Officials Training & Education Blog

7 Comments

• by Don Warkentin

  10 Aug 2009 at 09:22

  

  Does anyone know why the “comments” have been closed since March?

• by Tami Warren

  31 Mar 2009 at 19:03

  

  I would like to comment on the “War Stories” if I may. I have been officiating at National events for a few years now, and I find that sharing all the good and bad, happy, sad and funny, helps me when I am in a match. SOMETIMES.

  But I have also found that chatting with others in the work room can come back and bite you on the you know what.

  What I mean by this is when someone comes into the room or into the hearing of your conversation and has not been privy to the whole story. They then either go to someone who may be the head ref, or the work room staff and share what they thought you may have said as gospel. It comes back to you as fact and now you are labeled as ” a trouble maker”, or “negative” or inappropriate, or whatever the case may be.

  So all I can share is this… Be aware of whom you are sharing your story with, and who may be listening to what is said….

  Hopefully we all understand that all the sharing of stories is to be used as a training session for any ucoming matches you have, and not just a gossip session.

  I hope to be sharing war stories with you all in a city coming soon.

  Tami

• by Doug Darling

  10 Mar 2009 at 07:39

  

  Dave,
  I know why you have the perception described. I also know Mike Carter is answering truthfully. How can that be, you ask? I think sometimes our officiating leadership forgets how intimidating all the “stuff” can be…PAVO, USAV, FIVB, NHSF, Regional requirements, National clinics, etc. Most, if not all, of our senior experienced officials in PAVO and USAV have been doing this for 20+ years. They have sacrificed time with their families and jobs to dedicate themselves to our sport. They travel almost every weekend of the year to officiate/meet/train. When an upcoming official asks a question, many times it is a case of not having the time to respond as desired and it comes off as you say:
  No answer
  Vague answer
  Told not to ask questions
  Told this is the way we are doing it now so accept it

  Try this…next time you have question, try to get some quiet time with a clinician or whoever and ask the rationale for a rule/decision/technique. I would be willing to bet your impression might change.

  Hope to see you at a tournament,
  Doug Darling

• by Admin

  26 Feb 2009 at 08:47

  

  You can email Mike directly at cartersvb@verizon.net.

• by davidcslocum

  23 Feb 2009 at 19:45

  

  I don’t know how to make a private message here

• by Mike Carter

  23 Feb 2009 at 13:43

  

  Dave

  Thanks for attempting to drum up interest in our forum. I concur, we need to use this as a forum and get some discussions taking off. I will give my opinions on your points one by one. Remember, they are only my opinions.

  “expressing anything but the ‘party line’ will get you in hot water.
  Geez, I sincerely hope that isn’t the case. We can’t (at any level) make good decisions without input. I know I am not usually a good person to say “I need an answer and I need it now.” I normally like to get 3-4 others opinions. Case in point, selecting candidates for rating sites, both USAV and PAVO. I have been in charge of selecting candidates for both organizations and didn’t feel I could make choices on my own. I always researched and reached out for assistance. Once I had the info I made the best selections I could based on that information. I also felt it was imperative that anyone who wanted to know my process got the information. It is never “because I said so.” I hope you don’t hear this from USAV leadership. I also know that sometimes we are told the why and the background but the final decision is not what we are looking for or the opinion is not what we believe and we continue to press the issue. Done enough times in enough situations can lead to being seen as someone who is not willing to move forward. We have someone in Florida who tells partners “I am not calling by the ball handling directives, that is not the way the game is suppose to be played and I refuse.” So, when she doesn’t get assignments is it because she isn’t towing the party line or because she isn’t calling the game as she is supposed too. So this person sees a conspiracy against her when she doesn’t get assignments.

  “Responses to why a rule or interpretation is changing in a clinic or rating session and received either:

  No answer. I hope never – every question in a clinic or rating site deserves a response, even if it is “Great question, I don’t know but I promise to get an answer.”

  Vague Answer: Again, hope never, but I have given them myself and have heard others do it. Why, because it may be a relatively new change and the background in the decision has not been fully covered. Often in USAV we go with FIVB changes and then see if it needs to be modified. Sometimes we aren’t privy right away to the rationale. Also, at the local level, it depends on how the info has trickled down. Since I don’t know your regions clinic/rating session operation I can’t speak specifically to it.

  Told not ask questions. Totally unacceptable and although I wasn’t in every critique at every rating session, I can say the people that we use to rate at the National level would not say this, and I would hope even convey this in an unspoken manner. If you would like to share privately anyone who has told you this I would love to know.

  “Told this is the way we are doing it now so accept it.” Are you saying that no background was given or rationale? Again, I would hope it would never be conveyed in those words, as they are like “my way or the highway” that is not how we talk to people. I would hope at best it was in the context of “I’m not sure but we have been instructed to do it this way.”

  I know as PAVO Techniques guru we try to not change techniques unless it is for the better or to bring us in line with USAV techniques if there is not reason NOT to change. We are luckier in the college game as we usually are able to explain the rationale for rules changes and NCAA directed technique changes since we are represented at the rule meetings.

  “Dave, questioning or expressing disagreement with something equates to being a bad apple”. I would say only if we don’t know when to let it go. When the decision makers have decided rightly or wrongly to do something one way but we continue to challenge. We have to know when to say “Okay, I don’t agree, but I will live with it.”

  Sorry, I can’t address your regional issues but treating each other with respect, with no regard to certification level is expected and I hope given and received by all.

• by David Slocum

  13 Feb 2009 at 23:19

  

  To be honest, expressing anything but the “party line” will get you in hot water. I think open discussions are better all around but that is not the generally accepted behavior. I am posting here under my own name.

  Let me ask a questions of people. How many times have you asked why a rule or an interpretation is changing in a clinic or rating session and received either:

  No answer
  Vague answer
  Told not to ask questions
  Told this is the way we are doing it now so accept it

  Too often, questioning or expressing disagreement with something equates to being a bad apple or a disagreeable person. It doesn’t matter if you enforce the changes as requested but by expressing a disagreement means you are not following the “party line”.

  I should note that the “party line” isn’t necessarily just what comes out nationally, regional issues can and do make a difference in what and how you approach the game.

  Anyway, I hope to learn as much as I can from this site and I hope it takes off.

  David SLocum
  NERVA Regional Referee
  PAVO State Referee
  Good Guy Usually