These guys are terrible especially that little guy ( the little guys are always bad see the Xavier/Wahlert game ). This crappy crew struggle doing girls games competently. If this crew is considered one of the best no wonder there are so many on this board and at the games complaining about the crappy officiating.
How does this NW Iowa crew get a 4a title game !
- Thread starter StatewidePundit
- Start date
Whoops this crappy crew is from the CIML and both coaches have already had enough of that little ref
Big Bergie just ripped him a new one
Big Bergie just ripped him a new one
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Why not become a ref and show everyone how it is supposed to be done. Obviously you are an expert .... Stop wasting your talent on an obscure message board and get on the floor where you can actually accomplish something.
I was thinking the same thing Saywhat2. I ref'd city league games for a few years and that was one of the hardest jobs I ever had, and you get paid practically nothing which holds true for high school ball as well. Is easy to criticize the refs, but is much harder to be the one with the whistle in your mouth. That experience made me so much less critical and so much more appreciative of the job that refs do. They are guys with full-time jobs just trying to do the best job they can and are helping out in the way that they can. Is no wonder less people are becoming refs. Thankless job in which every idiot in the stands or on the couch think they can do better but don't have the balls to actually put themselves on the line and do it.
Refs and umps want to do a good job. I believe the issue is more who gets there. I've seen some excellent crews out there that never get a sniff at state. I cringe at some of the mechanics of some officials that get to state. But they are good at back slapping, so they get to DSM. But in most cases, the officials that get to DSM are worthy.
At least this year, for the most part, the refs let the kids play. There weren't as many Mickey Mouse fouls as last year.
So somebody needs to officiate in order to know whether they do a good job? So I need to be a chef to know if my steak is cooked properly? A banker to know if my banker is doing a good job? A mechanic to know if they fixed my car properly?
The tall, bald, fat guy had no business officiating this game. The game, even while being played at an incredibly slow pace, was too fast for him. He was 5-6 steps behind the charge he called on Lane's dish to Parks that would've been a complete momentum shift late in the game.
The little guy was afraid of Bergman and stopped blowing his whistle. What a miserable crew doing a title game. Can the Boone Boys do anything right ? ever
cid, I'm not suggesting this at all. But, it did make me think about a couple of things. This is one of the jobs where people looking on, many times, think they can do a better job then the person performing it, but they don't really know because they've never done it. Can we disagree with the calls...sure. Do we have to think that all refs do a good job, of course not. There are great refs/umps and lousy ones as well. That is life. But we can handle ourselves and encourage the kids/fans to act with some class instead of being idiots.
Speaking of, I got to chuckling to myself thinking about if we, as a group, acted towards the chef, banker or mechanic like we do towards refs. How do you think that would go over? If we had twenty of us yelling in the bank lobby that the banker was a blind idiot because he messed up our mortgage rates, that may not go over so well. How about if the chef overcooked my steak, then everyone at my table could start ranting loudly to anybody listening that the bald, fat guy that was cooking my steak was the worst cook we had ever seen, was incompetent and had no business being in that kitchen. You get the idea...
I officiate soccer. I have never officiated basketball but would think it is more difficult. Game moves faster, more rules on ball/player movement, more details on what constitutes a foul. When you have officiated a game, you realize that you will not see everything. You will realize you do have bias, that you have to keep in check. You also have to keep your calm when others are acting like idiots (coaches, players, fans). The goal is to call the game fair, so that neither team has an advantage. Having more officials also adds complexity as you see two officials make opposite calls (charge/block) and you realize that many calls are subjective.
I also agree that there are often times many that should not be officiating, but they are the only ones left willing to take the abuse that has become so common in our events. You can have the pipe dream of saying just get better officials, but I have seen many new officials just quit, because they didn't want to deal with obnoxious coaches/fans.
I'm a FB and BB ref. Absolutely love doing it. There are a few things worth pointing out in this thread.
One, there is a serious recruiting and retention problem for the state and this thread somewhat highlights the reason why. The state has lost 600 officials over the last decade. That's a real problem.
Second, postseason assignments are a place where there is real opportunity to improve and the state needs to explore options. Former director of officials, Barr, was IMO the reason you saw the same crews doing the state tournament every year, no matter how many or how few recommendations they got. I met the new director not too long ago. He seems poised to make he process much more transparent and hopefully ending the good ole boys club.
