postseason, votes, and technicals

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by Larks

Ohio

There are six components to the OHSAA officials tournament selection process: average coach ratings; a favorite 15 officials list from athletic directors; a favorite 15 list from assigners; a favorite 15/30 list from local associations (those with 125 members or less provide us with 15 names); a favorite 15 officials list from each district athletic board member and a favorite 15 list from the OHSAA. The coaches ratings average is used as a multiplier with the number of times an official was placed on a favorite 15 list. This is the official’s raw score and is used to rank officials in each district from highest to lowest.

The rankings determine the level of tournament at which an official is eligible. There is a pool of officials eligible for the state tournament and all levels below. There is a pool of officials eligible for the regional tournaments and below. And there is a pool of officials eligible for the sectional/district tournaments and below. Lastly, there are a number of officials listed as alternates for sectional tournaments. The pool of officials is approximately three times larger than the number of officials needed to work at any given level of tournaments.

All sectional and district tournament assignments are made under the supervision/direction of the district athletic boards. The regional and state tournament assignments are made under the supervision/direction of the OHSAA Commissioner’s Office. Actual assignments are made after considering additional factors such as diversity (geographic location, race, gender, and years of experience), type of regular season schedule, availability and, in some sports, position officiated. State rules interpreters and others who are knowledgeable about officials are consulted and assist in the assigning process.

Well stated, Larks. This system has been modified several times over the past 10 years or so. Until the latter part of the soccer season, we were able to see our "officiating ongoing rating (1.00 to a top score of 5.00) that we have been receiving from the coaches. This was very helpful to get the feedback throughout the year.

Unfortunately, some officials apparently took the liberty of complaining DIRECTLY to ADs about perceived poor ratings by the AD's coach using the timeframes their ratings dropped in relation to when perceived "problem games" were played. Thus, we no longer get to see our current ratings.

There is no doubt that officials are very aware of the coaches' ratings. Interestingly, since the numbers are not being posted now, there is less discussion about ratings after a game. But, I am sure that some officials alter calls (Ts on coaches especially, but some other calls late in a game as well) due to the negative ratings that may result. Of course, this is always a slippery slop. You don't "T" ONE coach and the OTHER coach may lower HIS RATINGS.

While our current system is less "political" than in the past, many still feel as though the current system is very much slanted toward the "good ole boys" in the system. This is due to two major factors. In many cases, human beings (ADs, coaches, officials, salesmen, etc.) have a hard time remembering names. Therefore, the ADs and officials' associations tend to go more by name recognition when completing their 15s list. Human beings also tend to resist change. Therefore, they tend to be more comfortable rating a familiar face (eventually, they do remember officials names -- sometimes not until the officials 5th or 6th game at that school) higher than an unfamiliar person.

There is no perfect solution, most officials think that PEER RATINGS should be more important than the other ratings. Further, if fellow officials rated ALL officials with which they are familiar (not just voting for 15 or 30 of their friends as some now do), a stronger pool of officials would result.

[Larks]

Originally Posted by CMHCoachNRef

Well stated, Larks.

Well, I'm pretty good at copy / paste - If you look in the myohsaa system, I pretty much scraped what was on the "Ratings Information" page.

[Rich]

In Wisconsin coaches can rate you from 1 (should not be assigned contests) to 6 (should work state finals). Then the commissioners and schools hire whomever they want and the state assigns whomever they want and seemingly ignore the rankings entirely.