Heard two great observations from a very astute, detail-oriented person upon watching an entire championship tournament. Read them and think about them:
1. One two officials in the entire tournament did a good job of looking back and seeing the court/play during transition from trail to lead. 22 of 24 did not do this consistently at all.
2. Officials had very little middle ground with coaches. They were either non-communicative, or overly aggressive. This appeared as an arrogance that did not help the perception of the officiating.
I know I can improve on the first one a great deal. The second one is always a good thing to be aware of, too. They'll both be on my personal POE next year. Can't hurt!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cure For Lazy Days Of Summer
Time for offseason basketball. That means wearing shorts, watching rat ball, and dealing with adult leagues where some of the games are downright brutal. It's also a time for complacency. Everyone complains about it. Adult players are a pain to deal with, kids don't really care about playing, table people stink, the pay is bad....The list goes on and on.
One of the biggest gripes is how it can hurt your officiating because people don't use good mechanics. I find that pretty funny. During rec leagues or summer games, there are plenty of people who Cadillac it. They loaf down the court, don't blow the whistle much, and just don't put in their best effort. They're no different than players who dog it at practice to "save it for the game". Those guys are losers and/or they need the money.
Every time you step on a court, you need to perform. Earn your money. Earn the respect of the players and coaches. To quote the pirate boss from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, "Show some pride!"
Here are some thoughts to consider about working the long offseason:
1. You can always use great mechanics. If you think your mechanics need work, by all means work on them. If nobody else is doing them, who cares? For myself, I believe I have pretty good mechanics, and to be honest, there are times when I don't exhibit full-bore reporting/rotating mechanics in mundane offseason games, but I never let it bleed anywhere else in my game. You still have to communicate with everyone.
2. You need to hustle. If you cannot physcially hustle, or just cannot get up emotionally to give your best physical effort, don't do the games. There is never an excuse for not hustling and earning your check. Lots of guys get lazy during the summer. Eventually, almost all of them get lazy during the regular season. Don't do it.
3. This should be #1. Work on your judgment. You can watch kids playing pickup and work on your judgment. The more reps you get, the more situations you see, the better prepared you'll be to make judgment calls. Work on never guessing. Work on passing when there is no advantage/disadvantage. If you blow the whistle a lot, work on letting more go. If you let e'm play, trying blowing it more. By the way, if you are not hustling and being lazy, you're not helping your judgment.
4. Try some new stuff. Take different approaches with players, especially adults. Try different lines on coaches. Try a different persona. I have found a lot of things that don't work for me during offseason games, but I have learned a lot about how to deal with emotional players during adult leagues. Trying to work in other tecnhiques and styles that you admire in others and seeing if they work in your game is a great way to continue to improve. Offseason games allow you to do that in a less formal setting, especially when integration may be a little awkward and feel funny.
5. Don't worry about your partners. If they are not taking it seriously, and are going through the motions, just focus on yourself.
There should be little difference between regular season games and offseason games. Every game is important to the players, coaches, and parents. They all pay money to play, and pay you to officiate for them. Don't be the guy that tries to do everything the right way from November to March, and then becomes the lazy object of scorn that never crosses half-court, wants to avoid the bonus at all costs because it's just a summer game, and let players deck each other without penalty because they're dreaming about spending that $15 a game at WalMart on the fishing pole they've been saving for.
And don't ever use anything as an excuse to not try and get better every time you put the shirt on. Someone is always watching.
One of the biggest gripes is how it can hurt your officiating because people don't use good mechanics. I find that pretty funny. During rec leagues or summer games, there are plenty of people who Cadillac it. They loaf down the court, don't blow the whistle much, and just don't put in their best effort. They're no different than players who dog it at practice to "save it for the game". Those guys are losers and/or they need the money.
Every time you step on a court, you need to perform. Earn your money. Earn the respect of the players and coaches. To quote the pirate boss from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, "Show some pride!"
Here are some thoughts to consider about working the long offseason:
1. You can always use great mechanics. If you think your mechanics need work, by all means work on them. If nobody else is doing them, who cares? For myself, I believe I have pretty good mechanics, and to be honest, there are times when I don't exhibit full-bore reporting/rotating mechanics in mundane offseason games, but I never let it bleed anywhere else in my game. You still have to communicate with everyone.
