more philosophy

[PaREF]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is the concept of "working the officials". It seems as though basketball coaches, more so than other sports, are either expected to "work the officials" or actually think that complaining to officials will get them some calls. I don't know how many times I have heard that expression from television commentators or print columnists.

Our local paper has a couple of know-it-all writers who are absolutely convinced that one of the main responsibilities that coaches have is to work the officials. They practically worship the out-of-control, idiot coaches in the area who make a spectacle of themselves raling at officials during games. It is enough to make me sick, and I'm not even a basketball official (I work volleyball but love to read the basketball posts here!).

So understand that some coaches feel pressure to complain to officials so as not to be seen as weak or ineffective. All you have to do is just ask any reporter and they will gladly tell you that it is a time-honored tradition and most of all, very effective. Of course, none of them have ever officiated any contest of any level of any sport in their lives.

[bbcoach7]

Originally Posted by beachbum

I just finished my second year, so bear with me, and this question may need to be answered by coaches or former coaches.

why is it that when coaches are loosing a game, they seem to blame the officials for their problems? they will make statements like "this is the worst officiating I have seen".

Most coaches will admit, in a non game situation that without exception, officials try to call the games fair. yet, during the game they act as though we are being paid to make the outcome different.

Then the game ends, and the same coaches will say "good game ref", like nothing happened. If we acted like them, we would be banned from the sport!!!

I'm a coach, so allow me to please take a crack at this despite my handicap. Generally speaking, referee's are not emotionally engaged with the outcome of a game, or the performance of the players. Coaches are emotionally involved. And despite our obvious flaws, personality defects and tendency to howl like monkeys, we are people to, capable of behaving like dumb asses.

This is apparently a difficult concept, but when ordinary average people (non-refs) are emtionally involved with something, they can sometimes be guilty of going too far and behaving like howler monkeys.

As far as a comment like, "this is the worst officiating I've ever seen," well maybe it was, but I doubt it very much, as these coaches probably say that again and again. You don't actually believe there's no such thing as a lousy ref do you? ANd I'm not talking about intent, everyone desires to perform well at whatever they do, but of course not everyone can.

The fact is just like there are lousy teams and awful coaches, there are actually referee's who are crappy. But that should never give any coach license to proclaim it out loud. I've come to the conclusion that a bad referee is just bad, not biased, not cheating, just lousy. He's bad on both ends of the court, but he's out there doing the best he can. And coaches who don't get that after a few seasons are idiots in my opinion.

Seriously, if I was in your shoes, I'd find it very difficult to maintain composure like you guys do in the face of stupid comments and accusations. But then you're not emotionally involved in the game so that must make it a little easier to suffer fools.

I've found ref's 2-3 times after games this season to apologize for something I've said. Obviously nothing that bad, as I've only been whacked 2 times in 8 years and not at all this season. A good rule of thumb I believe is that if I wouln't make the comment outside on the street to another grown man, then I have no business making it in the gym during a game. It's about basic respect. Kids come and go. Games come and go. But you (Ref) and I (coach) are going to be here a while (year after year) and I'd be an idiot to cultivate an atmosphere of hostility (wait... I'm a coach & that qualifies me automatically in here).

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by bbcoach7

As far as a comment like, "this is the worst officiating I've ever seen," well maybe it was, but I doubt it very much, as these coaches probably say that again and again. You don't actually believe there's no such thing as a lousy ref do you? ANd I'm not talking about intent, everyone desires to perform well at whatever they do, but of course not everyone can.

Actually I saw a "bad" official this weekend. Granted it was a lower level game and the person has the potential to get better, but he was off in so many ways with his basic judgment and basic understanding of the game.

I see bad coaches all the time and I would never tell that to their face or openly in public even if I feel that way strongly. That is ultimately the point that in my opinion the OPer was trying to make IMHO. Even if we feel a certain way about a coach, we are not likely to say that to a coach. And if we did we would be expected to hear about it from the right people. Coaches say those things a lot and nothing happens to them in many cases.

I think a lot of us are tired of the double standard that is widely held.

Peace

[bbcoach7]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I see bad coaches all the time and I would never tell that to their face or openly in public even if I feel that way strongly. That is ultimately the point that in my opinion the OPer was trying to make IMHO. Even if we feel a certain way about a coach, we are not likely to say that to a coach. And if we did we would be expected to hear about it from the right people. Coaches say those things a lot and nothing happens to them in many cases.

I think a lot of us are tired of the double standard that is widely held.

Peace

Yes, I agree, it is a double standard and it isn't right. Everyone expects you guys to behave like a professional. Yet, a coach can be a complete ***, and usually get away with it. Ultimately though the lack of class on the part of these kinds of hot heads ends up painting them into a corner. They may never get what they really deserve, but they end up in the "box" with all the other *** holes and everyone (players, admin, other coaches, etc) knows it.

I still think that as a coach, I should apply the same rule on a basketball court as I would outside in the street... if I don't have the balls to say it out loud to another grown man, then I probably ought to keep my mouth shut in the gym when addressing a referee.

[bbcoach7]

Originally Posted by PaREF

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is the concept of "working the officials". It seems as though basketball coaches, more so than other sports, are either expected to "work the officials" or actually think that complaining to officials will get them some calls. I don't know how many times I have heard that expression from television commentators or print columnists.

