Brave New World

At the 2003 NASO Conference officiating leaders from all over the country, representing every level of competition from the pros to colleges and high schools on down, gathered in Portland, Ore., to discuss issues of accountability and generate answers to critical problems.

There is an inevitability to accountability. Historically there’s been general banter about that. There has been discussion about being held accountable in the dressing rooms, in the bar after the game. But once you buy into the formality of the concept that you’re going to be held accountable, it causes you to look at things in a different way.

By and large, when officials hear the word "accountability", it means what? Pounding them down and not lifting them up. It can have negative connotations. NASO attempted to put a program together to make sure there was an equal dose of both.

One of the goals was to help put a different face on accountability in the mind of the officiating community, as well as the administrators of the games. Scrutiny can tear down, or it can be a way to build up. And for the latter, it needs to be part of a system that includes training, evaluation, accountability and rewards.