Wrestling Officials

[powerhouse1]

There is not only a shortage of wrestling officials there's is a shoratage of good officials. I have never seen so many bad calls in all my life as I have in the past few weeks. I think there is a new hand signal in Tennessee where you cross your hands over each other and shake your head no. This means...I made a bad call and i'm taking back the points I awarded. MORE TRAINING IS CRITICAL.

[stovepipe]

So your kid got screwed and you blame the official?

 

And it appears you signed up for Coach T just to rant on this topic. Nice.

Edited January 17, 2006 by stovepipe

[powerhouse1]

No my kid did not get screwed! Have you ever watched wrestling in any other state? You have to join sometime!

[oneblindref]

As an official, in our area I think our group does a great job overall. It seems that they’re a lot of good officials in the stands. Because they always seem to tell you how much better they saw it from the stands. But they are always afraid to pay their money to the State and get out there and help us out. PAY YOUR FEE, PUT ON THE STRIPES AND GET OUT THERE! AND THEN TELL US HOW EASY IT IS TO MAKE THAT CALL.

[powerhouse1]

I have! I'm not saying all are bad but there are some who need more training. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

[oneblindref]

I have! I'm not saying all are bad but there are some who need more training. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings.

You don’t hurt my feeling, If I got my feelings hurt easy I would not be officiating in this sport because, no matter how good you call there is always someone unhappy.

[stumpguy]

There is not only a shortage of wrestling officials there's is a shoratage of good officials. I have never seen so many bad calls in all my life as I have in the past few weeks. I think there is a new hand signal in Tennessee where you cross your hands over each other and shake your head no. This means...I made a bad call and i'm taking back the points I awarded. MORE TRAINING IS CRITICAL.

 

Oh my, my favorite topic.....the Official....I know middle Tennessee prides itself on producing quality officials. They only have to work with who is REGISTERED, willing and able to call a high school wrestling match. At the begining of every season they looking for new members....it's never to late in life to return to the sport!!! I know of a few guys that won't call anymore because of coach's....now is there anything that coach's are required to do prior to the wrestling season??? Like taking a class on the proper way to "not call a match" or stick to coaching and not doing the officials job????

[rc1]

There is a shortage of referees which is obviously affected by the tremendous scrutiny and pressure that comes with the job. Even good refs make mistakes sometimes and I think that MOST coaches can deal with that (though of course they aren't going to be too happy). It is a thankless job and some coaches do indeed cry too much.

 

However, there are some refs who are simply unprofessional. Tardy to matches, ignorant of points of emphasis / rules, unprofessional in their communication with coaches (who are there in part as an advocate to the ref on behalf of their wrestler if they believe the rules are being improperly applied), or inconsistent in their "judgement" calls. This is part of life but it doesn't make it easy to swallow.

[CoachGonyeaTemp]

Doesn't matter what sport you are talking about, someone is always going to complain about the officials.

 

If I have a wrestler who complains about officiating, I tell them they need to improve their wrestling so the official can't have a part in whether they win or lose. If you are only up by one point, guess what, a bad call(or your interpretation of one) can cost you the match. However, if you go after your guy and get a lead of 6 or more points, one bad call(or your interpretation of one) will not cost you the match.

 

We as coaches need to get our wrestlers to step up and wrestle better. Not teach them the excuse "It was bad officiating"

 

Coach Gonyea

Smyrna High

[texas23]

Doesn't matter what sport you are talking about, someone is always going to complain about the officials.

 

If I have a wrestler who complains about officiating, I tell them they need to improve their wrestling so the official can't have a part in whether they win or lose. If you are only up by one point, guess what, a bad call(or your interpretation of one) can cost you the match. However, if you go after your guy and get a lead of 6 or more points, one bad call(or your interpretation of one) will not cost you the match.

 

We as coaches need to get our wrestlers to step up and wrestle better. Not teach them the excuse "It was bad officiating"

 

Coach Gonyea

Smyrna High

 

two talented wrestlers or two equal wrestlers may not be able to build a 6 point lead, and they must rely on reasonable officiating to wrestle their best with a very good competitor. While I understand what you mean and why you might tell your wrestlers to wrestle better, that is not always the true picture of a match.

 

just my opinion.

[Sommers]

two talented wrestlers or two equal wrestlers may not be able to build a 6 point lead, and they must rely on reasonable officiating to wrestle their best with a very good competitor. While I understand what you mean and why you might tell your wrestlers to wrestle better, that is not always the true picture of a match.

 

just my opinion.

How close was the Knapp/Manson match a month or so ago? Did the ref play any part in the outcome?

[CoachGonyeaTemp]

two talented wrestlers or two equal wrestlers may not be able to build a 6 point lead, and they must rely on reasonable officiating to wrestle their best with a very good competitor. While I understand what you mean and why you might tell your wrestlers to wrestle better, that is not always the true picture of a match.

 

just my opinion.

Tex,

 

I agree with you completely. My stance was of one to teach wrestlers that the match most of the time is in their hands.

 

I have seen some bad calls that have tainted an otherwise great match. But our wrestlers need to know that they need to look at themselves, rather than a bad ref.

 

To everyone else:Refs are an element in our wrestling that needs to be accounted for. They are human and guess what, humans make mistakes.

Edited January 17, 2006 by CoachGonyeaTemp