Officiating philosophy

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Maybe you should work those games only on "opposite day"?

Does "Opposite Day" occur in the Bizarro World? According to Jerry Seinfeld, the bizaroos were a group of beings invented by DC Comics starring Superman and Batman. Bizaroos are opposites, they see bad as good and good as bad. Bizaroo Batman has a useless utility belt rather than a fully functional one like Batman. Bizarro Superman is Superman's exact opposite, who lives in the backwards Bizarro World. Up is Down. Down is Up. He says "Hello" when he leaves, "Good bye" when he arrives.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Also, rookie officials, take note of Tio's statement: "One thing I try to do is never spend more time with a home coach during introductions. That is a sure way to start building a negative perception." This is an excellent suggestion, because perception and reality often get confused, which should be avoided as much as possible.

What if you spend too much time with the visiting coach? What if you know the visiting coach more? Why should it matter who is home or visiting in that situations?

Just asking.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

What if you spend too much time with the visiting coach? What if you know the visiting coach more? Why should it matter who is home or visiting in that situations?

Good point. As many have suggested throughout this thread, officials should be "blind" to home and visitors. Officials should spend the same exact pregame time with each coach, in fact, it's probably best to use a visible count, to maintain proper "game management".

[ChrisSportsFan]

Originally Posted by mu4scott

Huh???
I’m not disagreeing with you about anything. I asked for your opinion. You don’t want to say anything and I suspect it’s because you don’t agree with it. I’ve heard his talks multiple times and he has philosophies on end of half, beginning of second half, end of game etc…. Don’t duck out by saying I “took it out of context”.

I’m just curious if you agree with it?



Didn't pull anything out of context.



We should work a game together.

I have worked with Jeff and hope to do it again. He knows how to manage a game. And just prove to it, I you offer 2 typos.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Good point. As many have suggested throughout this thread, officials should be "blind" to home and visitors. Officials should spend the same exact pregame time with each coach, in fact, it's probably best to use a visible count, to maintain proper "game management".

I know there was some humor in your response. I just have one more serious question.

Why are we spending so much time with the coaches in the first place? I might only talk to a coach during the captain's meeting and that is it.

Peace

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Why are we spending so much time with the coaches in the first place? I might only talk to a coach during the captain's meeting and that is it.

This is a good point. I think BillyMac's comment was headed in the right direction, but he should've just left out the part about the home or visitor coach. If you chit-chat with either coach in a "social" manner, the other coach will immediately become paranoid. I know this firsthand from a D3 college game last season.

I was the U1 and during the time when were standing at the table before introductions and the anthem, the R went over to the visiting coach and just started shooting the breeze. I turned to our U2 and said, "What is he doing? Setting up a golf date for the weekend?" As soon as I finished saying that, I see the home coach looking at me with his palms up and a WTF look on his face. He says to me, "What's going on over there?" I just shrugged.

R comes back to the table and I told him the home coach was wondering what your conversation was about. So he had to go and chat up the home coach to re-assure him that there was nothing to worry about.

[JRutledge]

The only thing I might do as it relates to the home and visiting coach is it is not uncommon for people to shake the hands of both coaches before the contest and wish them good luck. Usually that involves the visiting team first and then the home team. But that only takes 30 seconds between both coaches and we move on. Other than that there is no real good reason I want to talk to a coach in the first place.

Peace

[BillyMac]

In a perfect world, the only time we should be spending time with the head coach is during the pregame captains/head coaches/officials meeting:

"Coaches. Are your players properly equipped and do your players know how to wear their uniforms properly? If so, coaches and captains. My partner and I expect that you all will be practicing good sportsmanship. Have fun."

However, it's not a perfect world. How often will varsity officials be observing the junior varsity game that precedes the varsity game, and the head varsity coach, maybe from either team, but most often from the home team, actually comes over and sits down in the bleachers with the varsity officials? Maybe it's just to say hello. Maybe it's to ask a question about a rule or interpretation. Or, maybe it's more than that. Maybe the varsity officials may have been officiating this coach's games for over twenty years, and the coach feels that a professional bond has been formed and asks how the season's going, did your families enjoy the holidays, did you hear that Official Smith tore a muscle doing his game last week, etc. Another scenario from the real world is that the officials may often dress in the coach's office, and he's in there before the game, getting a score book, getting some water bottles, tape, etc. and decides he wants to "shoot the breeze" for a few minutes.

These are situations that should be avoided, because, as I've stated earlier, perception often gets confused with reality. Although these situations should be avoided, sometimes it would be awkward to avoid them, and all we can do is answer in a friendly, but terse, manner, and hope that the coach goes away as soon as possible. Maybe there is a professional bond that has formed between the official and the coach. After all, they both share a passion for basketball. I, in fact, relish these bonds, but not at the expense of being perceived as a "homer".

[JRutledge]

You are right, but those are very rare and might not happen but one or two times the entire season. And there are many ways not to put yourself in a situation where a coach can easily talk to you. I also cannot control what locker room they put us in and most people are never going to know where that room is or is not. The point I am trying to make is we worry too much about what people think and we need to just do our job professionally. And if a coach is that concerned because the coach had a conversation with me that I did not seek, so be it. I have many other things to worry about and who I am taking to is not one of them.

Peace

[tomegun]

Most of you who have been on this board know how I feel about this subject.

I had more to say, but this is on my mind

I can't really knock his hustle (getting the games, NOT actually hustling), but let's not be so blinded by the TV games to not recognize what really is.

Rut is 150% (had to slip that nonsense in) right. Why are we spending so much time chatting with coaches anyway. And, I personally like to keep some distance between myself and a coach when possible (not always possible if I'm in the C during live ball) so nothing can be said so quietly, in either direction, that can be twisted around later.

Wow, he really said that (the "video")? I never would have thought it from him.

[Mark Padgett]

My usual pre-game conversation with coaches goes something like this: "Hi Coach. Did you want to buy foul insurance?"