Should Coaches Rate?

[Ed Hickland]

How can a coach generate a useful critique if he is truly coaching?

Could I generate a useful critique of his coaching if I am officiating?

Point being, with all that occurs during a football game seldom does anyone have a chance to critique accurately the other's job. Plus, generally, coaches don't understand mechanics and the nuances of the rules. And, that is not their job. I don't understand a cover 2 (in reality I do) defense and why you would use it; plus, from the referee's position I cannot even see what happens in the defensive backfield. So, can I critique his calls.

It would be helpful to have a coaches view of what a coach sees in an official. Generally, most ratings at the HS level by coaches is a number which tells you absolutely nothing, or, maybe it tells you what the coach thinks of you as a person. But, that has nothing to do with your performance on the field.

My ideal for ratings would be a Q&A sheet with no numbers attached. Questions would be either True/False or a scale from one to five. Weighs would be applied during the scoring. Coaches would have coach specific questions and observers would have official specific questions. In other words a coach would never be able to rate an official on position. While an observer would rate the official on position.

Do I believe a rating system of this type would ever reach the schools. In some states where the officials control, yes. In states where ratings administration lies in the hands of school administrators don't bet on it.