Every school gets a ballot with every crew that applied for the playoffs. They can vote for every crew if they want. They can vote for no crews if they want. They can vote for crews that have never worked their games. They are supposed to vote for the crews that worked their games the past 2 years but since schools contract their own officials, there is no validation of schools and crews.

Once the state finals are over we get a report listing the schools that voted for us and the votes we got (scale of 1 to 5) but those values are not mapped. We also see what our average is compared to other crews so we have an idea of where our ranking fell. Most of the schools on our list are schools where we have worked but there are some I've never seen in my 7 years.

This is such a strange process I don't think I could make it up. We are working to change it and the state is listening. At leat this year they required all officials working the second round and beyond to be certified.

hollow threat
 

We had something not nearly so vile, but along the same lines.

(First of all, if coaches are allowed to ding officials because they don't agree with calls, then that system is FUBAR in the first place.)

We had a private school from several hours away playing one we service. I meet with the coach and give him a list of officials, out of courtesy.

In the first half there's a pass interference call -- I don't remember if it was a call or no-call -- that this coach didn't agree with. He starts screaming "I'm reporting you. I have your name."

All I did was laugh because this was a completely hollow, meaningless threat. He has no authority to call anyone to complain about a judgment call. Even if he knew whom to call, the call wouldn't be well received or given any credence. So all he really did was prove himself to be an a$$.

That adult is a member of the team just as a player on the field is. The coach gets the glory when the team wins just like the players does. All members of the team do things during the game which increase and/or decrease their chances of winning. The team wins and loses together. You're not taking anything away from the players by calling a foul, the coach who acted badly took it away from the players.

Also you do not get to decide which way to handle it is more appropriate, it is already decided for you in the rules.

And they don't have to be on the field for the sideline infractions. They can just be in my way. I handled the way I handled it and if the situation were the same, I would handle it in the same manner. He said nothing to me that deserved a 15 yard penalty in my judgement. I got my point across and didn't hear a word from him the rest of the evening. In my opinion and as far as I know the opinion of my crew and association it was handled properly.

Must be a NFL rules that this coach was refering to. I told him that the limit was 10, I don't think he got it.

You do realize you are making up rules? You do realize you are causing problems for those who follow you and properly administer the penalty? You do realize you are admitting to being the type of official most of us despise?

On the field is not a sideline warning, that is a USC foul.

Being in your way is not a sideline warning. A sideline warning is when there are more than 3 coaches or any players in the 6 feet area between the 25 yard lines.

I don't care if you do it again that way, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just saying that the way you did it was not the correct way.

Some assistant disrespectfully addressed you after you had already told him to stop. That should have been a USC foul or nothing.

I don't know what your definition of handled properly is, but mine would be doing it the correct way as outlined by the rules.

I don't know how long you've been doing this, Blue37, but an official trying to apply some common sense to correct a problem, before it becomes a major issue, by getting someone's attention with the least consequence doesn't cause anyone to dispise him.

What can cause such a problem, a lot more likely, is an official following the exact verbiage of a rule without considering the appropriateness of how it applies to the situation at hand.

Nuclear warheads on mouse traps will absolutely eliminate a lot of mice, but the collateral damage might just be a little extreme.

100% wrong. Sideline warnings are defined as more than 3 coaches or any players in the "box". Yelling at an official is never a sideline warning.

I wonder what you would say when the supervisor sees the game tape and you called a sideline warning when it was obvious that a sideline warning didn't occur.

If some guy is yelling at you either ignore it, tell him to shut-up, or call the USC foul. There are no other options.

Freshmen game Coach asks if he can ask a question I tell him sure so ere goes

" If a player blockes someone from the side but his n helmet is in the back isn't that a block in the back" I said "His block was from the side?" He sai "Yes" "then coach you answered your own question"

LDUB, I would expect a good supervisor would ask me what the situation was regarding that particular play, and what my decision was based on and designed to accomplish. If he's a seasoned supervisor I would hope he would understand and agree with my objective.

If he's not a good, or seasoned, supervisor, it really doesn't matter. Sometimes, being even 100% correct isn't always all it's cracked up to be.

I agree with your handling of this situation initially. The threat is a whole different matter.

The type of official that many people despise is the one that looks for any reason to call as many fouls as possible. The ones that want to "send a message". The ones that are obsessed with side line warnings, uniform compliance and what the assistant coaches might be saying about them.

In dealing with coaches I go by an axiom told to me by a wise old official. "Remember, this is our hobby and it is important to us, we work hard at it, but, coaching is this guys job."

Is "obsessed with sideline warnings" equivalent to "using them when appropriate"?

That's all well and good, but it doesn't give the coach the right to abuse us and, in the case of the sidelines, it won't keep us from being sued when something happens like it did in Texas. That doesn't mean, of course, that we shouldn't be professional in our interaction with them.

Other than calling as many fouls as possible, you seemed to describe a pretty good official.

- Send a message to the team that you aren't going to put up with them by calling that first sideline warning. They didn't believe you when you said to get back so show them that you mean business.

- Obsessed with sideline warning, well that is a POE so I would hope that all officials would work hard at enforcing it.

- What the players wear is a big deal. Pants not covering the knees, not enough pads in their pants, tinted eye shields, casts not padded enough...

- No official should have to put up with some assistant coach.

First off you are sucking up to the coaches. I don't care who they are. He might be some volunteer or a full time coach. On the field they are all the same. Saying that the coach is full time is just an excuse to not take care of business.

And I don't know where you are from, but around here I have never seen a coach who did not have a real job.