In the Crease

[Sal Giaco]

In my son's hockey game (House league Mites - 7&8 yr olds), the referee waved off a goal because another player had fallen (kids at this age fall alot) in the crease. The player who fell did not have any effect on the play and was on the other side of the crease that the goal was scored.

I know that in the NHL, the goal would be disallowed however, at this age group, do you think the referee was being a little too technical? At this age group, could he had looked the other way considering the skill level of the players?

Personally, I thought that this was an example of a new cop just out of the academy who writes 100 traffic tickets on his first week on the job just to show "who's in charge out there".

Any responses to this would be appreciated

[jicecone]

Originally posted by Sal Giaco
In my son's hockey game (House league Mites - 7&8 yr olds), the referee waved off a goal because another player had fallen (kids at this age fall alot) in the crease. The player who fell did not have any effect on the play and was on the other side of the crease that the goal was scored.

I know that in the NHL, the goal would be disallowed however, at this age group, do you think the referee was being a little too technical? At this age group, could he had looked the other way considering the skill level of the players?

Personally, I thought that this was an example of a new cop just out of the academy who writes 100 traffic tickets on his first week on the job just to show "who's in charge out there".

Any responses to this would be appreciated

Who is being too technical here Sal, you or the official. Had he not called a penalty that you thought should have been called, you probably would have been all over the kid also. If you don't want officails that do there job , don't hire them.

Your probably right he was like the new cop out of the academy however, did you really think they were gaoing to send you one of the NHL officials not working now. NOT

Suck it up OOOORRR go get certified and then you can handle it your way.

Little Johnnie, or your son, probably forgot all about at McDonalds afterwards anyway. How come you can't?

[Sal Giaco]

Listen "snapper head" - For your information, I umpire college baseball and I know better than to get on officials. In fact, nobody really said a word about the call and even if they did, I would never pile on an official. Moreover, my 7 yr old son complained about the call after the game and I shut him up real quick and told him to show some respect for the officials - afterall, he did make the CORRECT call.

Now, getting back to what we were discussing. Let me rephrase the question, how often is "in the crease" called at the mite (7 & 8 yr old) level. For example, when I used to umpire little league, we would call a much larger strike zone because the kids weren't very accurate with the pitching. Now that may not be an apples to apples comparison but I would imagine that there are some things officials are more leanient on at the younger levels (or maybe not - I'm not familiar with hockey officiating)

Please understand, I am not being critical and if I came off that way, I apologize. I'm just trying to get a feel for how "tight" the game is called at this level compared to what we see on T.V. I know the games are totally different but perhaps they're officiated the same way. Given the situation I explained, would you have made that same call? Explain why or why not - Thanks again for your time!

[RefWEB]

Snipping jicecone's response...

[B]

Originally posted by Sal Giaco
[B]In my son's hockey game (House league Mites - 7&8 yr olds), the referee waved off a goal because another player had fallen (kids at this age fall alot) in the crease. The player who fell did not have any effect on the play and was on the other side of the crease that the goal was scored.

I know that in the NHL, the goal would be disallowed however, at this age group, do you think the referee was being a little too technical? At this age group, could he had looked the other way considering the skill level of the players?

Actually, that goal would have a better chance of being called a goal in the NHL than in amature hockey.

As for being too technical, I'll give you the perspective I have as an official, supervisor, trainer and former Referee-in-Chief:

a) I'm happy when a new kid actually remembers a rule and has the guts to apply it. Denying a goal shows that official has some guts.

b) If rules are overlooked at a younger age, then when the guy tries to call it in Bantam, what reaction are the players going to have? USe the young levels to learn the PROPER rules.

c) I dont' teach game menagement to an official until they hit the Bantam/Midget level. At Mite/Atom, the officials are too darn inexperienced to think about judgement, whethger it had an affect on the game, etc. Its too advanced a topic.

At the younger levels with younger referees, the mantra is "See it, call it!"

Personally, I thought that this was an example of a new cop just out of the academy who writes 100 traffic tickets on his first week on the job just to show "who's in charge out there".

Well, you got the "Right out of the academy" part right, because the official probably just was! Calling a penalty or applying a rule is the scariest thing to do as an official. I'm satisfied when an official just puts his arm in the air.

I say bravo to the kid who had the guts to wave off a goal. Now, Little Johnny knows he's got to stay out of the crease or he's going to hurt his team. And that's going to help his team in the long run.

[Sal Giaco]

RefWeb,
Thanks for the insight - It makes good sense to me. As I said earlier, it wasn't a bad call but it did surprise me a bit because kids at that age are falling all over the place at any given time for any given reason.

I also think it's great that the young official had the instincts to see the entire play (both the goal and the violation) and then make the tough call. I am proud to be a official and regardless of the sport, I like to see other officials do well. Thanks again for the explanation!

[jicecone]

Originally posted by Sal Giaco
Listen "snapper head" - For your information, I umpire college baseball and I know better than to get on officials. In fact, nobody really said a word about the call and even if they did, I would never pile on an official. Moreover, my 7 yr old son complained about the call after the game and I shut him up real quick and told him to show some respect for the officials - afterall, he did make the CORRECT call.

Now, getting back to what we were discussing. Let me rephrase the question, how often is "in the crease" called at the mite (7 & 8 yr old) level. For example, when I used to umpire little league, we would call a much larger strike zone because the kids weren't very accurate with the pitching. Now that may not be an apples to apples comparison but I would imagine that there are some things officials are more leanient on at the younger levels (or maybe not - I'm not familiar with hockey officiating)

Please understand, I am not being critical and if I came off that way, I apologize. I'm just trying to get a feel for how "tight" the game is called at this level compared to what we see on T.V. I know the games are totally different but perhaps they're officiated the same way. Given the situation I explained, would you have made that same call? Explain why or why not - Thanks again for your time!

Apology accepted, and I did take it as being critical of the officiating. Maybe I am a little sensitive to new officials because I spend the time teaching them the basics in the clinics, in CT. I tell them that unlike coaches and players, the only practise they get is in real games. So their mistakes can be detremental. There are some coaches, parents and players that just can NOT accept this. Mostly the coaches and parents.

My other sport is also baseball. Where I have officiated at the LL through College ranks myself. I tend to believe that a lot of new officials tend to have to small of a strike zone. Just as in hockey , the more experienced officials usually know the rules better and therefore sometimes even understand the latitude given to us in the rule books.

Either way , I have been on the critizing end myself and understand that sometimes venting leads to understanding. Understanding leads to maturity. Maturity, well that means were getting better and older. The better part is good, the older, well. Good Luck.