Third, feel free to yell at us. I just try to have fun with it. Just remember this is a hobby for us after working full time jobs. I just do it because I love it. The criticism is part of the job, but it's also why you see less officials and losing more each year.
One, there is a serious recruiting and retention problem for the state and this thread somewhat highlights the reason why. The state has lost 600 officials over the last decade. That's a real problem.
Second, postseason assignments are a place where there is real opportunity to improve and the state needs to explore options. Former director of officials, Barr, was IMO the reason you saw the same crews doing the state tournament every year, no matter how many or how few recommendations they got. I met the new director not too long ago. He seems poised to make he process much more transparent and hopefully ending the good ole boys club.
Third, feel free to yell at us. I just try to have fun with it. Just remember this is a hobby for us after working full time jobs. I just do it because I love it. The criticism is part of the job, but it's also why you see less officials and losing more each year.
great attitude to have! Officiating, just like some other jobs, requires thick skin, the right temperament, and a sense of humor.
I'd love to see the state association sponsor a recruiting drive and officials camps
Lots of young former athletes that want to stay around the game (and 2 nights/week goes a long ways toward student loans, rent,mortgage payments)
Just got to get them past that stigma about taking some grief from the crowd.
I truly think a fan code of conduct, enforced by each schools AD/staff at the game would goa long way
Unfortunately this is easier than it sounds. I'm only 25 and I knew what I was signing up for six years ago. But I recruited 3 other guys my age to join at that time and they all were out within two years. Granted, people need to get thicker skin. But the state also needs to give better incentives to stay in, which ties to my second point above. Can't have the same crews always getting the best assignments or the loss of officials will become even more accelerated when it becomes apparent they are unlikely to get any postseason work for many many years.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/high-school/article68495447.html
Abusive fans make it tougher to recruit high school sports refs
Under siege, officials finding their jobs less attractive
As veterans near retirement, replacements hard to find
NC not yet short of officials, but recruiting a problem
BY TIM STEVENS
Correspondent
This is the second of two parts about the pressures on sports officials in college and high school sports. Read the first part here: No 2nd chances for ACC basketball, football officials.
Irate high school sports fans, raised on instant replay and more willing than ever to aggressively second-guess calls against their teams, are heaping so much abuse on referees that it is becoming hard for North Carolina and other states to recruit new officials as the current group edges toward retirement.
The job has become so unattractive, national and state high school administrators say, that there are concerns about who will officiate events in the future and some state associations have discussed reducing the number of games high school teams play because of a lack of officials.
“I think the shortage of referees in high school is directly related to the level of verbal and even physical abuse that referees have experienced over the last 10 years,” said Shaun Tyrance, a sports psychologist based in Charlotte.
“Athletes feel a tremendous amount of pressure to perform so they can get a college scholarship. Athletes view referees as (a) potential barrier to fulfilling their dreams.”
Finding good officials has been difficult since ball first met bat and Mark Dreibelbis, an assistant commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and supervisor of its officials, fears fan behavior is scaring potential officials away.
“We have fans who believe they can pay their $7 and get the right to be abusive and rude to officials, coaches and players,” Dreibelbis said. “Some fans think they can do or say anything.”
Barry Mano, the president of the National Association of Sports Officials, said spectators are accustomed to seeing calls on the professional and college level being reviewed on instant replay and the calls being changed.
“There is no replay in high school,” he said. “The fans assume close calls are always wrong.”
Some spectators, such as Robert Chamblee, who was supporting Clayton at a recent game, believe official’s calls are affected by fan behavior.
“The fans are starting to dictate how the refs call (the game). The fans are going to be rowdy, raucous but now you’re starting to see the refs be bothered or perturbed by the fans and that’s where the issues come in because they’re letting their emotions from the fans dictate how they referee the game.”
The abuse takes a toll, according to Brad Allen, who officiates in the NFL and still is involved in high school officiating.
WE HAVE FANS WHO BELIEVE THEY CAN PAY THEIR $7 AND GET THE RIGHT TO BE ABUSIVE AND RUDE TO OFFICIALS, COACHES AND PLAYERS. SOME FANS THINK THEY CAN DO OR SAY ANYTHING.
