Ego

[fiasco]

I've heard it said that every "good" official has to have a healthy ego in order to be good.

Do you think it's true?

If so, what kind of ego do you think you have that makes you good? What kind of ego can be bad? Does your ego ever get in the way? Do you ever notice other officials' egos getting in the way but they don't know it?

[wildcatter]

It's certainly important for a table scorer.

[Raymond]

I think every good official should exude confidence.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

It's certainly important for a table scorer.

Really? He hasn't even participated in this thread.

Frankly, I think the number of gratuitious shots being taken at chseagle is getting way out of line.

[Adam]

I agree.

[jdw3018]

Ego is important. Everyone has one, it's just a matter of how strong it is and how it manifests itself.

I do believe you have to have a "healthy" ego to officiate. You have to be confident in what you do to an extent that you aren't easily influenced by the outside distractions in a ballgame. You must carry yourself with confidence. You must believe you know the rules (it's always helpful if you actually do). When you make a ruling you must believe 100% it's correct.

The difference, IMO, between a healthy ego and an "overly healthy" ego, is how you handle the times you aren't correct. An official at the right level of ego knows he's not going to get every judgement call correct. He'll be strong enough to admit to a coach now and then that he may have missed one. He won't be afraid to correct an error if he can, but he also won't create more bad calls to "make up" for an error which can't be corrected.

He'll also be more than willing to accept feedback and input on his game. He'll officiate with a 100% correct attitude, then afterwards look at everything that happened and figure out where he wasn't 100% correct and what he can do to get better.

The difference between healthy ego and arrogance isn't that great in how a game is called, it's in how an official communicates and what happens off the court that really makes a difference.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Frankly, I think the number of gratuitious shots being taken at chseagle is getting way out of line.

It is kinda like kicking a puppy, isn't it?

[fullor30]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Really? He hasn't even participated in this thread.

Frankly, I think the number of gratuitious shots being taken at chseagle is getting way out of line.

I think Chseagle has passed initiation, and coming from one of the sarcastic wiseguys, he's handled the ribbing much better than I would have.

[Mark Padgett]

I think you need an ego about this big. Of course, mine's even bigger - my ego, that is.

[JRutledge]

You better have a good ego. How in the heck are you going to be able to handle people yelling and screaming and calling you everything short of a child of God? You better have something in place to handle that on a regular basis. This is why not everyone can do this.

Peace

[mbyron]

I don't think ego vs. confidence is the question, as if we could control these independently of anything else.

A better focus for officials is to establish habits of reading (rules and cases), practicing (mechanics, self-evaluation), and communication (during games, with fellow association members). These habits are more directly within one's control.

When one is improving in all of these dimensions, a certain confidence will come naturally. When one is still striving to learn, this confidence is unlikely to shade over into arrogance.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

Frankly, I think the number of gratuitous shots being taken at chseagle is getting way out of line.

Agree. However, the kid has pretty thick skin. He seems to be handling it well, especially for a Forum newbie, especially for a "not really an official" Forum newbie. He's riding with the punches, taking our best shots, and keeps getting up for more. I can't believe that we haven't scared him away yet. Old School got scared and ran off, crying, to his mommy, a lot sooner.

[Back In The Saddle]

If you don't know you're a damned good ref, you're not going to go very far or last very long.

[Adam]

I think the air of confidence that's required to be proficient at officiating can sometimes be mistaken for inflated ego.

[bas2456]

As you're improving, your ego can't be so big that you don't want to listen to criticism.

On the court, you must, however, exude confidence as others have said.