Controlling Players

[Ed Hickland]

Recently an official mentioned to me that he yells at players and grabs them to keep them in line.

My response was that was not necessary or warranted no matter how bad the offense.

His reponse was he has seen other officials do it including college officials like in the Big Ten.

I am interested in hearing other officials reaction to this because personally it is a poor technique for player control.

[Sleeper]

We just talked about this last night in our new officials meeting. We were told to NEVER touch a player, ever. Not to break up a fight, not to get their attention, nothing. The instructors were very clear on this point, at least for the high school level. The possibility for the lawsuit is real and I don't care to go through that. It just doesn't sound like a good idea and it seems like there are better ways to manage a game.

[devdog69]

I totally agree with the no touch thing, but I have caught myself twice this year in football. I don't know why, I never touch a player in basketball. Once a player was up in my grill arguing a touchdown he thought should have been down at the one, called by my backjudge (he was right), I told him it was ruled a touchdown and would not be changed that backjudge ruled the ball crossed before the knee was down and he kept on arguing, I just kind of pushed him back towards his huddle. Another instance where a player committed an unsportsmanlike act, I gave him a very small shove backwards to get him back. I guess because there is so much contact in football, I have to work to keep myself from being part of it, in both cases, I could see myself as a coach going off on a "don't you dare touch my kids or else, rant".

[Mike Simonds]

The more years I officiate, the more interested I become in studying the psychological aspects of the sport. More specifically, we as officials must always make the effort to master ourselves if we are to expect players and coaches to respect us.

I have been guilty of touching a player now and then. Once I reached out to separate a player who had just shoved an opponent. Unfortunately, he shoved me back and I had to eject him. He ended up costing his team 30 yards in penalties and he had to sit out the next game.

What made me upset at myself was that I could have, should have, would have handled it much differently. Chalk it up to experience, but I learned a valuable lesson. In the heat of the moment, I should have positioned myself between the players but not touch them.

Now I try to hustle and get in between the players as soon as possible when the down ends, using my voice to hand out praise and warnings as each unique situation presents itself. All the while I work on maintaining a calm exterior. Usually all it takes is a firm reminder to keep the peace.

I know its a challenge, but I have learned that coaches and players will respect my judgement more when I present myself in a confident and objective manner. We can still be passionate about the game, but controlling our own emotions will allow us to officiate the game in an objective manner.

On the subject of player equipment, I am learning to control my urge to help players fasten chinstraps, etc. Its better to call an official's timeout and let the players, coaches and equipment managers handle this. Also, I have learned never to touch an injured player. That is for the team trainers and doctors to do. I know it goes against our nature to help others, but in this age of increased legal exposure, its better to let the trained professionals handle equipment and injuries.

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by Ed Hickland
His reponse was he has seen other officials do it including college officials like in the Big Ten.

Perhaps he was speaking of the 4 who were just fired by the Big 10.

We also have been told to never touch a player for any reason.

[Mike Simonds]

I read in the paper about the 4 Big 10 officials who were terminated. Can anybody tell me if this was a split crew (ACC and Big 10)? Also, what did the officials do to merit this treatment?

[Kelvin green]

I am not suggesting that we push players, but arent we taking this touching thing too far?

If you have a pack of players in on a pile in a fumble how many of us arent in the middle and we are tapping on shoulder pads yelling youre out! we're done!

I think there is a difference between something acceptable and something offensive.

[Ed Hickland]

Touching is one thing, grabbing, shoving and or act that displays a forceful attitude I would consider inappropriate.

Raising your voice can be interpreted in many ways. A command voice to get attention, when appropriate, is fine but a screaming, yelling plethora of words an official should not utter.

As officials we demand respect and with that respect comes an expectation that we are in control. Once we contact a player showing our disgust or yell and scream at a player for the same reason then we no longer can truly demand that respect.

If you push a player and yell at a player then how can you reasonably penalize him when he contacts you?

[BktBallRef]

Originally posted by Mike Simonds
I read in the paper about the 4 Big 10 officials who were terminated. Can anybody tell me if this was a split crew (ACC and Big 10)? Also, what did the officials do to merit this treatment?

Yes, it was a split crew, Mike. 4 Big 10 and 4 ACC officials, (1 alternate) worked the game. There was supposedly as many as 18 obvious calls that were missed.