Mark Dreibelbis of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association
“There is a change in fans. They are less forgiving of an official’s mistake,” he said. “There is a lack of respect. And in today’s world the abuse can be spread very quickly online.
“I think some young people are looking at that and wondering why they should get into officiating. Some of the veterans wonder why they continue to do it.”
Impending retirements
There are about 300,000 to 350,000 high school game officials in the United States, according to the National Association of Sports Officials. The NCHSAA uses about 7,000 officials, some of whom are certified in more than one sport.
National Federation of State High School Association’s director of sports and officials Theresa Wynns said many states have a shortage of officials in some sports.
North Carolina does not have a shortage, but Dreibelbis said the impending retirement of veterans could be a concern unless younger officials stay involved.
“They (officials) want to stay involved in the game and they want to give back to the sport,” Drebelbis said. “But if the atmosphere becomes too negative, the appeal diminishes. There isn’t a shortage of high school officials in North Carolina, especially not in the Triangle, but there is a concern that officiating in all sports is attracting fewer new people.”
“You notice it,” said Garner boys basketball coach Eddie Gray, whose club won the state 4A title in 2014. “Our officials the other night were all in their 60s. They did a good job, but you wonder who is going to take their place.”
The NCHSAA does not track the average age of game officials. In one state that does, a study by the Kansas State High School Activities Association found the average age of its softball umpires is 60.
Allen, the NFL official, said high school officials learn quickly that the kids are always in their teens.
“You are getting a year older and the teams are still filled with 15, 16 year olds,” he said. “You’ve got have young people come into officiating every year. We’ve got to attract them.”
But recruiting new officials is getting harder.
“Nationally, we have to find a way to attract younger men and women into officiating,” Mano said. “You give someone a very difficult job, expect perfection, pay them very little and then heap verbal abuse on top. That’s not very appealing.”
An emotional game
Dreibelbis says officials always have been targets for verbal abuse. But he is greatly concerned with what seems to be a growing amount of physical violence and threats of violence against officials.
THE FANS ARE STARTING TO DICTATE HOW THE REFS CALL (THE GAME). THE FANS ARE GOING TO BE ROWDY, RAUCOUS BUT NOW YOU’RE STARTING TO SEE THE REFS BE BOTHERED OR PERTURBED BY THE FANS AND THAT’S WHERE THE ISSUES COME IN BECAUSE THEY’RE LETTING THEIR EMOTIONS FROM THE FANS DICTATE HOW THEY REFEREE THE GAME.
Clayton fan Robert Chamblee
“The negative atmosphere in the public sector is getting much worse,” Dreibelbis said. “Last season we saw the safety of officials in jeopardy, too.”
Two high school football players in Texas deliberately collided with an official in a September game after an assistant coach directed them to do so. The incident generated more than 12 million views on the internet.
“Physical violence is a growing problem,” Mano said. “Essentially every week our office receives a report about a game official being physically assaulted at a game by a coach, player or spectator.”
Within the last two years, recreation league soccer officials in Utah and Michigan have died after being punched by players.
Bob Gardner, the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said heckling fans are bad enough, but he was alarmed last year when there were several incidents, including the ones in Texas, of officials being assaulted by players or coaches. Such action, Gardner writes in High School Today magazine, undermines high school athletics.
“Whether the abuse is verbal or physical, unsportsmanlike behavior aimed at officials must end if we expect men and women to continue filling this important service,” Gardner writes.
Keeping officials safe has not been a major issue in North Carolina, but the NCHSAA is being proactive in stressing schools’ responsibilities to officials.
Dreibelbis said it is important for coaches to realize that they are role models for their players and other students at school.
“High school athletics is about teaching values,” he said. “The way that coaches relate to officials teach young people how they should interact with authority. Coaches and parents, need to keep that in mind.”
The National Federation of State High School Associations is making an effort to educate coaches, parents and officials that they are allies, not enemies.
“In high school athletics, competition is for the children,” said Winns. “The coaches want to help the kids and the officials want to help the kids. Neither is against the children. The coaches and the officials have the same goal. They are on the same side.”
