feel for you over time. If I had missed something sure I would say I either was blocked or didn't have the angle that the coach had to see the play. My favorite response is that from my angle there wasn't enough contact to warrent a call. Most of the time coaches just want to be heard, not given an excuse as to why you either missed the call or why it isn't a call. With the exception of the extra-ordinary I have found it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.