Officiating/coaching

briggs · January 28, 2023, 09:00:09 PM

I was at the Heart of the North Super Duels last night, yes, I was the guy screaming at the ref/coaches about the 120-pound match, yep that was my kid on top. I'm sorry I lost my cool, but I need to address the issue. I officiated for 12 years before stepping away to watch my boys compete. I feel like I was trained by the best, Chad Olsen and Scott Hilton. The WIAA has to do a better job. period. I have been to several tournaments and there is always an issue with refs/coaches. Pay more, give signing bonuses whatever. Get better training for these positions, Its costing our kid's.

Army Ant · January 28, 2023, 09:09:50 PM

"I was the guy screaming at the ref/coaches."

...yet everybody else is the problem?

briggs · January 28, 2023, 09:22:58 PM

Sorry, Army. 2nd period, 4-2 my son is behind. These to wrestlers have a history of close matches. WE get choice off a defer, choose down, Whistle blows, reversal to his back and the score board clock goes out, although the score keeper has the time on her laptop. Referee stops the match and awards the reversal and takes opponent off their back and does not award back points or points for stoppage.

Army Ant · January 28, 2023, 09:28:00 PM

If that's what truly happened I'm sure the referee feels horrible about it.

Btw, WIAA has no control over the pay at regular season tourneys. Schools offer what they offer.

briggs · January 28, 2023, 09:42:13 PM

Sorry my point I was trying to make is we need to do a better job and maybe the WIAA could help. Maybe offer signing bonuses for new officials. A legitimate training program for officials. Its not just a resting problem. Every sport is short.

imwi · January 28, 2023, 09:59:13 PM

I'd like some clarification here. You state " there is always an issue with refs/coaches", so is the WIAA supposed to offer signing bonuses to coaches too?

So the clock goes out and somehow you know that the scorekeeper's laptop has the correct time? How did you know that? Are you the same guy that would be screaming if the scoreboard clock didn't start but the laptop for track had it right?

I can only hope that you come back to be an official after your sons are done competing so that the sport will so much improved.

briggs · January 28, 2023, 10:06:34 PM

I spoke with the official after the duel was over for clarification and yes the laptop was still operational, typical responses , zero solutions.

imwi · January 28, 2023, 10:21:06 PM

Quote from: briggs on January 28, 2023, 10:06:34 PMI spoke with the official after the duel was over for clarification and yes the laptop was still operational, typical responses , zero solutions.

And the ref knew the laptop clock was correct when the scoreboard clock went out? I'm not sure how that is possible. Guessing that after he stopped the match, he learned the track laptop still had the correct time. Had he known this, I suspect he wouldn't have stopped the match. As to the points not being awarded at the stoppage, I wasn't there so I'm not sure the exact particulars and can't argue either way.

If you reffed for 12 years you should know that the WIAA has nothing to do with pay for any events other than the state series which someone else stated, let alone signing bonuses. I agree there is a shortage of refs and fans screaming at officials and challenging them after matches definitely increases the number of young guys that want to give it a shot. I'm not saying the guy didn't make a mistake but screaming like a maniac (I'm assuming that's what you did since you felt so guilty about it you came to the forums to post about it) is not the answer. Knowing that the track laptop still had the correct time makes the situation worse from your point of view but I don't understand how the ref was supposed to know that when the scoreboard clock went out. Sitting here on a Saturday night, yes, I know usually the clocks are completely separate but in the heat of contested match, the clock goes out, I'm probably stopping the match too

Army Ant · January 29, 2023, 10:32:34 AM

Yah, he's right. It's basically a free market. Schools offer officials what they can afford or otherwise want and officials sign up. The bigger tourneys (eg state, cheesehead, bistate, etc) are selective but most aren't.

Requiring officials to go through more training won't help because that just shrinks the pool of officials. Offering more tools always helps though. Offering a bonus or free certification is alsi nice but that money has to come from somewhere.

In the end, we get the quality of officiating that the average fan coach, AD, etc demands. Keep the kids safe, enforce sportsmanship and make sure the correct kid wins 99% of the time. I think that's good enough for most people.

bigoil · January 29, 2023, 01:09:12 PM

Quote from: briggs on January 28, 2023, 09:22:58 PMSorry, Army. 2nd period, 4-2 my son is behind. These to wrestlers have a history of close matches. WE get choice off a defer, choose down, Whistle blows, reversal to his back and the score board clock goes out, although the score keeper has the time on her laptop. Referee stops the match and awards the reversal and takes opponent off their back and does not award back points or points for stoppage.

So it was 4-4, tied when action resumes with nearly two periods to go.