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Parents & Refs


MrBuddyGarrity

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I have done baseball and basketball for several years.  I do it because I love the game. I would do football also, but I enjoy going to various games (My Game of the Week) on Friday nights.  I have not considered quitting because I enjoy it.  Do I have nights when I get home and wonder why I do it, absolutely, but 95% of the time I love it!  I do not do it for the money, although the money is great.  Lots of officials do it for the money and do not spend time studying and working to improve.  I want to be better every time I leave the court or field.  I grade myself and I have always said that I want to be able to leave and feel comfortable saying that I would be glad to sit down and watch the game with the coaches who I just did the game for.  As a fan, I am tough on officials because it bothers me that there are officials who officiate and could really care less what kind of a job they do.  If we are going to do a job in life and be paid to do it, then there should be some sense of pride in the job that we do.  Lots of officials are all about getting paid and get done asap!  Fans who do not understand the game (which is a large number and every town has them), really bother me, but it is simply part of the game. Stupid fans really make me laugh and for the most part, I don't hear them much. I am to focused on doing my job and doing it to the best of my ability.  Players are making it difficult at times as well and I blame a lot of this on the parents.  They have been told there entire life how good they are and when things don't go the way they want them to go, then you see the attitude.  Entitlement is killing our young people, but that is a subject for another day. Anyway, off my soapbox, we need officials in every sport.  We struggle to cover games each year and it is becoming more difficult each year, so come join us.  We need all the help we can get and just block out the idiots and do it for the love of the game.   

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1 hour ago, JV_COACH said:

Are you really blaming the refs for the lack of refs?  

 

No.  Not completely.  

How would you increase numbers in any job?  Increase the pay.  Improve the work conditions.  Up the benefits.

How would that happen at the high school level?  Negotiate better pay from schools.  Have the UIL apply stricter rules on who can approach the referees.  Up the penalty for those who don't follow that.  Force the schools to remove fans who are overly aggressive and obnoxious.  And finally, there are absolutely no benefits to do this job other than the love of it.  And its hard to love it when you endure abuse from players, fans, and coaches.  

Now, if a referee can't take light abuse from only a coach, then that is on the ref.  Coaches are going to get upset.  They have to be given some leniency when arguing calls.  If they expect perfection from their players, they will want some of that from paid officials in a game.  And like what you responded to on my post...  Coaches are always looking for an advantage.  Arguing a call is generally a strategy used in basketball to get one the other way.  In soccer and football it is to get them to look for tendencies of the opposing teams.  Throwing a flag because a coach yells at you is thin skinned for a ref and that guy has no business doing the job.

The root of the problem comes down to a money.  If this were a full time job for these guys, I'd expect a lot more than what I do.  But seeing an 18 yr old student from Tarleton lead officiating a soccer match is just what its coming to... numbers are getting thin... and as they get thinner and thinner we will either have to encourage more people to do it with $$$ or just know that we are getting glorified rec league refs in the future.

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