It’s one of the most annoying things to listen to, people who don’t necessarily know the rules to a sporting event who then proceed to criticize every little thing that they think they know.
I was calling a pretty tight game the other day between a local team and a city team from Weyburn. And the chatter over my right shoulder was annoying me to no end.
“Why don’t you call that one on the net?” Being on the stand I have a pretty good view…That one you think was on the net wasn’t, it was the ball that was pushed into the net making it move, she never touched it.
“She was completely under the net!” Well, technically the rule is you can go completely under the net, you can be laying on the other side as long as your feet don’t fully cross, I never saw her feet completely go under.
“She didn’t touch the net, it was the other girl.” Again I have a very good angle to see who was or wasn’t on the net, or who pushed the net into the other player.
“That was two hits!” Well technically the first pass is clean if it’s one motion, so if it rolls up your arms and bounces of your chest, it’s good on the first pass.
Looking back I should have called the captain over and explained some of the rules loudly enough for the parents in the corner to hear, next time.
I would say I know the rules fairly well; I’ve taken referee courses and have read through the rules countless times as a player, ref, and coach. The rules change, so you need to be up on them. I wasn’t trying to sway the game at all, but that’s how these people felt because they were misinformed regarding some of the rules.
However, at the same time I’m not perfect, I don’t claim to be, and neither is anyone else who gets up on the stand. It’s tough to do no matter how well you know the rules, calling a game is very difficult. Even the ones at the international level make mistakes.
You know when you should have called something, but it gets worse when people sit there chattering about what they saw. After the game one of my players, who had been linesing the game, came up to me and asked if I had heard all those parents. She was my linesperson on my right, so was standing directly in front of the ladies who were voicing their opinions quite loudly. That grade eight kid sad they were talking so much that she wanted to turn around to explain the rules to those parents.
The day before one of my girls were actually refereeing for the boys and was heckled by a group of parents as well. She ignored them. However, she’s in grade nine and learning how to ref, why in the world would you heckle her? I’m lucky she’s made of sturdy stuff because it’s interactions like that which turn people off refereeing and makes it difficult to find referees.
I’m hoping the boys that were refereeing the same day I was weren’t getting heckled too badly. Yes, they missed calls, but they did their best. I reminded them about the rules at the net and having to call certain things if I saw they were consistently missed, but it was constructive criticism. They’re learning and they were getting better as the day went on.
In fact the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association have a large sign which schools have to display which reads, “Please be respectful and encouraging in your approach to our opponents, officials, coaches and team members. Be a Fan……Not a Fanatic.”
So, as high school sports are getting into full swing and as hockey begins to take off, keep in mind everyone is human. No one is perfect. They’re going to do their best and that’s all you can expect. I’m a competitive person, but if someone makes what I think is a wrong call, I accept it and move on. And remember, at least in volleyball, your conduct reflects on your team and can cost you a point.