Calming things down
Jim Peyton, the NCHSAA regional supervisor of basketball officials in the Triangle area, said he has never felt threatened during his 30 years as an official.
“I think the coaches and athletic directors in our area do a good job creating a safe environment,” he said. “We talk to our athletics directors and coaches about that.
“The students like to stand up and jump up and down, which is great, but if things are getting too intense an administrator usually can speak to them and calm it down.”
AS LONG AS THEY DON’T ATTACK ME, THEY CAN YELL ALL THEY WANT. I THINK IT IS FUNNY AT TIMES. THEY ARE SITTING 12 ROWS UP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GYM AND THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN SEE A PLAY BETTER THAN I CAN WHEN I’M STANDING FIVE FEET AWAY.
High school sports official Jamin Herrin
Jamin Herrin, who officiates area high school basketball and baseball games and wants to call college games some day, doesn’t think belligerent fans have an impact on how he officiates a game.
Herrin, 26, started umpiring rec games at night when he was 15 and playing baseball at Brantley County (Ga.) High in the afternoons. He said he doesn’t really care about what the fans think of the job he does officiating.
“As long as they don’t attack me, they can yell all they want,” he said. “I think it is funny at times. They are sitting 12 rows up on the other side of the gym and they believe they can see a play better than I can when I’m standing five feet away.”
Hard to control the fans
Cleveland High senior guard Landry Moore said it is hard at times to be remain calm even though he believes the officials do a great job. When the game is tight and emotions are running high, players’ feelings can sometimes spill out.
“One side is going to be happy about the call and the other side is not,” he said.
Clayton high senior Zack Greene said that even if the players and coaches control their emotions, the officials still will hear from spectators.
“You can’t control who walks through the door and what they are going to say,” he said.
The NCHSAA’s Dreibelbis said schools can do a great deal to control the environment in the gym. Fans are sometimes cued by coaches’ behavior. And Dreibelbis also believes the constant criticism of officials on the professional and collegiate levels is a factor in high school fans’ lack of respect for high school officials.
That lack of respect is hurting the game, he said.
Don Fish, the N.C. Hall of Fame executive director, said he remembers the days of calling games at the YMCA and long road trips to small high schools as he worked his way through the various levels of officiating.
“I loved it,” he said. “I loved being a part of the game. But I am concerned with what I’m seeing today. There is just so little respect. Something has to be done.”
Earning their stripes
Earning the right to officiate a high school game in any sport takes time. A potential basketball official, for example, registers with the NCHSAA, contacts a regional supervisor, and is required to attend a rules clinic and take a test.
Once an official reaches the varsity level they still have to pass the rules test each year and are evaluated each season.
Officiating NCHSAA games is no financial bonanza. Depending on the sport, a high school official makes between $51 (volleyball and swimming) and $76 (football) for a competition. For a basketball doubleheader, an official makes $91.
Officials cover their own expenses.
“High school officials aren’t in it for the money,” Dreibelbis said. “Officiating needs to be fun. If you don’t enjoy calling the games and being, whether you like it or not, in the center of the action, officiating on the high school level probably isn’t for you.”
Larry Lindsey played on a boys high school state championship basketball team and later coached eight teams to state titles at Wake Forest and Youngsville. He knew that sometimes officials’ calls sometimes help you and sometimes hurt you.
“If you have to get a call at the end of a game to win, you’ve got to be lucky,” he said. “And you don’t get lucky often.”
Lindsey was a fiery competitor who would throw his jacket, loosen his tie and sweat through his shirt, but he appreciated the role of officials. He also believed that one call never won or lost a game.
But officials are a vital part of the game. As Lindsey, the state championship coach, once phrased it, even the worst official is better than having the players call their own fouls.
Tim Stevens
Abusive fans make it tougher to recruit high school sports refs
Under siege, officials finding their jobs less attractive
As veterans near retirement, replacements hard to find
NC not yet short of officials, but recruiting a problem
BY TIM STEVENS
Correspondent
This is the second of two parts about the pressures on sports officials in college and high school sports. Read the first part here: No 2nd chances for ACC basketball, football officials.
