Bad officiating

[footballref]

Coaching staffs are required to be at rules meetings just like officials are. Officials have to apply the same set of rules every game ..coaches have to change game plans every week. Your statement is ridiculous. The only thing TSSAA cares about is the mis-application of rules and if a coach can point that out then it should be addressed.... there is already a system in place for getting rid of bad coaches..they get fired. Can you tell me the last official fired for poor performance?

How many high school coaches do you see get fired? It is rare at the high school level.

 

The coaching staffs' do not have to attend the TSSAA rules meeting held each year. They can either send a representative or they can do something online and never have to show up at the meeting.

[JCAFCNMWTG]

How many high school coaches do you see get fired? It is rare at the high school level.

 

The coaching staffs' do not have to attend the TSSAA rules meeting held each year. They can either send a representative or they can do something online and never have to show up at the meeting.

You are correct..so let me rephrase ...I never missed a rules meeting during my career and I saw 6 coaches "let go" in football and 4 in basketball but rarely any in minor sports. Coaches SHOULD be required to attend the rules meetings. If there was an evaluation form or method being practiced or some sort of legitimate appeals process than any coach that did not attend the rules meeting would not be eligible to fill out an evaluation. There is simply a problem with a system that gives those being affected no recourse for appeal and no input to performance. Or how about this ....senior officials could serve on evaluation teams that occasionally show up at games to evaluate groups of officials that have been getting bad reports from coaches and if they see a need for correction, then a plan of improvement for those officials could be set in motion and if improvement is not shown then take appropriate action. Is there anything remotely close to this or is it logistically impossible. The best teams of officials I've seen are those that are willing(within reason) to listen to coaches and are ruthless evaluators of each other.

[BLUEMOM]

I know in our area (SE TN) every crew is observed at least once during the year by one of the area state supervisors (the association has 2). They are graded and their performances are critiqued. These critiques are then used when evaluating those up for playoff games. At the weekly meetings special situations that have occurred are covered and dissected to see what if anything should have been done differently and how they should be handled going forward. I also know the crew usually does an informal post-mortem immediately following the game.

[JCAFCNMWTG]

I know in our area (SE TN) every crew is observed at least once during the year by one of the area state supervisors (the association has 2). They are graded and their performances are critiqued. These critiques are then used when evaluating those up for playoff games. At the weekly meetings special situations that have occurred are covered and dissected to see what if anything should have been done differently and how they should be handled going forward. I also know the crew usually does an informal post-mortem immediately following the game.

That sounds reasonable..is that something that particular association does or is that a TSSAA mandate? Do all officials within an association meet and agree on certain rules such as holding? Because holding seems to be called(or not called) differently by every crew.

[BLUEMOM]

After a little limited research, here goes...

 

I do not know if it is just the association or a TSSAA mandate for the grading. I would assume that an organization such as the TSSAA would want such an evaluation system in place. I know that all rules and calls/enforcements are open for discussion and that the association strives for uniformity. However, there will be variance between crews as to their tolerance levels for certain infractions - true at all levels, high school, NCAA, NFL. I don't know how to fix that.

 

I did discover that there are approximately 13-15 local associations located across the state with approximately 50 persons who could be "graders" across the state. Locally, the assoc. has attempted in the past to invite open dialogue with coaches by hosting barbeques and such that were free to the coaches. They were not well attended. I do know that open communication is encouraged by Bluehalf's crew and they ask the coaches/ad's if they noticed anything that needed correction and review every flag thrown.

 

I will also commend the Sequatchie coach who attended a local meeting recently to thank the extra ECO for coming that they had requested. The 25 second clock was not functioning but the extra helped work the sides and refused his pay! Hmmmm....

 

The requests to buy the gear, pay the dues, take the test and give it a whirl are genuine. There is a shortage of officials making it difficult to turn away some who might need it and still get all games covered. Years ago it was 3-5 years to get on the field on a Friday nite as a rookie.... now, it happens much more quickly.

[footballref]

You are correct..so let me rephrase ...I never missed a rules meeting during my career and I saw 6 coaches "let go" in football and 4 in basketball but rarely any in minor sports. Coaches SHOULD be required to attend the rules meetings. If there was an evaluation form or method being practiced or some sort of legitimate appeals process than any coach that did not attend the rules meeting would not be eligible to fill out an evaluation. There is simply a problem with a system that gives those being affected no recourse for appeal and no input to performance. Or how about this ....senior officials could serve on evaluation teams that occasionally show up at games to evaluate groups of officials that have been getting bad reports from coaches and if they see a need for correction, then a plan of improvement for those officials could be set in motion and if improvement is not shown then take appropriate action. Is there anything remotely close to this or is it logistically impossible. The best teams of officials I've seen are those that are willing(within reason) to listen to coaches and are ruthless evaluators of each other.

I can't disagree with you that coaches should be able to give some kind of evaluation. Right now they have the option to scratch an official or crew from their school on Fridays in my association. No idea how it works elsewhere. Coaches also make calls to association supervisors. When calls are made the association will know about the general incident and some officials will be talked to privately.

 

Our association also tries to send the better officials deeper into the playoffs. During the regular season we have "x" number of crews and each crew works about the same amount of games. Typically your weaker crews will get what is thought of as weaker games. The stronger crews will work the stronger games.

 

All of our varsity officials and most JV officials are evaluated more than once each year. We do have supervisors and older officials that observe and evaluate officials. So, that does happen. The one thing we have a problem with is getting people to actually give bad evaluations for officials that have been around and don't need to still be on the field. I think the younger officials will get evaluated more honestly than older ones. Not sure how to fix that, as supervisors are put up by associations and then chosen by the state.

 

I know that we make mistakes. I believe we typically get over criticized for the mistakes that we make. If you ever have a chance to chat with an official, I will guarantee you just about everyone wants to do the best job possible. Usually if we miss something or mess up a rules interpretation it is on our mind and we want to do whatever we didn't do correctly better.

 

When we are on the field and mess something up, the fans are not going to be listened to about the application of the rule. A coach can call a timeout and discuss the interpretation, though you rarely see this.

 

I hope some of what I have said makes sense. I am trying to give a little insight into what goes on with officials.

[footballref]

I know in our area (SE TN) every crew is observed at least once during the year by one of the area state supervisors (the association has 2). They are graded and their performances are critiqued. These critiques are then used when evaluating those up for playoff games. At the weekly meetings special situations that have occurred are covered and dissected to see what if anything should have been done differently and how they should be handled going forward. I also know the crew usually does an informal post-mortem immediately following the game.

We operate in pretty much the same manner.

[footballref]

That sounds reasonable..is that something that particular association does or is that a TSSAA mandate? Do all officials within an association meet and agree on certain rules such as holding? Because holding seems to be called(or not called) differently by every crew.

We do meet and discuss things as well, we have about 10 meeting a year from July-November. As Bluemom states holding, pass interference, and other rules can be discussed, but when you have a large group of people you are going to have different interpretations. Then when you actually apply the rule on the field in real time it becomes even harder to interpret sometimes.