It's officially an officiating crisis
- Thread starter dieter
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Can't blame them especially reading some of the crap on this board thru the years.I umped baseball.10-12 year olds.Totally fair & did a fantastic job.The parents were horrible.Thought their kid was the next Mike Trout.I told them all they could have it because I was tired of the mouthing.I do chains in 3 or 4 charity football games during week 1 of the playoffs
They should up the fees. You couldn’t pay me enough to take the kind of crap these Refs take. I did my share of coaching and the parents were the problem not the kids. I can only imagine how bad it is now compared to 20 years ago especially for the Refs.
I think he meant the Fees they have to pay to be Refs NOT the Fees they receive.
I agree they should be paid more.
Yeah I may have read it wrong. I think the Refs deserve more for what they have to endure.
I have been saying for years to pay the refs more.
It is ludicrous to me that a sports official should be paid less than the person running the clock or taking tickets, but it happens in many instances.
It is ludicrous to me that a sports official should be paid less than the person running the clock or taking tickets, but it happens in many instances.
That's only true at most places if you take into account the clock worker does two games and the refs do one.
in all of the reporting and hand-wringing over the shortage of officials, i never see anyone mention that the referees are at least partially to blame. for years i have witnessed the "old boy" network at play among officials in all sports. younger guys were forced to "pay their dues" simply because they were younger guys. it had nothing to do with ability. and we all know of officials who got the better assignments because they have been around long enough to know whose *** to kiss.
As someone who has been a part of this for 30 years, I will not argue with anything above. The system and bureaucracy we have in place at many levels works against solving this problem. For the pay topic alone, the schools have aligned to insure pay stays low and consistent. The only way this gets drastically modified is if the officials band together and demand more pay (has happened this year in a couple places in Florida, where they get much less pay than we do here). But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
And the old boy network is not nearly as affective as it used to be. If you can breath and you last past your first year, you can easily get a full sophomore schedule. The shortage has made it much easier to advance. But getting put into game situations you are not ready for is also another reason for attrition.
The "old boy" network is definitely a huge problem as well. I have seen many officials who can't get up and down a court.
On the backside, I still don't see alot of young officials.
On the backside, I still don't see alot of young officials.
I have never reffed football and my experience in basketball is limited. However, I have umpired baseball from youth all the way up to college and I did some softball. The youth parents were the worst. But, I was able to tune all of that out and made a conscious decision to engage with players and coaches only. It is easier said than done, so it takes work.
In the years I umped I made sure I took care of four critical things. First, I knew the rules. Reading and applying a rule book may not be very exciting, but when you know the rules, it eliminates a lot of arguments.
Secondly, I always made sure I was in position to make a call no matter where it was. You never want to get caught flat footed because sure as hell if you do, a critical close call has to be made. They are hard to make if you are 75 feet away from them. If you are not in position to make a call you are asking for an argument on a close play.
Third, I kept myself in good physical shape. I wanted to be able to move around and being in better shape makes it a whole lot easier. I really don't know how fat guys, who can't move much bother to officiate games. But, there are overweight guys who can move too. It is a physical job.
Fourth, I had a thick skin. I didn't let some of the nonsense bother me. I really didn't. If you don't have a thick skin, you'll get eaten alive and I have seen it.
All four of these critical things are 100% controllable by all officials too.
All this doesn't mean I never made mistakes. I made mistakes. There were certain pitches I may have called a ball or strike that I wondered about later. There were also calls on the bases I later wondered about. I admitted my mistakes. I knew I blew some calls. Every official does and that's the way you have to look at it. It also doesn't mean I never had anyone disagree with me. I did. But, I let them have their say, then I decided it was time to move on.
The guys I worked with who had trouble almost always were lacking in one or more of the categories I just mentioned.
The officials know who the whiners and complainers are before the games even start based on past experience. But make no mistake about it. The players and coaches also know who the lousy and lazy officials are too.
Sorry, I made this so long.
In the years I umped I made sure I took care of four critical things. First, I knew the rules. Reading and applying a rule book may not be very exciting, but when you know the rules, it eliminates a lot of arguments.
Secondly, I always made sure I was in position to make a call no matter where it was. You never want to get caught flat footed because sure as hell if you do, a critical close call has to be made. They are hard to make if you are 75 feet away from them. If you are not in position to make a call you are asking for an argument on a close play.
Third, I kept myself in good physical shape. I wanted to be able to move around and being in better shape makes it a whole lot easier. I really don't know how fat guys, who can't move much bother to officiate games. But, there are overweight guys who can move too. It is a physical job.
Fourth, I had a thick skin. I didn't let some of the nonsense bother me. I really didn't. If you don't have a thick skin, you'll get eaten alive and I have seen it.
All four of these critical things are 100% controllable by all officials too.
All this doesn't mean I never made mistakes. I made mistakes. There were certain pitches I may have called a ball or strike that I wondered about later. There were also calls on the bases I later wondered about. I admitted my mistakes. I knew I blew some calls. Every official does and that's the way you have to look at it. It also doesn't mean I never had anyone disagree with me. I did. But, I let them have their say, then I decided it was time to move on.
The guys I worked with who had trouble almost always were lacking in one or more of the categories I just mentioned.
The officials know who the whiners and complainers are before the games even start based on past experience. But make no mistake about it. The players and coaches also know who the lousy and lazy officials are too.
Sorry, I made this so long.
It's going to get worse. 80%of officials don't last more then 2 years. Why? Abuse for low pay. Young people just don't want to put up with the garbage for $50 for a freshmen football game. 1 1/2 -2 hours of game time, add in travel and getting there early enough so you are not walking on the field at game time that's over 3 hours. that come out to about $16 an hour . Now add in cost of equipment etc. not worth it.
Meanwhile, they can work youth games, usually at least 3 or 4 in the same time period and make way more cash.
"Friday's the show , the weekends the dough"
You couldn’t pay me enough to work youth games. Parents get way out of control. I say pay the refs a fair wage for what they endure on any given night.
