the best laid plans..........

[just another ref]

We had the "partner from hell" calling my son's game last night.(8th grade) This young lady is a rookie that I had only seen once before at a scrimmage/officials clinic, but I had a strong feeling that she was going to be THE one. That night, for example, she repeatedly gave the T sign whenever anybody called time out. I really couldn't think of any more examples because that's about the only call she made.
Anyway, all season long my son had complained that on a throw-in the defender would stick his arm over the line with not so much as a warning given all year. I told him next time that happened to be sure they were on his side of the line and to reach up and touch that hand with the ball. I assured him that a lot of officials won't ever give that warning, but would call the T every time. It happened.
This is a small gym, very little space on the sideline. The defender had his foot centered on the line and his hand probably a foot off the court, almost right over my son's nose. He reached up and touched the kid's hand with the ball, once, twice, three times. They kinda had a little shoving match with the ball. She never stopped counting.
Finally he realized he had to do something else quick and bounced the ball off the defender's foot. Unfortunately, it bounced back and touched him and she awarded the other team the ball. You had to see it to believe it.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by just another ref
We had the "partner from hell" calling my son's game last night.(8th grade) This young lady is a rookie that I had only seen once before at a scrimmage/officials clinic, but I had a strong feeling that she was going to be THE one.

You had a rookie official,who was probably doing one of her first games ever.She made one wrong call(you couldn't think of any other examples),and now she is the "partner from hell".

Way to support your fellow officials,Justa! You must really be great to work with-as long as nobody turns their back on ya.Don't confuse your "parenting" with your "officiating".

Btw,there is no warning if a defender reaches through the plane OOB on a throw in and touches the ball.It's an automatic T without a warning.Weren't sure of the rule,were you?Does that now make you a "partner from hell" too?

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Dec 11th, 2002 at 03:42 AM]

[devdog69]

I believe he knew the rule, that is why he said that some officials won't give the warning but will call the T is something is touched. Are we a little defensive JR?

[bard]

Sounds like the young lady probably needs a mentor. Why not try, "I'm a veteran official. Would you be open to some feedback on your game? And, by the way, I know of a great web forum that could really help you out!"

[williebfree]

Justa...

As I read your post, I felt alienated by your "aloofness." I really don't want to believe that you would want to label a prospective partner as a "partner from hell."

What would you have done if she WAS your partner (putting aside the fact that your son was on the court)? Would you have approached her to offer constructive criticism or try to officiate ALL of the game?

(PS: see my post on MS situations)http://www.officialforum.com/thread/6510


[Edited by williebfree on Dec 11th, 2002 at 08:19 AM]

[rockyroad]

JR, bard, and willie have great points...instead of just griping here about how terrible she was - and only giving us two minor examples of that - why not help her out? Seek her out at your next meeting and offer some tips in a supportive way...we need these young officials to stick around for a while...

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by devdog69
Are we a little defensive JR?

Yes,I sureashell am being defensive.The games that I mainly do now are training new officials.I expect them to make mistakes,be unsure of themselves,and need direction.I certainly don't expect fellow officials to sit up in the stands and crap all over them-especially when their kids are involved.Btw,I also assign games-and my memory is real good!

If I'm not defensive of the rookies that we're trying to train,we might be losing them in an awful hurry.Justa needs an attitude adjustment IMO,devdog.

[devdog69]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

Yes,I sureashell am being defensive.The games that I mainly do now are training new officials.I expect them to make mistakes,be unsure of themselves,and need direction.I certainly don't expect fellow officials to sit up in the stands and crap all over them-especially when their kids are involved.Btw,I also assign games-and my memory is real good!

If I'm not defensive of the rookies that we're trying to train,we might be losing them in an awful hurry.Justa needs an attitude adjustment IMO,devdog.

Well, maybe so JR. However, believe it or not, officials do make mistakes and sometimes are bad and sometimes it gets very frustrating. Maybe Justa just needed to vent a little and doing it here does not harm, the mere fact that he is on this board tells me he wants to be a good official and improve. I also help out a lot of young guys, but only the one's that want to improve, there are some that I feel have the wrong attitude and after awhile I'm not going to try and keep them around because they are giving me a bad name. My point was when you start hammering on him saying he didn't know the rule and try to belittle him you are no better than he is.

[just another ref]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee
You had a rookie official,who was probably doing one of her first games ever.She made one wrong call(you couldn't think of any other examples),and now she is the "partner from hell".

