Because of which of the following have you considered retirement from officiating?
| 47% |
I haven’t considered retirement yet. |
| 22% |
Age. |
| 15% |
Sportsmanship issues. |
| 7% |
Job commitments.
|
| 5% |
Time. |
| 4% |
Money. |
|
Optional Game Fee Loss Insurance
For NASO members who want more extensive game fee loss protection they can purchase a program with one of two options; annual premiums range from $114 to $277 with corresponding annual maximum benefits from $1,000 to $2,000. Those optional programs are not limited to game fee loss due to assault injuries; they extend to all officiating-related injuries and are exclusive to NASO members only.
|
| |
To view previous issues of NASO LockerRoom |
| Click here |
 |
Sophisticated Watches for Officials
Referee watches are perfect for the stylish official. Each face includes an imprint of Referee’s exclusive PlayPicTM illustration specific to baseball, basketball or football. With premier Japanese quartz movement, water and scratch resistance and adjustable bands, these watches are sophisticated yet sporty.
Click here for more details! |
|
Volume 9, Number 6
June 13, 2008 |
|
|
|
Time to Speak Up and Support Your Peers!
There are plenty of times when you are not in the company of other officials — at work, at family gatherings, in restaurants, etc. Many times the conversation at those places comes around to sports and, before too long, someone is bashing officials. Sometimes people will make negative comments knowing you’re an official, either to get a rise out of you or to see if they can elicit information they can use later to demean officials. If the person doing the lambasting doesn’t know you’re an official, the comments can be even more cutting.
So how should you react? Should you get up and leave the room so you don’t start an argument? Should you simply sit there with your mouth shut, happy that it’s not you they’re talking about?
Here’s a vote for speaking up on behalf of your avocation, albeit in a smart way. There’s a time and a place for everything, and a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Right: Ask them if they’d like more information. Most people are naturally curious; they can’t resist an offer to learn something.
Wrong: Ask them if they’ve ever officiated. It’s easy to fall into the “you can’t know if you’ve never done it” trap. Not to mention, that aggression will automatically put them on the defensive.
Right: Ask them if they saw the play in question. Too many times, people base their comments on hearsay or what they read in the newspaper. If that’s the case, a correct description of the play might help them realize on their own that it was handled properly. Because most officials are not allowed to speak to the press, only one side of the story often makes its way into print or onto the airwaves.
Wrong: Ask them what they know about rules and mechanics. Again, attacking their intelligence or knowledge only turns a fire into an inferno.
Right: Turn them from accuser into questioner. The natural response to a comment from you such as, “I know why the officials did what they did,” will be, “Why?” If nothing else, it will stop them from ranting for a little while.
Wrong: Speak as if you’re an expert if you don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s noble to defend officials, but adding misinformation on top of misinformation makes matters worse. If the play in question is about a sport or a level with which you have no experience, a better comment is, “I probably know less about that sport than you, but I can tell you what it’s like to be an official.”
Right: Acknowledge that mistakes may be made. It’s foolish to assert that officials are perfect. Even if it were the case, no one would believe it. But you can state the obvious without hanging your peers out to dry. Try empathy, such as, “If you’re correct and the officials missed it, I’ll bet you they feel miserable about it.”
Wrong: Agree with them. People will think you’re an expert if they find you’re an ally. If you say, “You’re right; that official is terrible,” it shortens the leap they have to make to add, “But even he’s not as bad as (fill in name of another official).” Even if you have a low opinion of the official in question, keep your opinion to yourself.
Right: Thank them for listening. You may not win them over, but let them know you appreciate that they’ve at least considered another point of view.
Written by Jeffrey Stern, Referee senior editor. This article originally appeared in the 3/04 issue of Referee. |
|
Get the Source for College Football Mechanics |
|
The only approved resources for college football mechanics have been updated for the 2008 season. In the CCA Football Officiating Manuals supervisors of the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) point out areas of the game that need special attention this year.
Available for crews of five, six and seven, the 2008 CCA Football Officiating Manuals highlight mechanics involving the 40/25 play clock, new game clock rules, as well as the development of the first-ever officiating philosophies, mechanics for offensive players who step out of bounds, new free kick positioning (seven-man ONLY) and time-saving techniques. All three manuals also include an in-depth interview with National Coordinator of Football Officials Dave Parry, a quick-reference signal chart and thorough explanations of mechanics for all positions.
Similarly, Collegiate Football Rules: Simplified & Illustrated has been updated to reflect the rules points of emphasis for the 2008 season. Topics in focus this year include the 40-second play clock, game clock, chop block redefined, five-yard facemask foul eliminated, horse collar tackle outlawed and new definition for passer beyond neutral zone.
Those manuals will be referenced at preseason camps and clinics throughout the country — preorder your copy today.
The 2008 CCA Football Officiating Manuals for crews of five, six and seven are each available for $15.95, and Collegiate Football Rules: Simplified & Illustrated is available for $21.95. Prices include standard domestic shipping. For more information, or to purchase the manuals, call 800/733-6100 or click here. For group discount details, please contact the sales department at 800/733-6100 or naso@naso.org.
|
Let’s Hear Your Best Story ...