Irate high school sports fans, raised on instant replay and more willing than ever to aggressively second-guess calls against their teams, are heaping so much abuse on referees that it is becoming hard for North Carolina and other states to recruit new officials as the current group edges toward retirement.
The job has become so unattractive, national and state high school administrators say, that there are concerns about who will officiate events in the future and some state associations have discussed reducing the number of games high school teams play because of a lack of officials.
“I think the shortage of referees in high school is directly related to the level of verbal and even physical abuse that referees have experienced over the last 10 years,” said Shaun Tyrance, a sports psychologist based in Charlotte.
“Athletes feel a tremendous amount of pressure to perform so they can get a college scholarship. Athletes view referees as (a) potential barrier to fulfilling their dreams.”
Finding good officials has been difficult since ball first met bat and Mark Dreibelbis, an assistant commissioner of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and supervisor of its officials, fears fan behavior is scaring potential officials away.
“We have fans who believe they can pay their $7 and get the right to be abusive and rude to officials, coaches and players,” Dreibelbis said. “Some fans think they can do or say anything.”
Barry Mano, the president of the National Association of Sports Officials, said spectators are accustomed to seeing calls on the professional and college level being reviewed on instant replay and the calls being changed.
“There is no replay in high school,” he said. “The fans assume close calls are always wrong.”
Some spectators, such as Robert Chamblee, who was supporting Clayton at a recent game, believe official’s calls are affected by fan behavior.
“The fans are starting to dictate how the refs call (the game). The fans are going to be rowdy, raucous but now you’re starting to see the refs be bothered or perturbed by the fans and that’s where the issues come in because they’re letting their emotions from the fans dictate how they referee the game.”
The abuse takes a toll, according to Brad Allen, who officiates in the NFL and still is involved in high school officiating.
WE HAVE FANS WHO BELIEVE THEY CAN PAY THEIR $7 AND GET THE RIGHT TO BE ABUSIVE AND RUDE TO OFFICIALS, COACHES AND PLAYERS. SOME FANS THINK THEY CAN DO OR SAY ANYTHING.
Mark Dreibelbis of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association
“There is a change in fans. They are less forgiving of an official’s mistake,” he said. “There is a lack of respect. And in today’s world the abuse can be spread very quickly online.
“I think some young people are looking at that and wondering why they should get into officiating. Some of the veterans wonder why they continue to do it.”
Impending retirements
There are about 300,000 to 350,000 high school game officials in the United States, according to the National Association of Sports Officials. The NCHSAA uses about 7,000 officials, some of whom are certified in more than one sport.
National Federation of State High School Association’s director of sports and officials Theresa Wynns said many states have a shortage of officials in some sports.
North Carolina does not have a shortage, but Dreibelbis said the impending retirement of veterans could be a concern unless younger officials stay involved.
“They (officials) want to stay involved in the game and they want to give back to the sport,” Drebelbis said. “But if the atmosphere becomes too negative, the appeal diminishes. There isn’t a shortage of high school officials in North Carolina, especially not in the Triangle, but there is a concern that officiating in all sports is attracting fewer new people.”
“You notice it,” said Garner boys basketball coach Eddie Gray, whose club won the state 4A title in 2014. “Our officials the other night were all in their 60s. They did a good job, but you wonder who is going to take their place.”
The NCHSAA does not track the average age of game officials. In one state that does, a study by the Kansas State High School Activities Association found the average age of its softball umpires is 60.
Allen, the NFL official, said high school officials learn quickly that the kids are always in their teens.
“You are getting a year older and the teams are still filled with 15, 16 year olds,” he said. “You’ve got have young people come into officiating every year. We’ve got to attract them.”
But recruiting new officials is getting harder.
“Nationally, we have to find a way to attract younger men and women into officiating,” Mano said. “You give someone a very difficult job, expect perfection, pay them very little and then heap verbal abuse on top. That’s not very appealing.”
An emotional game
Dreibelbis says officials always have been targets for verbal abuse. But he is greatly concerned with what seems to be a growing amount of physical violence and threats of violence against officials.