So understand that some coaches feel pressure to complain to officials so as not to be seen as weak or ineffective. All you have to do is just ask any reporter and they will gladly tell you that it is a time-honored tradition and most of all, very effective. Of course, none of them have ever officiated any contest of any level of any sport in their lives.

There's no doubt some truth to this- that some coaches try to "work" the officials. It may be more prevalent at higher levels and pro ball. But it's a ridiculous and hair brained concept. The very idea suggests that referee's blow calls all the time, and if I as a coach complain enough, that I will get some calls later to go my way that I otherwise wouldn't have. Stupid, stupid, stupid. In the first place, all the studies that have been done always conclude that you guys are correct way more than you're not on calls.

Yes, we do feel some "pressure" sometimes to voice an objection. I can't speak for all coaches, but I can tell you that this "pressure" has nothing to do with the people in the stands, ot reporters. It's the pressure that comes from wanting our players to understand and feel like we (coaches) have their back, and if they've been unfairly penalized, we might say something in support of them.

I coach girls. And one big difference is that girls don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Boys don't have to like their coach in order to "run through the wall." They just love to compete. But girls (at least the ones who never play past HS) are not that competetive and what they think of their coach actually influences how hard they play. So every now and then I will make a little fuss on behalf of a player because I want them to know I care. I admit, I'm usually acting when I do that. And it's not like I'm going over the top, as I've only been whacked 2 times in 8 seasons.

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by beachbum

I just finished my second year, so bear with me, and this question may need to be answered by coaches or former coaches.


why is it that when coaches are loosing a game, they seem to blame the officials for their problems? they will make statements like "this is the worst officiating I have seen".

Most coaches will admit, in a non game situation that without exception, officials try to call the games fair. yet, during the game they act as though we are being paid to make the outcome different.

Then the game ends, and the same coaches will say "good game ref", like nothing happened. If we acted like them, we would be banned from the sport!!!

Keep in mind, just like many (there I go again, Jurassic) officials are new and inexperienced, there is a like number of coaches in the same boat. Coaches go through a similar learning curve as officials do.

Most newer officials have played the game at some level. Most newer coaches have played the game at some level as well. Most newer officials and coaches THINK that this playing experience means that THEY KNOW THE RULES. Most newer coaches think that since they know how to play the game, THEY KNOW HOW TO COACH THE GAME.

Unfortunately, both of these statements are typically wrong for the newer officials and the newer coaches. It is not until these newbies get some experience (along with some mentoring) that the newbies become better at their trade.

As has been pointed out, most fans, parents, players and coaches watch a game with a bias toward their team. They truly only notice the travels, the pushes, the bumps, etc. that the OPPONENTS commit. Since they are looking for the illegal activities of the opponents, they typically do not even see the fouls and violations made by their team's players.

This Board will often discuss how the grade school and middle school coaches -- and sometimes Freshmen coaches -- are much worse then the other HS coaches. This is only logical since most of the grade school coaches are parents OR rookies (you have to start somewhere). These new coaches come from a particularly strong bias -- not only are they new to coaching (and typically not very good at it, therefore their teams are not particularly successful), BUT they have the added bias of being a coach AND a PARENT in the same game. Not only are the officials being biased against the coach's TEAM, they are being biased against the coach's CHILD!

Typically, it takes an official four to five years for the game to "slow down" and for the official to really get comfortable on the floor -- some are quicker than this, but this has been my experience over the years. I think that the learning curve for coaches is a similar length of time. Therefore, many of the coaches that we see in the grade school programs are still in the infancy of their coaching careers.

It is not until the coaches get into that fifth or sixth season that they have truly learned how to coach the game. At that point, the vast majority of coaches realize that they have SO MUCH TO WATCH from a coaching perspective that they spend less time watching the officials. As the more experienced coaches become more immersed in the game, they are more focused on specific player match-ups. Frequently, when coaches reach this level, their comments and/or questions will have much more validity than for the newbies.

[beachbum]

I think i understand. I guess the best I have heard so far is that officials use their minds and eyes and coaches use there eyes and emotions.

Most all of the time , i never hear the coach or the fans, except when the coach is just whining, and repeats himself. But it does seem that when coaches make comments like " this is the worst officiating I have seen", loud enough for the fans to hear, they make the crowd more excited and rowdy.

[Man In Blue]

Originally Posted by Fritz

After the game he comes up and apologizes and seems real nice. But the OIC shows me the VC survey card after the game and I am rated "1" (poor) across the board (hustle, rules, game control, etc.) while my partner is all 4s and 5s (excellent and outstanding). Also, VC writes down that I called a horrible game.

Now where do I get to put all the extra info down so the league gets the whole picture? I know, just let it go..................but it sure gets me steamed sometimes!

I always saw 6th grade girls are the most difficult to do. Their moms are the worst.

You are thinking too much about what the coaches say and do. The toughest part of this job is trusting your self evaluation.

You have to get to a point where you look at your performance and ask yourself- was I in position to make the right call? Do I hustle to get into position? Do I KNOW the rules? Did I have a bad game and what can I do to get better.

If you don't let a lot of this roll off of your back being an official will not be fun. If it is not fun you need to get out. Same for all of us.