You’ve probably been giving your best officiating stories away for free at any number of postgame crew gatherings. Referee magazine will pay you $100 to publish your favorite war story from the officiating trenches. Type up your story in 1,000 words or less and e-mail it to lastcall@referee.com. Sure, you might lose the opportunity to tell your story to your buddies, but face it, your friends are tired of hearing that old chestnut. Here’s an umpire’s story about surviving a heart attack.
Hockey’s Tough, But Baseball Could Kill You
By John D’Angelo
You’re not having a heart attack; it’s the Mexican food,” my wife said. “And I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do for you.”
As it turns out, actually I was having a heart attack.
Earlier that day, the temperature was in the 80s for the first time that season and I had worked the plate for both a middle school softball game in the afternoon and then a Senior Little League game in the evening.
I had been home for maybe an hour when I was overcome by pain that could best be described as “crippling indigestion.” It was the night of our 20th wedding anniversary and my wife had made Mexican food that afternoon for a nice, romantic lunch that we enjoyed on our deck before I headed to my assignments.
I started umpiring late in life, and before that I was an ice hockey referee for 22 years. But my body couldn’t take the wear and tear of the sticks and skates. I started umpiring because I always loved baseball and regretted that I hadn’t played beyond high school-aged recreation league ball.
In three years of umpiring my only injuries were some bruises on my hands and arms from foul balls and a pulled muscle from slipping on wet grass. In the two seasons of hockey before I made the move to umpiring I had spent more time in the emergency room than in taverns after games. I had suffered injuries to my jaw, my left arm, both ankles, my right knee and — most memorably — my groin.
The groin injury was a story in itself. Looking to dump the puck the length of the ice while killing a penalty, a college player had wound up and fired a slapshot without taking a moment to look up and see who might be in the puck’s path. I was 30 feet away from him and completely out of the way of where he could possibly make any logical play; so naturally that’s where the puck went.
There were about 500 people in the arena watching the game and every one of them fell silent as the puck headed toward me. Then they collectively let out an anguished “ooh” when the puck hit paydirt. Though I was wearing the best protective gear on the market, the pain was ... considerable. Hockey referees know from sacred tradition never to give in to pain, so I instinctively continued to work. That lasted about five seconds. Sometimes it’s best to just lay there.
But with all the referee injuries resulting from collisions with pucks, sticks and players, I had to become an umpire to have a heart attack. I took an ambulance to the hospital, lost consciousness on the way, and woke up 14 hours later in an intensive care room after having my life saved by a surgeon who placed a stent — that’s the balloon that opens a closed pathway for blood going to and from the heart — in one of my closed arteries.
Now I sit around waiting for my heart to heal enough to handle the stress of the bypass surgery. The cardiologist tells me my arteries are so badly clogged that after the surgery I will feel better than I’ve felt in 15 years.
But I have hope. I have a two-year-old son who is going to play pro ball if I’m around to coach him. I have a surgeon warming up his scalpel (and the saw he’ll use to cut my breastbone in half to gain access to my heart — Oh boy!). And I have a bunch of Cliff Keen shirts and Fechheimer trousers that are going to be way too big for me now that I’ve had a healthy lifestyle forced upon me.
I plan to be at preseason training in February and consistently calling high outside strikes in March.
If only they had a bypass operation for my knees and ankles.
John D’Angelo is from Mechanicsville, Va. He underwent successful bypass surgery after the incident. This originally appeared in the 5/05 issue of Referee.
|
|
|
|
The 2008 NASO You Make the Difference Membership Drive is now on. NASO active members will receive a FREE NASO Polo Shirt with every nominee that joins NASO. Nominate one, two or more officials you feel shares the same commitment to officiating as 16,000 NASO members.
It’s simple — just click here to submit your nominee online or call toll free, NASO at
800/733-6100. Don’t delay! The higher the numbers — the stronger the voice! If every member sends one, two or more official’s names, think of what your association — NASO — can continue to do for you and all officials.
During 2008 dedicated NASO members will receive requests from time to time asking for additional names of fellow officials to nominate. Members can submit as many names as they want throughout the course of the year. |
Each nominee will receive a special NASO Invitation Kit sent from NASO in your name. Each kit contains information about NASO and how to join. Invitations are only sent to officials that are recommended by current NASO members.
And when each of your nominees joins, we’ll send you a very special gift. A free NASO polo shirt featuring an embroidered NASO logo on the front chest. This black short-sleeve polo shirt is 100 percent ringspun Egyptian pique cotton with double-needle stitching and ribbed cuffs.
Each month we’ll continue to update you on the progress you are making to grow NASO. You’ll find attached to your May 2008 issue and inserted in your NASO renewal notices several ways to nominate your crew, association or a fellow official.
Don’t delay! Nominate today!
Click here
|
|
|
|
