Awareness

The sophomore center drives the lane. As last year’s conference MVP goes up to slam the ball home, his seven-foot opponent comes across the lane and lays some body on him. There is contact but there is no whistle echoing through the gym on that play.

Did the official not see that? There was contact and no foul was called. The confident eight-year veteran referee was in position to look through the players, refereed the defense, saw the contact, evaluated the play for advantage/disadvantage and passed on the opportunity. The no-call was well received by the crowd, except the heavyset woman in row 12.

Early spring baseball finds two neighboring towns in their first game of the season. The second inning pitch is away from the catcher’s chest, far enough away the catcher falls to his right knee to make the grab. Since some part of the ball passed over the plate the umpire bellows, "Strike." As you can imagine, a furor erupts with offensive coaches (that’s the team batting, not a reflection on their character) pouring out of the dugout and down the baselines.

While accurate, the home plate umpire had a tough call to sell. OK, it was a strike, but who believes the umpire as they watch the catcher teeter on one knee. To the coaches and fans the pitch "looks" a foot outside. Former major league umpire Eric Gregg took some heat during the 1997 NL Championship Series for his wide strike zone, so let’s analyze what he saw. He watched a catcher set up toward the outside of the plate, saw a pitch delivered to the spot where the catcher set up and called a strike. Some might argue he pressed the outside limit, but in the days before all the fancy gizmos and television replays, that pitch is a strike without all the furor.

Soccer referees tend to call two seasons every calendar year so a 15-year veteran actually has 30 seasons of experience. They have developed the awareness to no-call a through ball that will roll to the goalkeeper even though a player was offside.

As you make the transition to higher levels of sports officiating, watch the player’s and fan’s reaction the first time you no-call a handling the ball decision you would have called in earlier games. A small cry will go up from some neophyte observer, but your no-calls that do not place a team at a disadvantage will be well received.

Developing a greater awareness of the effects of the infractions will allow you to judge when actions must be penalized. Watch veterans, either at the professional level, Division I collegiate level or just the best of the local officials as they judge sports contests. Watch the no-calls and observe players and coaches reactions. As you begin to move up, adjust your perceptions of fouls and violations to meet these experienced veterans. The added awareness will ease your transition.

New NASO CyberChat is Tomorrow

Mark your calendar for Jan. 16 and be part of NASO history. NASO’s latest and newest benefit for members will provide opportunities to go one-on-one with officiating guests and important officiating leaders through a new Web-based service.

NASO CyberChat premiers tomorrow (Jan. 16) and NASO President Barry Mano will field questions from members for one hour. Logon at 11:00 a.m. Central Standard Time and send your question. The chat is scheduled to last one hour.

"This will be the first of what we hope many opportunities to communicate with association members," said NASO Communications and Development Manager Bob Still. "If you have ever wanted to ask Barry anything about the association or its activities, here’s your chance."

Simply follow the instructions below to logon.

NASO CyberChat Login Instructions

1. To enter NASO CyberChat:
You must use Internet Explorer, go to URL: http://chat.naso.org
Enter PASSWORD "cyberchat" to access the NASO CyberChat.
Enter a nickname, a.k.a., screen name, i.e. RefMan no spaces between words, you can use a Capital letter as a word separator.
Enter your e-mail Address: This is optional.
Choose the Room CyberChat to enter the NASO CyberChat. You can also enter the Members Only chat room for open chat.
Browser Interface is defaulted to HTML, that is automatic.
Click on Enter the Chat to login to CyberChat.

2. Using the Chat Room:
General
You can chat by typing in the field at the bottom of the chat window and pressing Enter.

Sending Links
By default the chat prevents you from submitting messages containing HTML tags. However if you want to send links simply write the full URL, e.g. http://www.server.com/ or https://secure.com/page/. The URLs will be automatically converted to hyperlinks.

Controls
There several buttons at the bottom of the chat window:
CLEAR - clears the chat window;
NICKNAME - allows you to change your nickname;
OPTIONS - sets session options: 1.SET FOCUS ON NEW MSG - when checked every time a message is displayed the chat window is brought to the top; 2.I AM AWAY - when checked you are marked as being away from the computer; 3. SCROLL ON NEW MSG - when checked the chat window scrolls to the bottom when a new message is displayed. Some browsers (especially on Mac) do not interpret correctly the JavaScript scroll command and in that case it is useful to turn that option off.
IGNORE - gives you the option to ignore (not see) the messages from the selected users.
WHOS IN - displays all users in the public rooms;
MSG BOX - enables you to create a personal message box and to leave messages to a user who has visited the chat. The messages are saved on the server and will be seen by the user the next time he enters the chat, no matter if he logs in with a different Nickname. This function requires cookies to be enabled.
LOG OFF - logs you off from the current room;
HELP - displays this help;
CLOSE - loges you off and closes the chat window;

Heart Attack Claims ’98 Gold Whistle Award Honoree Durwood Merrill

Former AL umpire Durwood Merrill, died Jan. 11 at Christus St. Michael Health System after suffering a heart attack six days earlier. He was 64.