2. You need to hustle. If you cannot physcially hustle, or just cannot get up emotionally to give your best physical effort, don't do the games. There is never an excuse for not hustling and earning your check. Lots of guys get lazy during the summer. Eventually, almost all of them get lazy during the regular season. Don't do it.
3. This should be #1. Work on your judgment. You can watch kids playing pickup and work on your judgment. The more reps you get, the more situations you see, the better prepared you'll be to make judgment calls. Work on never guessing. Work on passing when there is no advantage/disadvantage. If you blow the whistle a lot, work on letting more go. If you let e'm play, trying blowing it more. By the way, if you are not hustling and being lazy, you're not helping your judgment.
4. Try some new stuff. Take different approaches with players, especially adults. Try different lines on coaches. Try a different persona. I have found a lot of things that don't work for me during offseason games, but I have learned a lot about how to deal with emotional players during adult leagues. Trying to work in other tecnhiques and styles that you admire in others and seeing if they work in your game is a great way to continue to improve. Offseason games allow you to do that in a less formal setting, especially when integration may be a little awkward and feel funny.
5. Don't worry about your partners. If they are not taking it seriously, and are going through the motions, just focus on yourself.
There should be little difference between regular season games and offseason games. Every game is important to the players, coaches, and parents. They all pay money to play, and pay you to officiate for them. Don't be the guy that tries to do everything the right way from November to March, and then becomes the lazy object of scorn that never crosses half-court, wants to avoid the bonus at all costs because it's just a summer game, and let players deck each other without penalty because they're dreaming about spending that $15 a game at WalMart on the fishing pole they've been saving for.
And don't ever use anything as an excuse to not try and get better every time you put the shirt on. Someone is always watching.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Novel Idea About Coaches Yelling
The coach/official relationship is fascinating. The list of complaints about officials from coaches and administrators is long and never really ends. One of the entries of this blog is dedicated to relaying common complaints from coaches. From our side of the fence, coaches try to intimidate and badger us in the hopes of getting every call in their favor. They are ignorant, and often times the enemy, preventing us from doing our jobs peacefully.
What's wrong with that picture? It's untrue. While both sides can feel those ways at times, it is quite common that a mutual respect can be attained. We both know what each other needs to do. However, as human beings, we all have our own ideas about how to get it done. Some say the coach/official relationship is like a marriage, where mutual respect needs to be there to maintain a bond through minor disagreements. The problem is, the officials need to always maintain composure and act professionally at all times. We need to be the bigger person when things get emotional and personal.
Which brings me to the point of this entry. We all deal with aggressive coaches who can get very emotional and vocal during games. Some of these guys are just great when they are winning, and become difficult when games or individual calls don't go their way. As officials, we categorize these coaches. When an aggressive coach usually makes good points, he is "competitive". When a coach rants and raves about non-issues, he is "irrational". When a coach begs frequently, he is "whiny". Fair or unfair, these labels follow coaches, and they can have an effect on how we do our jobs, and manages the games.
I don't believe that a vocal coach means that he is against the officials. I am certain that there are coaches that hate officials, or will try to intimidate or badger officials into giving them that one call that may make a difference between winning or losing a 1-point game. However, I believe the best mindset for us is to be innocent and oblivious. We need to assume that players and coaches have no ill intentions.
Coaches, especially the best ones, hate to lose. The spend tons or time, energy, and passion into trying to win games by directing their players. During the game, that energy and passion has to go somewhere, especially when things don't go as planned. Players don't execute perfectly. Coach tells a player to do X and Y. Player does A and B. Coach asks why, and never gets a good answer. What's the result? Frustration. Same thing goes with calls the coach doesn't like, and despite our egos, we miss lots of calls. No good answer? More frustration.
Frustration results in energy having to go somewhere. Some coaches--and people--bottle it up. It may or may not explode. Others vent. Where can the coach vent? He can rip the players, and often does. He can passionately direct his team, and often does. However, you cannot spend 32 or 40 minutes doing that. The players will burn out and tune him out. What does that leave? The officials...
