Coaching Tips From an Official's Perspective
I am currently a member of an association of local officials for high school basketball. I started reffing basketball for a job and to make a little bit of money while i went to school, but lately I have been noticing many things that coaches do (and sometimes do not do) and i thought that would be a good topic to write about.
First of all, officials, like coaches, aren't the highest paid professional at least at the high school level. We are required to take an ill designed test before we begin working games, and every week we get together as an association to talk about the past weeks work, questions we have about calls we made we weren't sure of, and game situations in general. The problems we have with coaches usually falls in the latter. We know many coaches by name, and sometimes nicknames, depending on that coaches consistant demeanor. And it is at this point i would like to offer a small peice of advice to all the potential coaches. Refs always want to do a good job; we want to look proffessional, call a fair game, and leave afterward without any dissatification from any participating coach player or fan. I feel proud of the job I have done, or the service that I have provided for a group of athletic youth when the game goes well. If the game does not go well, however, I am not so proud. I will admit that there are several places that I do not wish to work anymore because of a certain coach, or perhaps the way that the fans are allowed to act by the athletic director.
I know that when i was in school i was guilty of blaming the refs for a loss, or perhaps just an overly rough match, but looking back there was alot the coaches and players could have done to prevent some of the things from happening. I think that as future coaches we can take a situation where the refferees seem to be doing everything in their power to inhibit our team, to show our players that it isnt appropriate to jeer at the officials, or yell at them in any way. "They are trying their best, and we should focus on doing ours" is the message that we as coaches should model.
I will no doubtedly have more to write about as I work more and more games through the end of february, and I look forward to writing about specific situations where a coach could have handled something better, but mostly I hope that I experience some very positive behavior from coaches and also get to report that to you as well. Also, I dont know if I am the only one taking this class that has some officiating experience, but I will speak for myself when I say that I welcome any questions any of you may have on the subject, and I dont know the answer to your question I will pose it to a veteran official and report back.
Thanks, and looking forward to this class!
Tristan Patton
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Comments
I too have been known to blame ref's for a game lost, or atleast put some of the blame on them. I always know in the back of my head that it wasn't their fault but it is easier then taking the blame on myself. You guys have a hard job, one that I am not sure I could handle because of my personality. It is funny that I as many players and coaches, have laid blame on officials but never viewed them as helpful during wins. As a player and a coach I have seen obviouse mis-calls and no-calls. But when actually thinking about it the officials typically catch more then I could have, and much of the time when I get upset about a call I realize the ref is right when I review the game film (if only their was instant replay in high school). I commend you on what you do and your ability to turn a def ear to enraged coaches and players. Athletics are an intense high energy atmosphere and tempers flare and I know we don't always walk away from the match feeling good about ourselves. I think we can all work on simply doing the right thing and letting certain things slide off our back as usually it all works out the same in the end. I have never officiated before but have played and coached in some atmospheres where the opposing team, coach, fans, and administration has acted horribly. I have often wondered how the AD's and other administration allows for such bad behavior as I know the parents and other administration within the programs I have been involved with would have a person's job if they allowed such bad behavior.
Tristan, I like you topic. I heard you just did a game for Elgin and did a good job. It is a tough spot to be in and good for you to get another prospective from player to ref. I read this to my Dad and he said that in over 1000 games that he has coach only once can he look back and say the ref did actually cost the game. We as players or coaches may not agree with a call but others might not agree with what we did either.
I was fortunate enough to have a couple good coaches throughout high school that always told us to control our own. So, I tried to control what I could control and that was not officials. Did I not always agree with the officials?.... of course not but I understood that they were doing the best they could and that they were not part of me controlling my own. We as coaches and officials need to remember that we are human and emotional and sports boost those emotions to very high levels. That sometimes our emotions can control us whether we like it or not. And I truly believe that goes both ways, coaches and officials.