Merrill received the National Association of Sports Officials Gold Whistle Award in 1998 for his community service work in his hometown of Hooks, Tex. When notified that he had won the award, Merrill said, "Nothing I’ll ever receive will ever mean as much as this award."

Merrill umpired in the majors from 1977-99. Although primarily remembered for his colorful onfield style and mannerism, Merrill earned the respect of players and managers.

During his major league career, Merrill was assigned to five league championship series, a division series and the 1998 World Series. Merrill worked the 1984 and 1995 All-Star games. Merrill related career highlights and his life as an umpire in a book titled You’re Out and You’re Ugly, Too.

Merrill founded the Hooks Christian Services Charity, which helps provide food, clothing and toys to underprivileged children as well as college scholarships and reading glasses. The organization informally began its work on Christmas Day 1979, when Merrill provided food and gifts for a destitute family. In intervening years, hundreds of other needy families received assistance.

Survivors include his wife, Carolyn; son, Mickey; daughter, Maria; and several grandchildren.

Helpful Tax Tips From NASO

By now you should have organized your tax records for 2002 and have a summary of your officiating income and expenses. This will help you or your professional tax advisor to at least make an educated guess to see if you owe or will be receiving a refund.

Part of your organization of records is calculating your business (officiating) related mileage. Those are the miles that are deductible on your tax return. The rate for 2002 was 36.5 cents per mile, that amount is decreased to 36 cents for 2003. The rates mentioned are the standard mileage rates. Those rates are determined by the General Accounting Office and are intended to cover all automobile costs except parking and tolls. That method is by far the easiest, but it still requires contemporaneously maintained records. Use a basic auto mileage log which can be purchased at any office supply store or downloaded from the NASO Tax Guide at the NASO website (www.naso.org/tax). This log will satisfy your record keeping requirements.

Deductible mileage is generally defined as miles from your primary job (assuming officiating is a second job), to your game site, meeting location, etc. If you leave from home for a game or meeting, those miles are not deductible unless your home is your primary place of business and qualifies as a home office or your game is outside the metropolitan area in which you live. Those are only guidelines and generalities; those areas can be more complicated than you think and may require guidance from a tax professional.

As we are getting into the tax season, a new reference area provided by NASO can assist you in compiling your tax information. Go to the NASO website www.naso.org/tax. There you will be able to get most of your basic income and expense questions related to sports officiating answered. Please remember that this information is general and if your situation is more complicated, you will most likely require professional tax advice. The Website has some nice features, including a link to the Internal Revenue Service and Websites for all 50 state taxing agencies. It also has a feature called "Ask Hal." Click on the dollar bill and e-mail Hal a specific question. Please remember that is only for specific questions after you have used the Website to see if you can find the answer. Please do not be offended if Hal refers you to a section of the NASO Tax Guide or an IRS publication. He cannot give tax advice, only answer questions that are general in scope.

NASO hopes each of you has a stress-free tax season and that the information in the tax tips above as well as those on the NASO website assist you in taking advantage of areas of the tax code to minimize your tax liability. Also, coming soon on the website will be a new article called, "How to Choose a Tax Preparer."

(Hal Kaye, an official for more than 30 years, is a certified public accountant in Englewood, Colo. He can be reached at 303/771-0123.)

NASO President Barry Mano has agreed to represent NASO and serve on the Center for Sports Parenting Advisory Board.

Launched in March 2001, the Center for Sports Parenting (CSP) is a Web-based initiative that serves as an immediate and practical means to offer guidance to parents, coaches, educators, administrators, officials and all other individuals involved in youth sports, equipping them with the information needed to appropriately handle the psychological and physical challenges faced by young people participating in athletics.

Chaired by Rick Wolff, nationally recognized sports parenting and performance enhancement expert, the CSP Website offers personalized advice from a panel of more than 25 respected experts in the field of sports psychology, coaching, health, nutrition and sports medicine. The site provides users access to CSP research focused on the latest psychological trends in the area of sports parenting, with special emphasis on the best methods of communication, motivation, and athletic development. It also serves as a forum for people to speak out on sports parenting-related issues. The research done for Dan Doyle’s forthcoming book, The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting, to be published by Warner Books, serves as the basis for much of the work done by the CSP.

The CSP Website features:

• Expert Panel — E-mail specific sports parenting-related questions to the CSP Experts and receive a detailed and personalized response from an expert in the field.

• Book of the Month — Each month the CSP highlights a book that deals with issues related to sports parenting and/or youth sports. A synopsis of the book, and information on where to purchase the book is provided.

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) — A collection of questions and answers from the CSP expert panel is archived by topic for quick referencing.

• Message Board — An opportunity for visitors to hold conversations and learn from what others around the country are doing regarding issues related to sports parenting.

• Hot Topic Polls — Participate in CSP’s ongoing research effort by taking polls on topics related to sports parenting and youth sports.

• Resource Directory — A regularly updated clearinghouse of information on sports parenting, including articles from newspapers and magazines, videos and a list of Websites that pertain to youth sports and sports parenting.

Visit the CSP Website at www.sportsparenting.org.

February Issue is in the Mail

The February issue of REFEREE is in the mail and has lots of important news and information.

Here’s a preview:

Look for your issue of REFEREE any day. www.referee.com