Some coaches like to scream "Travel!" throughout the game, even when they know that you have tuned them out? Why? Some say that it is in the hopes that they get that one travel call. I prefer to believe that it is just energy that has to go somewhere. Is it annoying? Yes. Is it any different than a 4-year-old boy who is so full of energy that he cannot sit still? No! Coaches cannot ride a treadmill during a game. They cannot sprint around. They cannot scream at the table. They cannot yell at the opponent, or tell their AD to jump in a lake. But they can vent on officials, for the most part, without penalty. It's accepted.
Next time you have a vocal coach that is not getting personal, instead of thinking he's being overly critical and annoying, try to remember that he has competitive energy and frustration built up that has to go somewhere. That small amount of empathy might help you deal with the coach better, and also keep your focus on doing what is best for the game--players and coaches--instead of getting annoyed with high maintenance coach. I know when I head the "Travel!" 25 times in a game, it doesn't bother me a bit. It makes me feel good that the coach is working that hard. It's not fun for me, but it is good for the game as long as I am not affected!
What's wrong with that picture? It's untrue. While both sides can feel those ways at times, it is quite common that a mutual respect can be attained. We both know what each other needs to do. However, as human beings, we all have our own ideas about how to get it done. Some say the coach/official relationship is like a marriage, where mutual respect needs to be there to maintain a bond through minor disagreements. The problem is, the officials need to always maintain composure and act professionally at all times. We need to be the bigger person when things get emotional and personal.
Which brings me to the point of this entry. We all deal with aggressive coaches who can get very emotional and vocal during games. Some of these guys are just great when they are winning, and become difficult when games or individual calls don't go their way. As officials, we categorize these coaches. When an aggressive coach usually makes good points, he is "competitive". When a coach rants and raves about non-issues, he is "irrational". When a coach begs frequently, he is "whiny". Fair or unfair, these labels follow coaches, and they can have an effect on how we do our jobs, and manages the games.
I don't believe that a vocal coach means that he is against the officials. I am certain that there are coaches that hate officials, or will try to intimidate or badger officials into giving them that one call that may make a difference between winning or losing a 1-point game. However, I believe the best mindset for us is to be innocent and oblivious. We need to assume that players and coaches have no ill intentions.
Coaches, especially the best ones, hate to lose. The spend tons or time, energy, and passion into trying to win games by directing their players. During the game, that energy and passion has to go somewhere, especially when things don't go as planned. Players don't execute perfectly. Coach tells a player to do X and Y. Player does A and B. Coach asks why, and never gets a good answer. What's the result? Frustration. Same thing goes with calls the coach doesn't like, and despite our egos, we miss lots of calls. No good answer? More frustration.
Frustration results in energy having to go somewhere. Some coaches--and people--bottle it up. It may or may not explode. Others vent. Where can the coach vent? He can rip the players, and often does. He can passionately direct his team, and often does. However, you cannot spend 32 or 40 minutes doing that. The players will burn out and tune him out. What does that leave? The officials...
Some coaches like to scream "Travel!" throughout the game, even when they know that you have tuned them out? Why? Some say that it is in the hopes that they get that one travel call. I prefer to believe that it is just energy that has to go somewhere. Is it annoying? Yes. Is it any different than a 4-year-old boy who is so full of energy that he cannot sit still? No! Coaches cannot ride a treadmill during a game. They cannot sprint around. They cannot scream at the table. They cannot yell at the opponent, or tell their AD to jump in a lake. But they can vent on officials, for the most part, without penalty. It's accepted.
Next time you have a vocal coach that is not getting personal, instead of thinking he's being overly critical and annoying, try to remember that he has competitive energy and frustration built up that has to go somewhere. That small amount of empathy might help you deal with the coach better, and also keep your focus on doing what is best for the game--players and coaches--instead of getting annoyed with high maintenance coach. I know when I head the "Travel!" 25 times in a game, it doesn't bother me a bit. It makes me feel good that the coach is working that hard. It's not fun for me, but it is good for the game as long as I am not affected!
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