__________________________________________________ _________

"Partner from hell" was not my label, but made reference to an earlier thread on one of the boards. I have worked with partners of this caliber before on several occasions. When I do I tell them at every break: "Relax, call what you see. Don't be afraid of making a mistake." At the same time I try to reach out and make some "long distance"
calls to help out on something obvious.
__________________________________________________ _________

Btw,there is no warning if a defender reaches through the plane OOB on a throw in and touches the ball.It's an automatic T without a warning.Weren't sure of the rule,were you?Does that now make you a "partner from hell" too?

__________________________________________________ _________

I am very sure of this rule. I have discussed it before on one of the boards. I think it may be the most significant, most ignored rule in the high school game today. Last week a friend of mine was calling another 8th grade game and gave the warning and neither coach, one of whom is also an official, knew what he was talking about.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by devdog69
[/B]

However, believe it or not, officials do make mistakes and sometimes are bad and sometimes it gets very frustrating. [/B][/QUOTE]The above statement is exactly why I responded to his post,Dev.Don't crap on officials when they do make mistakes-especially brand new officials who are the ones making the mistakes.You have to have a lot of patience to train rookies,and also a very low frustration level.Again,that's just my opinion.

Your point about me referring to Justa's rule knowledge is well taken.That was inappropriate-as inappropriate as his original statements were.

[devdog69]

I do agree with you, JR, about being very sensitive to all officials, especially young officials and not "crapping" on them. I guess I just don't see coming here and doing a little venting in a general sort of way, not directed to anyone specific in hurting anyone.

[AK ref SE]

Maybe she does other sports where the T sign is use for calling a timeout. I remember one year and I was not a rookie! I had been doing volleyball and basketball in the same week. Coach A calls timeout.....I give the T sign and say Timeout A......OOOPPPSSSSS. Stuff happens.....Encourage the new officials!Encourage the old officials! We all need help sometime!

AK ref SE

[williebfree]

Justa...

I did believe that your intial post was a bit out of character for you... and because of that I did NOT "reproach" you too severely.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by just another ref

...Last week a friend of mine was calling another 8th grade game and gave the warning and neither coach, one of whom is also an official, knew what he was talking about.

[/QUOTE

__________________________________________________ ________

I give the warning whenever it occurs, which is about every other MS game. At the MS level, I also EXPLAIN IT to the coaches as well. As a result, I rarely have to issue a T for boundary plane violations (I view it as preventative officiating.)

[just another ref]

Originally posted by williebfree
[B]Justa...

I did believe that your intial post was a bit out of character for you... and because of that I did NOT "reproach" you too severely.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Believe it or not, the main purpose of this thread was not to be critical of a young official. The main idea was how my clever(?) idea to get a call exploded in our faces. But who the official was played a huge part in the situation. Kinda like, any other time his hit would have been out of the park, but the wind that day was blowing in 45 mph. Also, one thing I do not do is "sit up in the stands and crap on anyone." I am only human, I will make a call or two out loud ,like everyone else, but I never, ever, direct anything personal at another official. On the contrary, as I have said before, one of the few times the crowd says you are a good official is when you are not calling. So when people turn to me to comment on what they perceive as a big mistake, my standard answer is: "This job is not as easy as y'all think it is."
I suppose every official is criticized for something. The knock on me is that I call too much. "C'mon, you _______, let 'em play!" So naturally, it is hard for me to watch a rough game with no whistles, and make no mistake about it,
this game was a wrestling match. The home coach at one point stepped several feet out into the court and screamed,
"Y'all ought to be ashamed to take a paycheck!!" If my tone was too harsh, I apologize, I feel much better now.
(son's team did win the game, the ultimate cure-all)

[just another ref]

Originally posted by williebfree
__________________________________________________ ________

I give the warning whenever it occurs, which is about every other MS game. At the MS level, I also EXPLAIN IT to the coaches as well. As a result, I rarely have to issue a T for boundary plane violations (I view it as preventative officiating.) [/B]

What is it about that line that is so difficult for young kids to grasp? In our 9-10 year old league, the plane violation has proven to be unenforceable. Rather than trying to keep explaining about a vertical plane, we just tell the defender to back up. Also, in spite of harping on the rule, the offensive player will step in bounds on the pass, over and over again. We modified the rule to say no violation unless they cross the line with both feet.