Officiating other sports

[biz]

I used to umpire baseball, but ridiculously long games where pitchers can't find the strike zone become incredibly boring very quickly. I would much rather ref a blow-out basketball game than work the plate for a blowout baseball game that has more walks and wild pitches than hits.

I just got my grade 8 (USSF soccer) license so I'll let you know how that goes. As someone who has played and coached soccer for a long time I have a feeling that it will be easier than basketball, but I will soon find out.

[ref2coach]

Originally Posted by biz

I just got my grade 8 (USSF soccer) license so I'll let you know how that goes. As someone who has played and coached soccer for a long time I have a feeling that it will be easier than basketball, but I will soon find out.

Welcome to the World's largest sport as measured by both participants and spectators. One thing to be aware of, being in adequate physical condition to referee basketball will not be adequate to referee the same level of soccer.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by ref2coach

Welcome to the World's largest sport as measured by both participants and spectators. One thing to be aware of, being in adequate physical condition to referee basketball will not be adequate to referee the same level of soccer.

Plus - you have to learn to speak metric!

[doubleringer]

I do both football and baseball in addition to basketball. I find that football is just plain easy. Once you learn your responsibilities, you have a very small area to worry about, and if you do manage to miss something, there are 4 other guys out there to help you out.

Baseball I find challenging in that there are plays and rotations that you will see less than once a year. I find that baseball is difficult for me in that I'm very much a repetition learner and there are too many variables that don't happen often. I also find that the game management aspect of baseball is different than basketball. It is more of a chess match and moves a lot slower. I personally don't have nearly the same game awareness in baseball because what matters in the game is sometimes very slow to develop.

I've worked full varsity schedules and playoffs in all three for a few years. Baseball is getting cut back for me this summer and I'm getting out totally soon after that. I need my summers to expand my basketball camp attendance and stay in shape. A little more time on the golf course will be nice too.

[DLH17]

Originally Posted by doubleringer

i do both football and baseball in addition to basketball. i find that football is just plain easy. once you learn your responsibilities, you have a very small area to worry about, and if you do manage to miss something, there are 4 other guys out there to help you out.

+1

[Berkut]

Originally Posted by doubleringer

I do both football and baseball in addition to basketball. I find that football is just plain easy. Once you learn your responsibilities, you have a very small area to worry about, and if you do manage to miss something, there are 4 other guys out there to help you out.

Hmmm, if the other 4 guys are doing their job though, they should not be able to help you much of the time.

Football is easier than basketball, although the rules are a hell of a lot more complicated. It is more officiating by exception though - most plays are very routine.

[Amesman]

Originally Posted by Berkut

Football ... the rules are a hell of a lot more complicated. .

Did not realize this (not disputing it, just didn't realize).

I always figured that, sure, while you have to be on your feet and move, it's probably not as much wear and tear as basketball officiating but wasn't sure on the decision-making.

[Berkut]

Originally Posted by Amesman

Did not realize this (not disputing it, just didn't realize).

I always figured that, sure, while you have to be on your feet and move, it's probably not as much wear and tear as basketball officiating but wasn't sure on the decision-making.

Oh, no question that basketball takes a lot more energy and fitness.

Basketball also has many, many, MANY more "tough" calls game in and game out. Football has relatively few.

But the rules can be a bit of a bear, especially if you are the R and hence expected to know them and know all the penalties and enforcements. Heck, just getting the scrimmage kick rules down solid is a challenge that most high school officials never achieve, IMO.

[Mark Padgett]

I think officiating rugby would be cool.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Amesman

Did not realize this (not disputing it, just didn't realize).

I always figured that, sure, while you have to be on your feet and move, it's probably not as much wear and tear as basketball officiating but wasn't sure on the decision-making.

Football rules are the hardest because every rule and application has a specific course of action based on many factors. People think officials in football get together to pick up flags, when actually we are trying to make sure we share all the facts to get a play right. For example if we have a penalty, thinks like did the ball go out of bounds, incomplete pass, first down, live ball, dead ball, score made can all change the enforcement. If you do not recognize the right situation, you will screw up the rule completely. And even though those rules are hard, you can lean on each other to get things right and you have to lean on each other as your penalty might not have anything to do with other actions on the field. A lot of football officials also try to lean on the Referee to make most of these decisions as well. Which is a recipe for trouble, but you can get away with this a lot of the time. The problem is everyone on a football crew needs to know the rules because they might be the one that saves the crew from disaster. This is partially why I feel basketball is harder, because I cannot lean on other officials to get plays right that I call.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

A lot of football officials also try to lean on the Referee to make most of these decisions as well.

This I'll never understand. Of course, as the referee on my crew, I don't have the luxury of letting someone else know the rules and enforcement.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by ref2coach

One thing to be aware of, being in adequate physical condition to referee basketball will not be adequate to referee the same level of soccer.

And that's more a function of stoopidly trying to play a game on a very large surface with basically one on-field official making all important decisions. That's why soccer is one of the most poorly-officiated sports in the world imo, and also is why it is particularly prone to match-fixing.

T'aint really nuthin' to brag about iow. You can't replace proper field coverage with fitness if it doesn't matter how fit the official is if it's impossible for that official to get into position to see certain things anyway. It's analogous to trying to officiate all NBA basketball games with one official.

And imo there isn't anything dumber than getting rid of an official for international games because of an arbitrary age limit even though that official has now become experienced and battle-hardened.

Note that I'm not knocking soccer; I'm knocking the people that won't let soccer evolve. The major sports here--beisbol, football, basketball and hockey-- have all added to the size of their officiating crews over the years while trying to evolve with the game. Think of going back to do an NFL game with only 3 or 4 officials...shudder.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

T'aint really nuthin' to brag about iow. You can't replace proper field coverage with fitness if it doesn't matter how fit the official is if it's impossible for that official to get into position to see certain things anyway. It's analogous to trying to officiate all NBA basketball games with one official.

I hear HS basketball officials all the time say things like "those old NCAA officials, they should pack it in -- they couldn't even work 2-man if they wanted to" -- well, who cares? Someone very smart decided that it's more important to have 3 officials with experienced eyes on the court than it is to have three gazelles running up and down. And the handful of times each season someone gets injured and they *do* work two shows that those guys can get by that way, in a pinch.

I've had this conversation with British friends who don't understand why I'm not willing to criticize the center referees in soccer and my response is always "if they think one guy on a field that big can be expected to have distance and angle on every crucial call, they're nuts -- soccer teams and fans get what they deserve."