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Taking on a New Partner

Businesses often set up criteria for job candidates, listing the desired qualities and skills. Such a strategy might be a good way to start the process of finding a partner or crewmate. Namely, write down a list of dimensions you feel a new official could furnish.

If you’re frank, such a list could reflect your strengths and weaknesses or those of your crew. Are you a master of the rules? Is there abundant hustle on the crew? Do you relate well to coaches and players? Can you soothe feelings instead of escalating tensions? Do you know game strategies sufficiently to anticipate plays consistently? Are you good at covering for one another when circumstances dictate? Are you judicious in decision-making so that you permit players to play the game as long as they play it straight?

It’s hard to be forthright about those things, but certainly you’ll want the new person to be a comfortable and productive fit. At times, you’ll want a newcomer to mesh completely with your own philosophy. At other times, you may wish to add a person who can bring something that your current unit lacks. It may be years of experience. For example, your needs may best be filled by a contributor who already has a reputation as a stout performer, one whom everybody respects. Or if it’ll only be a partner (for officials in sports such as basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball), it may be someone to offset your own relative inexperience.

Philosophy. Some officials who meet your other criteria won’t be a philosophical fit. If, in the course of “interviewing” a potential replacement, you find he has strong opinions that don’t mesh with yours, you’d best keep on looking. Examples: A soccer official who feels there must be at least one red card per game, a football ref who is certain there’s holding on every play or a basketball official who won’t back off the theory that every collision has got to be a foul. If you agree with those tenets, you may have found your partner. If you don’t agree or don’t believe there’s wiggle room, you may be asking for trouble.

Think young. Maybe, on the other hand, you’ve got a group working now that is starting to show signs of rust. In that case, you may be better off recruiting a fresh face, someone younger you can mentor and mold to your desired way of operating.

Too many experienced people are reluctant to search out promising officials who are struggling for a break. That’s one reason why young people, originally eager, give up officiating prematurely.

When seeking a replacement to complement the current mix, taking on an individual who may make a mistake or two but who also may grow into a stalwart performer is a genuinely satisfying thing.

But upbeat, dashing youth isn’t the only answer to ideal working relationships. A sterling referee from Colorado often takes me to task for things I’ve written. “Your last column was full of malarkey,” he’ll say by way of a greeting. Then we’ll wrangle over some intricate issue. Although the referee’s got mileage on him, he’s far from stodgy. Instead, he is a gem during games, communicating effectively, covering lots of ground and, most of all, exemplifying high integrity and fortitude. In other words, I’d prefer someone as a companion in games who was feisty enough to challenge me and who showed both class and guts.

Written by Jerry Grunska, Evergreen, Colo., is a frequent contributor to Referee. This article originally appeared in the 10/00 issue of Referee.

Tales From the Trenches …

Real stories by officials, for officials.

Good Sports

We’re used to seeing poor sportsmanship. Parents scream from the stands, coaches throw fits on the sidelines and players taunt and get chippy. But there’s another side we don’t talk about as much. What is the best act of sportsmanship you’ve seen in your career? NASO LockerRoom readers had some good sports stories to tell.

Water Boy

“I was working a state football playoff game this year at a school about two hours away, so I didn’t know either of the teams. The home team was winning when its star went down with a sprained ankle with about two minutes left in the game. The team continued to hold the lead without the player when a timeout was called with less than a minute left. I was in my timeout position on the low block in front of the home team’s bench when I saw that star player hobbling back and forth from the water cooler to the huddle as he was bringing his teammates cups of water. Most stars would have remained sitting on the bench, either thinking that they were too good to do such a thing or too wrapped up in themselves to even think about teammates. It struck me that this player was most concerned about his team playing in the next round of the playoffs, so he was going to help them in any way possible. They won the game. I was touched by what I saw.”

This Game’s for You

“Last year during football season a former junior high football coach died in an automobile accident. The last game of the Junior High Basin League involved the team the deceased coach used to coach versus the league champion. The league champions won the game but at the end of the game they dedicated the game ball to the deceased coach’s son who played against them.”

Let’s Shake on It

“I was umpiring an ASA U-10 boys’ national championship and it was a very hard fought contest between the teams. And as the saying goes, somebody has to win. When it was all over, there wasn’t any crying or complaining. Both teams of boys came up to us umpires (all the players and coaches) and shook our hands and then shook hands with each other. As we were walking out of the diamond, my partner and I couldn’t get very far due to the parents wanting to shake hands and let us know we did a great job for their boys. Times like that make a person come back to the profession.”

