Officials

[briggs]

When I first started officiating several years ago,  I had the opportunity to be "trained/shadowed" by some veterans like Scott Hilton and Chad Olson. It helped me out tremendously, understanding rules/position etc.. Was it difficult at first , yes, but I learned a lot.  It is quite apparent the WIAA should implement something soon, the quality of the officiating out there is not good. Safety is an issue. We need some sort of mentoring program soon, even if they have to compensate the mentor I believe this would help get more involved.  Maybe there is something out there already?

[crossface21]

I think during Regionals/Sectonals there should be a 2nd referee for all matches. Have the 2nd ref be a younger referee to get them some "on the job training".

[upnortwrastlin]

Coaches rank officials, or at least should be, each season. If an official is not in control of one match, that's one thing. If they are constantly allowing unsafe things to happen, coaches need to have that reflect in their rankings. This will stop some officials from being able to officiate at higher levels. I'm not sure what the cut-offs are, but there's plenty of officials that aren't allowed to officiate this weekend due to their low ranking.

[ChargerDad]

I think during Regionals/Sectonals there should be a 2nd referee for all matches. Have the 2nd ref be a younger referee to get them some "on the job training".

There are barely enough officials to cover Regionals, and not enough to cover them with officials I would want mentoring anybody..  I'm not usually critical of officiating, but I saw some terrible officiating at regionals..  1 good official, 1 average official, and 1 terrible official..  terrible official didn't understand blood time, that it actually stops when the bleeding stop, didn't understand locked hands, was often out of position for near fall or fall..   average official did an acceptable job, and the good official, well, we were figuring out their rotation to see if he was going to be the primary official for about every match..    Sectionals is probably different, probably enough decent officials to cover.. 

And at state, why can't we get our good young officials there earlier than they seem to get there??  Officiating there shouldn't be something you have to put your time in to get a privilege to officiate.. if you are a good official, you should be at state, it shouldn't matter if it's your 4th year officiating or your 24th..

[The wrestler]

Yes we do give refs a hard time. I myself have went out of my way to thank the refs and tell them they are doing a good job. Without refs we don't have wrestling. Everyone knows that is a true statement. Hoping the bad refs are going to get better. I think some of our best and better refs come right out of high school. Their have been bad calls and you yell at the ref but also please tell them thanks and you did a good job. This will keep them on the mat and they will get better also. Don't be afraid to thank especially this time of the year if you tell them they are a bad ref. We all have bad days.

[ChargerDad]

Yes we do give refs a hard time. I myself have went out of my way to thank the refs and tell them they are doing a good job. Without refs we don't have wrestling. Everyone knows that is a true statement. Hoping the bad refs are going to get better. I think some of our best and better refs come right out of high school. Their have been bad calls and you yell at the ref but also please tell them thanks and you did a good job. This will keep them on the mat and they will get better also. Don't be afraid to thank especially this time of the year if you tell them they are a bad ref. We all have bad days.

Not only that, but if your behavior runs off the bad officials, odds are they aren't being replaced by better officials..  IMO, we need to do a much better job of encouraging young athletes and former athletes to officiate, and give them the tools they need to become good officials..

[DocWrestling]

That is actually a great idea where they should have every official working at sectionals.  Pay the lower tier officials to sit matside and watch and learn.  Great weekend to mentor and teach.  Could even do at state.  Have a teach official at every mat.  Rotate 4-5 officials around the mats to just sit and watch the matches with that "teacher" and learn their knowledge and experience.  None of these officials would be directly involved in the match.

[400excracer]

I started officiating last year and only did a few middle school duals and 1 JV dual. The Official that did the varsity dual gave me some good tips. I think the idea of a mentor is a great idea. When I was wrestling 35 years ago we always had different officials for JV and Varsity. My guess is this was a way of getting new officials experience at a lower level while having a more experienced official to give them advise. Not sure about that but just a guess. Even if it wasn't it would be a good way to help younger officials along. Nowadays it seems that there is just one official for JV and Varsity. I get it, schools don't want to pay two officials, but other than that I don't see a negative. The more help we can give to young officials the better. Heck, I have been around wrestling for 40 years and I am nervous about a middle school tournament that I am officiating tomorrow.

[bigoil]

We always have two and the JV official will be on the mat for the varsity match learning.

[DocWrestling]

There are actually many good officials that really don't want to do varsity matches or high pressure matches.  They do it for the joy of the sport and don't need the added stress or pressure that comes with varsity.  This is true in all sports.  Many refs in all sports are finding they enjoy doing lower levels more even if the pay is less.  Fans and coaches of varsity athletics suck the fun out of it

[NoFooForU]

Fans and coaches of varsity athletics suck the fun out of it

insert: Parents

[ChargerDad]

Fans and coaches of varsity athletics suck the fun out of it

insert: Parents

I started recording my kid on my phone when I was at matches my wife couldn't attend when he was younger.. cured me real quick of being a knucklehead, and for the most part it's carried over..  Nobody want's to watch video of themselves acting like a tool.. well check that, some apparently don't mind.. I've seen plenty of knuckleheads on video on the internet that aren't affected by their own camera recording the match..

[upnortwrastlin]

That is actually a great idea where they should have every official working at sectionals.  Pay the lower tier officials to sit matside and watch and learn.  Great weekend to mentor and teach.  Could even do at state.  Have a teach official at every mat.  Rotate 4-5 officials around the mats to just sit and watch the matches with that "teacher" and learn their knowledge and experience.  None of these officials would be directly involved in the match.

That would be pretty expensive at sectionals. However, there are lots of officials that are on the floor during state. Many lower ranked officials are working tables and such. They don't rotate on the mats as much as you suggest, but they're there learning from the higher ranked officials none the less.

[The wrestler]

Maybe have the extra young refs could run the clocks at reg and sec. That would be a learning experience in it self. Maybe not the same wage but for sure there are a few young refs in college that wold love to do that and get paid.

[1Iota]

In order to have mentors you need enough officials to begin with.  Ask any AD and they will tell you HS sports are facing a crisis with the lack of officials in every sport.  They are desperate for younger officials, but get very few willing to do it.  I encouraged my kid to get his certification in order to earn some extra money and he laughed at me.  He said there isn't enough money to deal with the ignorant crap he has heard shouted from the stands during his HS career. 

Parents are ruining youth & HS sports & until the behavior in the stands changes don't expect this issue to improve.