Good luck or not?

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

And for shaking kids hands, why not shake their hand? They are showing sportsmanship like we claim they are supposed to do. We are not adversaries; we are playing a role in a game. What is the big deal? And when kids have seen you over and over and over again, I am not going to treat them like I do not know them. In my case I might see the same kid in a college game and they will remember me. I care about these kids as people, not just some player that I will never see again. I take my job as an official very seriously, but I am a human first and foremost before everything.

Peace

Agree completely. I think it is a sign of respect for a player to offer a hand shake or fist bump. I'm not going to pull the ol' Smitty Little League ump move and get in line behind the players to shakes hands but I'm not going to run away from it either.

[chartrusepengui]

Originally Posted by Welpe

Agree completely. I think it is a sign of respect for a player to offer a hand shake or fist bump. I'm not going to pull the ol' Smitty Little League ump move and get in line behind the players to shakes hands but I'm not going to run away from it either.

Agreed! I think that if you will not shake/bump the hand offered you appear to be aloof, disrespectful and unapproachable. If a hand is not offered by one team - fine - no problem but I am always going to shake/bump when it is offered. It is a sign of the kind of young men and women we would like them to become IMHO. I believe it shows a sign of their maturity as well.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by chartrusepengui

Agreed! I think that if you will not shake/bump the hand offered you appear to be aloof, disrespectful and unapproachable. If a hand is not offered by one team - fine - no problem but I am always going to shake/bump when it is offered. It is a sign of the kind of young men and women we would like them to become IMHO. I believe it shows a sign of their maturity as well.

Quite frankly, I only see it here when I work junior college games. The WIAA has a strict protocol for pregame introductions and teams are instructed not to seek out the other players or coaches or the officials for handshakes/fist bumps/etc. They are introduced and come onto the court right in front of their benches.

[chartrusepengui]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Quite frankly, I only see it here when I work junior college games. The WIAA has a strict protocol for pregame introductions and teams are instructed not to seek out the other players or coaches or the officials for handshakes/fist bumps/etc. They are introduced and come onto the court right in front of their benches.

I don't get it much with WI schools either. Mostly with my JUCO schedule and when I am in MI. When the WI schools play a MI school is when I usually get the MI captains shaking hands and the WI captains that won't

[RookieDude]

I don't need or want the fist bump/hand shake during player introductions...I'll interact with the players DURING THE GAME.

Some players...and I do mean SOME...take this oportunity to smash their fist against yours. I turn my fist, so that they hit the "meaty" part of my hand instead of the knuckles...but, it still pi$$es me off when they try the hard fist bump. (call me sensitive, but I wish we would ELIMINATE this pre-game formality...such as some of the college ranks have done)

[Redneck Ref]

"AMEN" Rookie Dude. We should not be part of the pre-game "show" that takes way too long. They run all over the gym shaking hands with coaches, players and some, the student section. The fans are not here to see us.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Redneck Ref

"AMEN" Rookie Dude. We should not be part of the pre-game "show" that takes way too long. They run all over the gym shaking hands with coaches, players and some, the student section. The fans are not here to see us.

Who *cares* about the fans?

Sigh, another ref who wishes we could wear an invisibility cloak. We're not the center of attention, but we *are* part of the game. Why are so many people ashamed of that?

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by RookieDude

I don't need or want the fist bump/hand shake during player introductions...I'll interact with the players DURING THE GAME.

I disagree strongly.

Dissuading sportsmanship is not the way to go. If the players want to take a few extra seconds and shake/bump our hands, enjoy the respect. I'll even notify the coach of a "best handshake award" (firm, eye contact).

When the teams stress respect for us, it can only make thing better. To even suggest that you don't want handshakes only makes us more distant and unapproachable.

[tref]

Originally Posted by bainsey

I disagree strongly.

Dissuading sportsmanship is not the way to go. If the players want to take a few extra seconds and shake/bump our hands, enjoy the respect. I'll even notify the coach of a "best handshake award" (firm, eye contact).

When the teams stress respect for us, it can only make thing better. To even suggest that you don't want handshakes only makes us more distant and unapproachable.

I agree! In addition to our attire upon arriving at the school & taking the floor in a professional manner, the fist bump only helps set the the tone prior to the toss.

[RookieDude]

Originally Posted by bainsey

Dissuading sportsmanship is not the way to go..

Who said anything about "dissuading sportsmanship"?

Originally Posted by bainsey

enjoy the respect.

Respect? The coach probably MAKES them do the hand bump/shake...so they don't SEEM disrespectful, since almost every team does it now.

Originally Posted by bainsey

To even suggest that you don't want handshakes only makes us more distant and unapproachable.

Brother... Then there must be a lot of "distant and unapproachable" conferences, associations, and officials who would prefer this formality go away. Like I said...I'll interact with the players DURING THE GAME.

Hey, if you think you need a fist bump with the kids to show your "sportsmanship"...fine...but, to question ones lack of respect or approachability because they would prefer not to, is silly...IMHO.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by bainsey

That's the crux of our disagreement.

The fact My opinion is, like it or not, much of what we do has a ripple effect, intended or not. If we come off as unsportsmanlike, it just plain doesn't look good.

Fixed it for you.

Originally Posted by bainsey

JRut nails it. People will draw conclusions, sometimes just to suit them. However, nearly everyone will infer that something is wrong if an official has an aversion to handshakes. That's not hyperbole, nor hysteria (talk about overstatements). That's reality, and it's far from meaningless.

My overstatement was inentional (thus making it hyperbole); but I admit it was an overstatement. You're drawing way too much.

I don't think even Rookie Dude would walk away from a player trying to shake hands or fist bump. Here's your post to which I took exception:

Originally Posted by bainsey

I disagree strongly.

Fair enough. That's what we do around here.

Originally Posted by bainsey

Dissuading sportsmanship is not the way to go.

Generic and unobjectionable opinion.

Originally Posted by bainsey

If the players want to take a few extra seconds and shake/bump our hands, enjoy the respect. I'll even notify the coach of a "best handshake award" (firm, eye contact).

I really hope you're kidding here, so I'll refrain from saying it's stupid. If you're not, and you get laughs with it, well, there's not much more for me to say.

Originally Posted by bainsey

When the teams stress respect for us, it can only make thing better.

Here I disagree. Telling their kids to shake our hands only reinforces a pleasantry; that's it. The best way a coach can stress respect for the officials is to display it during the game; not insist on a meaningless formality before the game.

Originally Posted by bainsey

To even suggest that you don't want handshakes only makes us more distant and unapproachable.

This is hyperbole (it's what I was referring to before); unless you really think RD is going to damage player/official relations by his anonymous statements on an officiating board. In that case, I can't help you.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by RichMSN

Quite frankly, I only see it here when I work junior college games. The WIAA has a strict protocol for pregame introductions and teams are instructed not to seek out the other players or coaches or the officials for handshakes/fist bumps/etc. They are introduced and come onto the court right in front of their benches.

I have seen this at the varsity and college levels, where teams are from other states as well. Again I do not go out of my way to shake their hand. I stand near the scorer's table and if they come by we usually fist bump as that is what the kids do anyway. It is also not uncommon that there are players that do not come by at all. Usually the players come by to shake the coach's hands and we are on their route to or from and that is when they do it. And this has been the case more and more for the last 3 years or so (probably more but mostly noticeable then). It would be more noticeable if I refused to shake/fist bump a kid now than it would have been 10 years ago. It would not even make much difference to me if they choose not to come by and do that. I just do not see the big deal when they do.

Peace