Game tonight sucked

[seohio]

This is the first year of officiating for my son and I. Tonight we had a game and we really sucked....the game got out of control on us and the coachs were irrate. Officiating is something I thought I always wanted to try and tonight made game 4 for me....It was a JV game and I even had a coach call a time out to give me hell and tell me I was horrible....I didnt call a technical because honestly I did let the game get out of control. But looking back on the game they were 2 rough playing teams that had little form but instead ran as hard as they could and would have made better football players and it went that way on both ends of the floor. I learn alot from every game and this game has left me with alot of studying to do.....Has anyone else had a game like this in their career?

[rsl]

I hope your assigner didn't know what he was doing to you by sending you into this game in game 4. You should have a senior partner for your first tough game.

That said, everyone has had a bad game... some worse than others. Don't take it personal. Just live and learn. Remember Gigdgo- "Get in get done get out".

[seohio]

We dont have assigners in this league

[seohio]

I am taking the advice from some on this board and have written down what bothered me most tonight....what mistakes I made and am going to study on them and not make those mistakes next game....life goes on.

[grunewar]

Seohio - it's part of the process. I've had a very up and down season so far, with several games I wish I could do over....and then, other games like tonight which were just great. Tonight, I had two great P's and a good game.

Hopefully, the more games you do, the more good games you'll have and the bad ones will be fewer and further between. Learn and move on!

Good luck.

[Stat-Man]

Originally Posted by seohio

I am taking the advice from some on this board and have written down what bothered me most tonight....what mistakes I made and am going to study on them and not make those mistakes next game....life goes on.

Also, try to think of at least one positive thing you got out of the game... surely, there is one.

In the journal I'm keeping, I try to record things I thought I did well in addition to the things I feel I should work on or be mindful of for the next game.

I'm sure at some point I'll have the game from h-e-double toothpicks and wonder what I got myself into. But just remember the next game is always a chance to start fresh.

[Multiple Sports]

Just a thought.......

Not sure you should be doing games with your son.....

I assign another sport and have two sets of father / sons....

Kept them apart their first two years, to your son you aren't his partner, you
are his father. Trust me, that is not fair to him. Likewise you are out there
trying to protect your son not your partner....Just one man's opinion.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by seohio

We dont have assigners in this league

Okay, help us out. How did the two of you end up on this game if there's no assignors? Are there veteran officials you can work with? How do you get games?

Realizing that both of you are inexperienced, you really need to work separately, each with a veteran official. Two rookies working a game together is pretty much asking for trouble. It's not fair to the players, coaches or to you.

[JRutledge]

We all have rough games even years later. I would not worry about it. You will have more that will make you roll your eyes for what just took place. Like others that have stated, it is sometimes better to have a crew member that has some experience to get you in the right mind set or get the train from going off the tracks. Two young guys (officials of course) makes a game very difficult if you do not have the experience to know what to do to get yourself out of a bad situation. Or the experience to know what you are going through sometimes just happens. None of us are perfect and I am sure it was not as bad as you thought. I think you are your son probably need to be evaluated more and work with others from time to time. It would help you get the right perspective.

Peace

[Adam]

You've had some good feedback so far, I want to add that no matter how you feel about your game, you can't let the coach get away with that behavior. That's often a bigger part of keeping control than calling fouls.

The biggest thing, don't be afraid to over blow the whistle. Most officials go through a progression that starts with being afraid to blow the whistle. You think you're too late, but you're not. Don't be afraid of a late whistle.

[JetMetFan]

Same. However you were assigned the game it'll help both you and your son more if you work with a veteran. It doesn't guarantee a smooth night but at least you have someone with you who should know how to either get out of trouble or stop it before it starts.

As was said earlier, don't worry about putting air in the whistle especially if the teams are playing rough. Either they figure it out or you're there for 2½ hours and everyone fouls out. One of my mentors once said, "They're going to get mad if you blow the whistle and they're going to get mad if you don't, so you might as well blow the whistle."

Regarding the coach: you may feel as though you didn't do a good job but that doesn't give him the right to call a TO and rip you about it. His job is to coach his team. If he wants to rip into you let him do it on some coaches' internet forum

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by seohio

This is the first year of officiating for my son and I. Tonight we had a game and we really sucked....the game got out of control on us and the coachs were irrate. Officiating is something I thought I always wanted to try and tonight made game 4 for me....It was a JV game and I even had a coach call a time out to give me hell and tell me I was horrible....I didnt call a technical because honestly I did let the game get out of control. But looking back on the game they were 2 rough playing teams that had little form but instead ran as hard as they could and would have made better football players and it went that way on both ends of the floor. I learn alot from every game and this game has left me with alot of studying to do.....Has anyone else had a game like this in their career?

I've had more than 1 of those in my career. Yes, I was inexperienced.

I'm sure you learned a lot. Reflect on it and talk about the game with your son. You'll both be better after that one! Also go and watch a premier match-up with some veteran officials working the game. And ask to hear their pre and post game.

[Loudwhistle2]

Everyone of us is my guess! Even after 10+ years in the business I still encounter rough, erratic play that is challenging to officiate and keep reasonable control of. The first thing I would do is T the coach when they get out of line, this will reduce your stress considerably. If rough play is allowed, it usually escalates into a football game. Its too bad that both (I'm assuming it was two man) officials were inexperienced. Coaches are quick to notice inexperience and will take a mile of rope if you let them. If there is any way you can work with a veteran hopefully doing a game with them, I would strongly encourage you to. If you can go and watch well polished officials doing varsity games and then join the half time talk and end of game conversations this is very beneficial as well. If you know someone that is a tournament official I would closely watch them work games and copy most of what you see. Hang in there, things get better the more games you do.

[seohio]

I appriciate your comments and I can guarantee that we will never lose control like that again.. We won't let this game beat us..My son and I have talked about this game and we have talked about improvements we are going to make immediatly. And yes I wish we could do this game again.

[RookieDude]

Originally Posted by seohio

I appriciate your comments and I can guarantee that we will never lose control like that again.. We won't let this game beat us..My son and I have talked about this game and we have talked about improvements we are going to make immediatly. And yes I wish we could do this game again.

First...Welcome to this fraternity of officials! You will be rewarded with good feelings of accomplishments as the years go by.

Curious...how many Varsity games have you watched this year?