THE FANS ARE STARTING TO DICTATE HOW THE REFS CALL (THE GAME). THE FANS ARE GOING TO BE ROWDY, RAUCOUS BUT NOW YOU’RE STARTING TO SEE THE REFS BE BOTHERED OR PERTURBED BY THE FANS AND THAT’S WHERE THE ISSUES COME IN BECAUSE THEY’RE LETTING THEIR EMOTIONS FROM THE FANS DICTATE HOW THEY REFEREE THE GAME.
Clayton fan Robert Chamblee
“The negative atmosphere in the public sector is getting much worse,” Dreibelbis said. “Last season we saw the safety of officials in jeopardy, too.”
Two high school football players in Texas deliberately collided with an official in a September game after an assistant coach directed them to do so. The incident generated more than 12 million views on the internet.
“Physical violence is a growing problem,” Mano said. “Essentially every week our office receives a report about a game official being physically assaulted at a game by a coach, player or spectator.”
Within the last two years, recreation league soccer officials in Utah and Michigan have died after being punched by players.
Bob Gardner, the executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said heckling fans are bad enough, but he was alarmed last year when there were several incidents, including the ones in Texas, of officials being assaulted by players or coaches. Such action, Gardner writes in High School Today magazine, undermines high school athletics.
“Whether the abuse is verbal or physical, unsportsmanlike behavior aimed at officials must end if we expect men and women to continue filling this important service,” Gardner writes.
Keeping officials safe has not been a major issue in North Carolina, but the NCHSAA is being proactive in stressing schools’ responsibilities to officials.
Dreibelbis said it is important for coaches to realize that they are role models for their players and other students at school.
“High school athletics is about teaching values,” he said. “The way that coaches relate to officials teach young people how they should interact with authority. Coaches and parents, need to keep that in mind.”
The National Federation of State High School Associations is making an effort to educate coaches, parents and officials that they are allies, not enemies.
“In high school athletics, competition is for the children,” said Winns. “The coaches want to help the kids and the officials want to help the kids. Neither is against the children. The coaches and the officials have the same goal. They are on the same side.”
Calming things down
Jim Peyton, the NCHSAA regional supervisor of basketball officials in the Triangle area, said he has never felt threatened during his 30 years as an official.
“I think the coaches and athletic directors in our area do a good job creating a safe environment,” he said. “We talk to our athletics directors and coaches about that.
“The students like to stand up and jump up and down, which is great, but if things are getting too intense an administrator usually can speak to them and calm it down.”
AS LONG AS THEY DON’T ATTACK ME, THEY CAN YELL ALL THEY WANT. I THINK IT IS FUNNY AT TIMES. THEY ARE SITTING 12 ROWS UP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GYM AND THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN SEE A PLAY BETTER THAN I CAN WHEN I’M STANDING FIVE FEET AWAY.
High school sports official Jamin Herrin
Jamin Herrin, who officiates area high school basketball and baseball games and wants to call college games some day, doesn’t think belligerent fans have an impact on how he officiates a game.
Herrin, 26, started umpiring rec games at night when he was 15 and playing baseball at Brantley County (Ga.) High in the afternoons. He said he doesn’t really care about what the fans think of the job he does officiating.
“As long as they don’t attack me, they can yell all they want,” he said. “I think it is funny at times. They are sitting 12 rows up on the other side of the gym and they believe they can see a play better than I can when I’m standing five feet away.”
Hard to control the fans
Cleveland High senior guard Landry Moore said it is hard at times to be remain calm even though he believes the officials do a great job. When the game is tight and emotions are running high, players’ feelings can sometimes spill out.
“One side is going to be happy about the call and the other side is not,” he said.
Clayton high senior Zack Greene said that even if the players and coaches control their emotions, the officials still will hear from spectators.
“You can’t control who walks through the door and what they are going to say,” he said.
The NCHSAA’s Dreibelbis said schools can do a great deal to control the environment in the gym. Fans are sometimes cued by coaches’ behavior. And Dreibelbis also believes the constant criticism of officials on the professional and collegiate levels is a factor in high school fans’ lack of respect for high school officials.
That lack of respect is hurting the game, he said.
Don Fish, the N.C. Hall of Fame executive director, said he remembers the days of calling games at the YMCA and long road trips to small high schools as he worked his way through the various levels of officiating.
“I loved it,” he said. “I loved being a part of the game. But I am concerned with what I’m seeing today. There is just so little respect. Something has to be done.”