Officials’ Safety First

“I was working a Texas six-man varsity football game as the head linesman. The play was a sweep to my side. As the player went out of bounds I was in position to mark the spot and stop the clock. Just as I raised my hands for the stop clock motion, a block was thrown causing both players to hit me about thigh high. I flew backward about six feet and landed directly on my back and hit my head. I looked up and saw a man had jumped out of the stands and was in a max sprint toward me. He was a doctor watching his son playing, but his concern was totally directed toward me at that moment. Fortunately I was not seriously hurt, just had the wind knocked out and was dazed from hitting my head. I was trying to get up, but he would not let me until he had done all the checks to ensure I was OK. The game was delayed about 10 minutes; then I was able to finish it. I truly appreciate the parents’ respect for what we do. Those families absolutely make doing this job worthwhile. I believe that the good definitely outweighs the bad. It is unfortunate that one bad experience can ruin many good ones.”

A Score for Sportsmanship

“While officiating at the Illinois Special Olympics State Tournament two years ago, two teams were playing with one way overly matched. The team that was losing had difficulty making a basket. Suddenly, with a little encouragement from its coach, the team that was winning began to get rebounds, lose the ball to the other team and then stand back to allow them to shoot. There was one player in particular who had never scored a basket. She tried and tried and tried and … the other team kept rebounding for her. Then when she finally got the ball to go in both teams roared in applause, giving her high fives. It nearly brought me to tears on the court. That sportsmanship is what sports is really all about.”

Pull Up a Chair…

Everyone who’s ever stepped onto a field, court or rink to officiate a game has a story to tell. Here’s a story about remembering an officiating comrade. (Do you have a story to tell? Write it down and e-mail to lastcall@referee.com.)

Still on My Mind

By Jay Miner

The other night I found myself thinking about my old umpiring partner. Actually it wasn’t the other night; it was morning. Around 4 a.m.

I was up late working when he popped into my head. He does that periodically, but it’s usually on the ballfield. To be clear, Don Willey is no longer with us. He passed away May 10, 2002, just two weeks after umpire his final game, a girls high school match-up between Stillwater and Tamarac at Brunswick, N.Y. Don was 76 years old and in his 52nd year of umpiring. In those 52 years he never missed an assignment, refused an assignment, turned in an assignment or was ever late for a game. Don never once appeared on a non-preferred list of officials.

Wish I could say the same. Don and I umpired more than 1,500 games together over the seasons. Year after year, when the continuous Northeastern springtime rains bogged down this assigner — that would be me — Don volunteered to work in the assigning office to ease the mounting pressures of rescheduling games. He did that for years, but wouldn’t ever let me compensate him. Often, after a long night, he’d take me out to eat.

Don had the plate that final game and something happened that Don had never before experienced. On a foul fly ball, he and the Stillwater catcher collided and Don was knocked hard to the ground. Stunned and in obvious pain, Don insisted on completing the game.

For the first time in his career, Don was on the injured list with lingering pains in his chest. The Stillwater catcher, concerned over Don’s injury, called the umpires association to check on his condition. Don mentioned he was pleased with her call, making sure to note that despite their collision — for which he took responsibility — the catcher was still able to catch the foul fly ball.

Don believed he would only be out of action for two or three days, but his condition never seemed to improve. Apparently and coincidentally, Don’s chest pains really stemmed more from a heart condition than from his injury. Still convinced he’d be able to return to umpiring in a few days, Don died of a heart attack.

A white-haired, distinguished gentlemen, Don was a constant steadying influence on the game and was at this best calming a too-confrontational partner, a recalcitrant coach, an emotional player or an overexcited spectator. Don set an exemplary example to his fellow officials with his professionalism

One spring afternoon about 10 years ago, Don came home from his accounting job with the Ford Motor Company to prepare for a high school game, only to find his elderly mother had fallen and was unconscious on the kitchen floor. Don notified his assigner of the emergency and rushed his mother to the hospital. After being assured by doctors that she wasn’t in a life-threatening situation, he rushed to his game, arriving just before the scheduled start time.

I’ve tried to model Don’s commitment and professionalism. Whenever I feel myself getting a little too emotional while dealing with a manager, Don comes around, knocking on my head again. He’s still umpiring softball, through me and the dozens of others he influenced.

Don’s funeral card read, “For everything there is an appointed season. For everything you do remains forever.” Don’s appointed season was his softball seasons, all 52 of them — and beyond.

Jay Miner, Referee’s softball coordinator, is a longtime softball and baseball umpire and assigner from Albany, N.Y.