{"id":1049,"date":"2021-07-06T15:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T19:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/dont-talk-to-my-kids-2\/"},"modified":"2021-07-06T15:00:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T19:00:15","slug":"dont-talk-to-my-kids-2","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/articles\/dont-talk-to-my-kids-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Talk To My Kids!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cD<\/span>on\u2019t Talk To My Kids!\u201d Ever heard that shouted from the sideline? Coaches don\u2019t want officials coaching their players. They\u00a0do\u00a0<\/em>want officials to help their players avoid dumb penalties. How do you walk that line and make sure the game is played the way it\u2019s supposed to be played?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my situation: The high school team I was helping coach in Alabama was playing its archrival. On the other team\u2019s first play from scrimmage, their split end came out wide in front of our bench and may have put one foot in the neutral zone before getting his bearings and lining up properly. The linesman called him for encroachment. I glanced at him and smiled.<\/p>\n

Two hours, 40 points and approximately three inches of rain later, we had this game in the bag (for a change) whereupon the same player did the same thing in almost the same place \u2013 and got flagged again. Fourth time he was called in the game. I still have the game film where you can see me kneeling beside the linesman, begging him to let us go home. I was promised the first chance at the hot water if I didn\u2019t get up pronto.<\/p>\n

OK, cast your ballots on how that was handled:<\/p>\n

Leave the linesman alone. The kid should know better.
\nThe linesman was wrong but that was no reason for you to show him up.
\nGood for you; we need to have a better feel for the game.
\nDid the center have his hands on the ball yet?<\/p>\n

Here we have the crux of successful game management by officials:<\/strong> Can you massage the rulebook to help the game without mangling your credibility? Will people even understand that you\u2019ve helped?<\/p>\n

I have long believed that anyone who has ever been a coach \u2013 not just a player \u2013 has an edge in becoming a better official. That\u2019s because such a person has learned to feel the coaches\u2019 pain and is better equipped to give the game what the teams \u2013 both teams \u2013\u00a0need.\u00a0<\/em>You\u2019ve read it in Referee magazine many times: Successful game management separates great officials from merely good ones. You may be fully attuned to what the teams\u00a0need,\u00a0<\/em>but successful game management doesn\u2019t mean you get to play coach out there on the field or court.<\/p>\n

The official\u2019s best weapon in managing a game is maintaining a\u00a0welcome\u00a0<\/em>dialogue with the participants. A welcome dialogue isn\u2019t a steady stream of chatter without focus from official to player. It\u2019s well-timed and meaningful directions, observations and warnings that help the teams when saying nothing would lead to confusion or frustration. To best deliver that dialogue, you need to get a feel for the game and interact in a way that both augments and respects the preparation of the teams.<\/p>\n

Preparation is often the key difference between two otherwise similar squads. It\u2019s a function of the teaching ability of the coaches, effective organization and time management in practices and the ability of the players mentally to learn and physically to master what they\u2019re taught. Well-prepared teams have gotten through the basic stuff and are now perfecting the little things that they think their opponents can\u2019t match. When you go out to referee or umpire them, their coaches don\u2019t want you disrupting what they\u2019ve successfully instilled, and they certainly don\u2019t want you reducing their edge by officiating\u00a0down\u00a0<\/em>to the other team\u2019s standard.<\/p>\n

All that boils down to a couple of questions: At what point does your \u201chelp\u201d on the field or court go from preventive officiating and game management to something a coach might construe as coaching the players or upsetting the competitive balance? As an official, how do you recognize where that line is and how does that line move depending on the teams and level of competition?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some cases to see how this works. Remember, we\u2019re trying to see how to massage the rules to manage the game and the suggestions given shouldn\u2019t be interpreted as rulings.<\/p>\n

Case 1: How Much of an Advantage is Gained?<\/h2>\n

In\u00a0the example of the itinerant wide receiver we talked about at the outset, what should the official do to manage that situation?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s smart to set a standard right from the start, but consider giving the players a chance to settle down first. Nobody but the linesman and someone looking straight down the neutral zone will know for sure whether the receiver encroaches in marginal situations. With 11:52 on the clock in the first quarter, most coaches aren\u2019t interested in playing trivia yet either. If you do have to flag the first foul, it doesn\u2019t mean you need to call three more. Use your voice and warn the player about the dangers of wandering into the neutral zone. That approach works no matter what sport: When it comes to something that is very correctable and offers almost no competitive advantage, either warn them of the impending penalty or tell them why they received the penalty.<\/p>\n

A big fear of many officials is of doing a team a favor and then having them drive a truck through your generosity. Consider this example:<\/p>\n

Case 2: No Leeway or a Little Leeway?<\/h2>\n

You\u2019re working a Pony League baseball game and you notice early on that, by strict interpretation, the pitcher is doing something that is a balk. Maybe his hands don\u2019t come completely to a stop or his heel is hanging off the end of the rubber an inch. Nobody seems to notice but you. What action do you take?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

Hopefully, you weren\u2019t wasting your time gabbing before the game instead of watching the teams and their preparations. You can usually get a good idea of their skill level and their attitude. If you feel like they\u2019re serious about things, use your \u201cfree warning\u201d at the first opportunity and be prepared to stick with it. Otherwise, a quiet word to the pitcher, a word of explanation to the manager or no action at all might be better. On the off chance that his transgression escalates later, don\u2019t be ashamed to tighten your standard but tell everyone why you did. Most coaches will accept your application of common sense over your run for that Supreme Court nomination. Don\u2019t enforce a standard the game can\u2019t support unless it\u2019s prudent to do so.<\/p>\n

Case 3: Higher Competitive Levels<\/h2>\n

So far we\u2019ve talked mostly about high school and lower games. Would we handle any of the above situations differently if they occurred at the college level?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