Earning their stripes
Earning the right to officiate a high school game in any sport takes time. A potential basketball official, for example, registers with the NCHSAA, contacts a regional supervisor, and is required to attend a rules clinic and take a test.
Once an official reaches the varsity level they still have to pass the rules test each year and are evaluated each season.
Officiating NCHSAA games is no financial bonanza. Depending on the sport, a high school official makes between $51 (volleyball and swimming) and $76 (football) for a competition. For a basketball doubleheader, an official makes $91.
Officials cover their own expenses.
“High school officials aren’t in it for the money,” Dreibelbis said. “Officiating needs to be fun. If you don’t enjoy calling the games and being, whether you like it or not, in the center of the action, officiating on the high school level probably isn’t for you.”
Larry Lindsey played on a boys high school state championship basketball team and later coached eight teams to state titles at Wake Forest and Youngsville. He knew that sometimes officials’ calls sometimes help you and sometimes hurt you.
“If you have to get a call at the end of a game to win, you’ve got to be lucky,” he said. “And you don’t get lucky often.”
Lindsey was a fiery competitor who would throw his jacket, loosen his tie and sweat through his shirt, but he appreciated the role of officials. He also believed that one call never won or lost a game.
But officials are a vital part of the game. As Lindsey, the state championship coach, once phrased it, even the worst official is better than having the players call their own fouls.
Tim Stevens
No dumb analogy
Is it too much to ask to have the better crews do state games ( guys that know when and where to blow a whistle ) , not hope they are one of the 5 million refs that the Boone idiots put in their ' hall of fame' .
One thing that HAS to be stated, and I think is paramount to this discussion, is that officials do indeed, make good money. High School officials can and do ref up to 4 nights a week, sometimes more. Most varsity games pay$100+ per contest, and JV/lower-level games $50-75 or so. Varsity officials make more than many/most head boys coaches do for a season (and definitely more than assistants/JV coaches). It's nothing for a basketball official to clear $5000+ for the season, not counting weekend youth tourneys/spring leagues, etc. where they're paid $20-$25 per game. This is a business venture for many of these guys.
Do you dispute, on a factual level, any of the above which I stated? Well, "come on man" is not exactly an intellectually valid argument, nor is "why doesn't everyone do it?" Construction workers make good money, but not everyone is fighting for part-time construction gigs either.
Officials that regularly officiate games during the season easily make multiple thousands of dollars in Iowa. If they officiate Spring leagues, Summer ball, fall leagues, they can make much more than that. I made $2500 a few summers ago simply doing JV baseball and softball (with a smattering of varsity games thrown in). And, I would surmise that of the pool of qualified people who don't officiate, many don't want to give up nights/weekends; don't want to be physically active; don't like basketball; don't like attention. In other words, there's a myriad number of reasons.
You're correct that officials can make decent money and I know I wouldn't do it for free. But it's not exactly something you make a living on either. It's a paid hobby. Also the greatest college job ever IMO. But I know of exactly zero officials that do it for the money. Most officials just judge it on what is their time worth? The money is good, but it is pretty far down on the list of items that could/should be addressed with officiating.
I don't know cid? What do you do for a job or hobby? May I come and watch you and yell and scream at you when I "think " you are doing whatever you do wrong? Just wondering.....do you yell and scream at your chef, banker and mechanic too? You are probably an expert coach too.....I mean....how hard can it be?
Of this so called great money as stated the supposed $5000 there are also expenses against that.
Gas Money
Time off from work (1/2 days. personal days, vacation days)
Uniform expense (shoes, whistles, shirt, pants, sox and probably more than one set of uniform)
Meal Money ( could be pre or post games or both)
Vehicle expense ( wear and tear on travel vehicle from travel, reg maintenance because of added miles)
Officiating dues ( IAHSAA registration dues, area association dues)
Clinics (may attend off season clinic to improve and the cost of the clinic fees)
Most importantly time away from family (kids, wives, significant others)
Don't sit here and tell me its a great paying job. I have been a football official for 20+ yrs in hs and college. I have not gotten rich in a monetary way but I feel filthy rich in being on the field and giving back to the game i love.
Everyone gets tired of the good old boys in post season but just maybe whether you like it or not they are the best we have to have offer.
