What Constitutes a Technical Foul??????

[Guest UCLADYDEVILSFAN]

I wanted to see what folks on CoachT considered a technical foul. In my day to get a technical you had to argue with the ref, use profanity, show unsportsman-like conduct either emotionally or physically, or hostility towards the ref/refs or another player, etc.

 

In last night's game a player clearly tripped and fell to her knees bringing the ball down the court, the whole crowd seen it but the ref was behind the girl he called the foul on. The girl that the foul was called on never touched the girl or the ball but it was called. The girl that the foul was called on just turned to the Ref who was 10' from her and calmly commented "but she tripped" and the Ref immediately called a Technical Foul on her. The fans went wild, she hadn't displayed an emotional outburst and didn't try to argue she just was making a comment that the girl had tripped. Basically the girl was dribbling the ball and just got herself tripped up but because of the Refs position on the floor he probably couldn't see what actually happened. What shocked everyone was that he would call a Technical just for her trying to clarify what happened. :confused:

[Guest kygirl]

there is no accountability or recourse in the buddy-buddy, good ole' boy network for officials with chips on their shoulders, attitudes, or who don't work hard for a full 32 minutes...players, coaches and fans (see a recent OS game for an example there) are totally at their mercy. A lot of them, who give the handful of hard workers a bad name, know all, see all, and tell all...if you don't believe it just ask one during a game...as a coach, 2 'T's' and you are suspended 2 games, fined $250 and might lose your job, as a player you are ejected and possibly suspended, and as a fan you are ejected from the gym and possibly arrested...referees blow calls or don't know rules, and they get a nice check to go cash at the end of the night! Gotta love it!

[score3]

Some refs just will not listen, or consult with other officials to see what happened in a situation where it is necessary. It should be ok to admit you're wrong. The problem with some refs are they just want to get the thing over with, get their check, and get out of the gym, but the officials who take the time to admit their wrong have gained alot better reputation around the league.

[Guest swakme]

We, the fans and coaches need to let these officials know that we are going to video and send copies to the TSSAA and we need to get their names and e-mail the TSSAA every time they call more that three crucial calls in a close game. The web address is TSSAA.org and select "feedback" to send them an e-mail. The mailing address is: TSSAA, POBox319, 3333 Lebanon Road, Hermitage, TN 37076. Keep those videos, e-mails and letters coming! This is the ONLY way they are going to change...after all...they are being paid with our money. (the gate reciepts!)

[Guest HighTest]

I was at the game in which you are referring to and the play was uncalled for. There was no reason to try to stop the ptg the way it was tried. I am sure the opposing ptg was proboly pretty sore the next morning. So, the play accomplished nothing and she had "T" called and for what? Nothing at all. Stop and think before you make some silly mistake such as this play. You got nothing from nothing!

[Guest UCLADYDEVILSFAN]

You must be talking about something different than what I was. There wasn't a play involved and no one did anything wrong. The girl was just dribbling the ball down the court and the other player was just coming down with her. The girl guarding her didn't reach in, touch her or really get that close to her. There were no other players involved and the girl that was dribbling just tripped and fell - I was sitting right in front of her, about 15' away.

 

If he wanted to call a foul that's the way it goes sometimes.....I could go along with that. It's the technical the ref called that none of us could understand -

it was uncalled for.

[LadyTigersMom]

I think the officiating just gets worse each year. It is very sad that TSSAA does not do a better job at selecting and evaluating their referees. My daughter played in the team camp at Carson Newman last summer where TSSAA was "training" their officials for high school games. It seems they put more emphasis on "where to stand" than on the actual calls made.

 

Sometimes it seems the referees are partial to one team, but I don't think that is always the case. I think many times they just don't know what they are doing. The inconsistency is what I can't tolerate. I realize they are human and can't always see every foul, walk, etc., but geez...with 3 refs out there you'd think at least one of them would get it right!

 

I agree with the previous post...we should submit videos to TSSAA...but will it really do any good? Where is the accountability? Why can't they periodically review and evaluate these refs? If we do submit the video...is anything actually done? What are we teaching our athletes?

 

How much money have we parents spent on our sons and daughters playing this sport? How much time have the coaches spent working with them? How much hard work and hours have these athletes put into their game? Why aren't we doing something about this?

 

Until something is done to improve our officiating, we should all voice our concerns to TSSAA. You can go to the web site (www.tssaa.org) and comment on the "Feedback Form" or you can email them at tssaa@tssaa.org. I will be copying my post and sending it to them as well.

 

By the way, I've seen some very good officiating this season so I know it can be done!

[lillander]

what game was this???

[DelTavian]

I can't disagree that there are crapo refs out there that can mess up any game. I've seen far too many over the years.

 

But there are very good ones as well.

 

Here's the deal. You want better refs? You're going to have to double the pay. The reason the TSSAA doesn't do much if anything about crappy refs is they struggle to get enough to do the job for the pay. If you want them to get suspended and fined for doing a poor job they're going to have to get at least double what they're getting now. Otherwise they'll walk.

 

So what does that do to the athletic budget at your school?

 

It would be a pain in Grundy County right now because few folks are actually coming to the gym and paying admission.

 

I'd love to see accountability for refs. I'd love to see some of them fined and suspended for the lousy job they do.

 

But I'd also love to see the good ones get bonuses for the job they do.

 

There's one I've seen over the last few years turn into one of the best. I'm real happy any time I see him on the floor for a Grundy game. He's fair. He's even. He calls just enough to keep a game under control and little enough to not be noticed. His name is Randy Ellis and he's outstanding. I told Ronnie Carter exactly that Thursday.

 

Del.

[Edited by DelTavian on 2-15-03 9:28P]

 

[cwp76]

So how much do refs make per night? I heard that it was pretty good pay, but I don't know the exact amount.

 

I was sitting next to the husband of a ref at a JV game and he said his wife (who was doing a really good job, IMO) was about to give up refing because getting assignments had become too political.

 

I saw an excellent ref at the Rhea County tournament over the Christmas break. I don't have a clue what his name was (he was the black ref), but he was everything a ref should be. Obviously knowledgable, he was also calm and totally professional. I actually forgot he was out there because he only called what needed to be called, in a totally impartial way. He also did not sprint off the court like many I see - there was no need, he knew he had been fair - and when he left he said good-bye to the parents who were standing around. I wish I had told him "good job". He sure made it look easy, and not one person ever yelled at him during the course of the game. Maybe competence is the key to keeping the fans happy.

 

Just my .02 worth.

[OSHSman]

My step-father used to umpire high school baseball and he quit because his assigned games were getting farther and farther away. By the time he'd buy gas and food, he'd spent the money he made calling the ball game.

 

I keep the clock at Putnam County's parks and rec leauges. There was a TSSAA offical calling one Tuesday night that was talking about the M'boro Oakland-Riverdale game he was going to call later in the week. The man lives in Cookeville and was assigned for a game in Murfreesboro. Does that make sense to anyone?