OFFICIALly a Crisis!
The referee crisis is here. Youth sport is suffering. Some startling realities and prescribed solutions.
Welcome to edition 179 of The Physical Movement. This week, we highlight the OFFICIAL crisis with the officials!
Unfortunately, the scenario is all too normal in 2022. Officials getting berated by coaches, players and parents. More and more physically abused.
From personal observation, the quality of officiating is not at the same standard it once was, very often having some under experienced officials being put in a place where the caliber of competition is beyond their skills.
At some point, competition and the desire and need to win has overcome respect for others competing, officials and coaches.
Winning has come at the expense of mutual respect, not only for other players and coaches but also for officials.
80% of new officials leave within 2 years of starting due to abusive behaviour from stands and sidelines - National Federation (USA) of High Schools
From 2018-2022, 50 000 referees (20%) of high school (USA) referees have quit. 50% of the remaining referee population is at least 50 years old.
With reduced number of officials, games can not go on. Less qualified officials in place which accelerates the decline and games can not be scheduled
Let’s dig into what can be done to help with the referee/umpire shortage:
1. Appreciation: the work they do is critical to a positive in-game experience. Expressing appreciation can come in many ways. Organizations can give out yearend awards. They can re-evaluate training and pay scale to help recruit and retain quality candidates.
There is a great ritual in baseball where the catcher introduces himself to the umpire at the beginning of each game at the higher levels. It becomes a bit of a partnership in protecting each other and show respect for each other’s tasks. They need each other to get through the game as well as possible. The catcher wants lots of strike calls, and the umpire wants to be protected!
This should not be limited to one player or position. Players should all introduce themselves to officials at the start of each game or in warmup.
Appreciation.
2. Empathy: if you have refereed, you know what I mean. Seeing things from their perspective. All coaches should have some experience officiating. Most officials commit to refereeing in addition to their full time job and sacrifice time away from their families.
3. Cooperation. All participants and parents need to have an officials clause in their code of conduct. Codes of conduct are no longer optional unfortunately. They can map out expectations and standards for all concerned. This is discussed and enforced at registration. No one should be allowed to register without signing off and to go one step further a short 5 step mini test for parents and families should be mandatory.
The role of the coach around umpire relations:
- Be professional and courteous. Appreciation for a coach is introducing himself. Not yelling from the sidelines and asking for explanations when needed.
- Know the rules. Often, I have witnessed coaches debating a call, only to be wrong about the rule. I remember in coaching different sports, knowing all the intricacies of the rules was tough. I learned early on that asking the official for rules clarification was a good start to getting a clear answer and building rapport.
- Teach your athletes how to be respectful. They need to know what will be accepted and not accepted in terms of talking to officials, tone of the talk and when. Communication with officials, especially when mistakes are made is critically important. It becomes feedback and spikes accountability. But like all things, there is a right way and wrong to communicate questions and concerns.
- Remember your athletes maybe the next generation of referees/umpires. That evolution comes from a positive experience in their playing days and becomes an asset if they put on the stripes.
- Keep your parents in line. Coaches can set the standard on what is and not acceptable at game time from the parents. I did have situations where as coach, I had to go to the stands and ask parents to be quiet.
Officials: What can you do to create a positive experience?
- Practice servant leadership. The presence of in-game officials is to mediate the game, interpret and enforce the rules and ensure player safety. It is not an exhibit to be the center of attention, it is not a demonstration of authority. Refereeing is needed for the competition to unfold. Don’t abuse that privilege.
- Build rapport with coaches and athletes. The best in-game officials talk to players and coaches. The ones who refuse to do so are often the worst. While this is not great for introverts, it speaks to giving respect before asking for respect.
- Humility. Admit mistakes. The best officials admit they may have missed that last call, they don’t deny it.
- Keep learning: Officiating today is way more than the rules, and also dealing with conflict. Training is required to be equipped to be a good modern day referee/umpire.
Parents:
Yelling from the sidelines and disputing with officials teaches our young athletes:
• Its not ok to make a mistake
• Disrespect of authority figures
• Blame others for their actions.
• Its ok to be rude and selfish.
Our response in heat of the moment is the only thing we can control.
Cheer for your child. Encourage, praise the positive and reinforce how to deal with situations that do not go as wanted.
In just about all competitions, officials will make mistakes and often the end result is unfair to the young athlete and coaches involved. These situations sometimes balance themselves out and sometimes not. Being surprised at this occurring is a lack of preparation and teaching by coaches. The officials are not the only ones making mistakes!
Opportunities to play hang in the balance at how we support and encourage officials.
The below 5 minute video was recently released highlighting the reality of the crisis.
Pass it on!