Gas Money
Time off from work (1/2 days. personal days, vacation days)
Uniform expense (shoes, whistles, shirt, pants, sox and probably more than one set of uniform)
Meal Money ( could be pre or post games or both)
Vehicle expense ( wear and tear on travel vehicle from travel, reg maintenance because of added miles)
Officiating dues ( IAHSAA registration dues, area association dues)
Clinics (may attend off season clinic to improve and the cost of the clinic fees)
Most importantly time away from family (kids, wives, significant others)
Don't sit here and tell me its a great paying job. I have been a football official for 20+ yrs in hs and college. I have not gotten rich in a monetary way but I feel filthy rich in being on the field and giving back to the game i love.
Everyone gets tired of the good old boys in post season but just maybe whether you like it or not they are the best we have to have offer.
It's absolutely great paying for a side gig. Officials make more than coaches, yet have nowhere near the accountability nor time /energy / monetary/ emotional investment. That's the issue: officials have no incentive to improve beyond their own internal professional compass, which is increasingly rare. They have no oversight nor true evaluation. Players get benched or cut if they aren't good enough; coaches get fired. Officials, who play a major role how games are played, get paychecks and tournament assignments. I understand officiating can be difficult, but that's all the more reason to have higher standards and more accountability. "Difficult" and "Impossible" are not synonymous.
We do have some very good officials that work very hard to hone their craft. We need better, standardized systems in place to ensure we have more better ones though.
Sounds great in theory. Now you just need to convince the two non-profit organizations and its members to fully fund staff that can take on such a task. What few evaluators there are do not get paid; they are volunteers. It'll be expensive to put in that type of accountability. Providing hundreds of evaluations, reviewing film, arranging clinics, etc. That all takes time and money, which the organizations likely want to spend elsewhere.
I'D propose a few basic initiatives:
1. The Association(s) should hire retired officials AND coaches from each region whose sole job is to go watch as many games as possible and evaluate officials. Working officials would have access these to evaluations and would be required to at least access them.
2. Video. We have had two crews, of all our home games the past few years, request video of the game so they could watch themselves. With Hudl and other video sharing software, it would be nothing to create an Officials' Pool much like our Conference Pools we all have. Coaches would be responsible (and yes, we coaches must be accountable for this) for uploading their home game and whatever feedback they'd like the crew to focus on. I think officials interested in improvement would appreciate having easy access to their games.
3. Video Clinics: We need to host live clinics with coaches and officials and jointly discuss what constitutes a foul, travel, etc. We need to show actual High School game footage and openly discuss calls and non-calls "In TERMS OF THE STATED RULES." That's the most frustrating thing as a coach: getting a worthless memo from the state that looks great on paper and then seeing officials basically ignore them. I think coaches need to post the memos in officials' changing rooms and carry a copy in their pockets to reference during games.
I know it's ambitious, but initiatives such as these would improve officiating AND coaching, and thus our game, in my opinion.
This plan makes sense and it would improve the game. It would also set up a system to assign the top officials to the big games.
So we decided to take things personally? I am not professing to be an expert coach or official, I have done both but it isn't required to recognize certain things. In my profession I am judged every day, people have yelled at me while at work, some deserved some unwarranted. You know what? It comes with the territory and is understood. People who have no idea on how to do what I do are more than willing to share advice on how to do my job, definitely 'experts' in the field. FYI, I can't recall yelling at a coach, official, mechanic, chef etc.
Excellent suggestions. I know my old football crew always left a blank dvd with the school to burn their game film onto it and send it back to us. Never got a response, but there are crews that try this. Could always be improved. I especially agree with #3. I hate the memo system. In my experience, it has been the opposite. If there was a rules memo that went out, we would discuss it on our way to the game and we'd find the coaches hadn't read it yet.
The bottom line is, and I think your post alludes to it, there needs to be some links between the coaches and officials instead of having a symbolic wall between the two.
Great points. Improvement rests with everyone involved, and we coaches and officials need to realize we're on the same team when it comes to making the kids' experience better. Thanks for a quality discourse.
Worst officiating crew in Iowa gets the title game??? Wouldn't expect anything less from the morons in Boone.
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