Maybe. At that level, you need to consider the incident\u2019s ability to influence the game. The pitcher not stopping or standing off the edge of the rubber (where his slider will work better) can have a definitive tactical advantage; with his level of experience it would be reasonable to assume he was doing it on purpose. The football incidents might still be handled by preventive officiating. What tactical advantage to his team does the receiver gain if he has neither intent nor effect in what he\u2019s doing?<\/p>\n

Fair enough, but what about at the other end of the spectrum? Sometimes you may need to cross the line fully and play coach if nobody else is doing it.<\/p>\n

Case 4: Youth League Games<\/h2>\n

Saturday morning, 8 a.m. at an under-12 soccer league game. Every goalkick taken by the red team\u2019s goalie is straight up the middle and barely makes it to the 18 yardline while his teammates pose for a still-life portrait. The blue team is kicking every one back into the goal. The red team\u2019s coach is offering (a) no advice, or (b) poor advice, and the parents are starting to get restless. Do you say anything to the goalie?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

There is absolutely nothing in the rules or your training that warrants \u201ccoaching\u201d the goalie. But for the good of the game, do something. Without turning the episode into a kicking clinic, offer him a quiet pointer or two if you think it will help. What you want to avoid doing is coaching\u00a0before\u00a0<\/em>it is needed, because now you\u2019ll be seen as offering one team an edge. It\u2019s probably best to keep your coaching to situations in which you can improve the experience without altering the outcome. That implies that you probably want to lay off coaching completely by the time the participants have hit high school.<\/p>\n

To this point we\u2019ve talked about incidents that may or may not be intentional and the advice has been to consider cutting a little slack if that slack won\u2019t later be tied around your neck. What about the following situation, where things are more sinister?<\/p>\n

Case 5: Blatant Cheating<\/h2>\n

Prior to a college game, one team\u2019s warmup includes its receivers running a pass skeleton against the secondary. Every time a receiver gets past his coverage and is getting ready to catch the ball, the defender briefly reaches out and tugs at his hips. Later, the same defenders are seen covering crossing patterns by reaching for the ball with one hand and hooking the receiver\u2019s back with the other just enough to make him twist a bit. (That is an actual scenario from a game I worked.) How should that be handled?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

Clearly, the team is being coached to gain an advantage on the gamble that the officials won\u2019t call a marginal foul. It\u2019s necessary in those cases to take action, but waiting for it to happen in the game and flagging it then may not be the best course. Casually mention to one of the coaches what you\u2019re seeing and let it register. Now, if what\u2019s going on is intentional, the team has had fair warning (but they\u2019ll still be waiting to see if you call it) and it\u2019ll be up to them how to respond. If it\u2019s just a bad habit or a missed coaching point, you\u2019ve given them a chance to correct it (and you\u2019re not even doing anything that could be interpreted as coaching on the field!). In that kind of situation, your response transcends the age group you\u2019re working with. Cheating is cheating. Stop it if you can.<\/p>\n

Case 6: What if It Doesn\u2019t Impact Play?<\/h2>\n

You\u2019re working a high school basketball game in a two-person system and observe the centers jostling weak side to the ball. One is warding off with his forearm while the other is using his knee, but neither is currently gaining an advantage due to the position of the ball. Do you call anything?<\/p>\n

Recommendation<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re going to call a foul, think about making it a double. Then understand that you\u2019ve cost both coaches\u2019 centers one of their five lives on a play that didn\u2019t affect the score. Once you set a standard like that you must be prepared to maintain it every other time it happens. Fair enough, but if it\u2019s early in the game, often telling them to knock it off while the game goes on will help and they\u2019ll lay off. If they don\u2019t heed your advice, then the difference now is that everybody within earshot knows they\u2019ve had their chance. Getting called for it later then becomes their choice, not yours.<\/p>\n

Most coaches don\u2019t know the rules as well as officials, but that doesn\u2019t stop them from sensing when they feel like they\u2019re getting hosed. In any of the earlier cases, word might well reach you that the coach wants to know what\u2019s going on. All the usual motives apply: uncertainty, suspicion, buying the next call. If you\u2019re really using good game management skills, you should be prepared to offer a defensible explanation when the coach comes calling.<\/p>\n

If a player wants to know what he or she has done, bear in mind that the older and more experienced the player is, the less likely it is that whatever was done was an accident. The player will also be more concerned about sitting down if he or she starts to be too much of a liability to the team. Chances are, then, that the player either knows exactly what he or she did and wants to know if you do, too, or the player really wants to learn something: Either way, a fact-based explanation suffices.<\/p>\n

Successful game management begins with two key realizations: The rules don\u2019t cover absolutely every situation adequately, and even though you may know the rules and how to play the game better than anyone out there, it\u2019s not your job to offer the benefit of your wisdom. If you can deal with those two cold truths, you can find a way to improvise without corrupting the contest.<\/p>\n

Be aware that when you\u2019re out on the field, coaches will see you talking to their players and will want to know what was said. Be prepared to offer a defensible explanation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Players are fairly sophisticated at most of the college levels and need no instruction from officials.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How much instruction officials can or should offer players depends on the competition level. You\u2019ll likely \u201ccoach\u201d more in youth games than any other.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A quiet word at an unobtrusive time can help maintain a smooth-running game as long as your message doesn\u2019t upset the competitive balance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Don\u2019t Talk To My Kids!<\/a> appeared first on Referee.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cDon\u2019t Talk To My Kids!\u201d Ever heard that shouted from the sideline? Coaches don\u2019t want officials coaching their players. They\u00a0do\u00a0want officials to help their players avoid dumb penalties. How do you walk that line and make sure the game is played the way it\u2019s supposed to be played? Here\u2019s my situation: The high school team […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1050,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1049","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aafoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}