Sensitivity Training for coaches and AD's

[Impartial_Observer]

As if coaches and AD's don't already have enough on their plate, this may be the dumbest idea yet with regards to attracting and retaining officials. 

https://coachad.com/news/new-jersey-legislator-sensitivity-training-coaches-athletic-directors/

[Bonecrusher]

I'm definitely not condoning profane vm's to players or the other stuff mentioned, but I would think these kinds of things are outliers.  If you have a coach with self control/anger issues, making them sit through some training won't accomplish much, seeing how most of these things happen in the heat of the moment into the season.  Maybe someone that's not smart enough to know where to draw the line would benefit, but then they probably shouldn't be working with impressionable kids anyway.  Let's all sing "Kumbaya" together.

[CoachJackson]

39 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

I'm definitely not condoning profane vm's to players or the other stuff mentioned, but I would think these kinds of things are outliers.  If you have a coach with self control/anger issues, making them sit through some training won't accomplish much, seeing how most of these things happen in the heat of the moment into the season.  Maybe someone that's not smart enough to know where to draw the line would benefit, but then they probably shouldn't be working with impressionable kids anyway.  Let's all sing "Kumbaya" together.

Couldn't agree more. It's another CYA policy for the administrators, allows them to say the coach or coaches involved were "trained" not to do this. It makes sense for them but probably will do little to prevent these situations in the future.

[Impartial_Observer]

I will throw this out there, and this is something that has changed over the course of my nearly 40 year officiating career. In the beginning of my career, there were those "Bob Knight" types. Constantly yelling and screaming. I've had coaches tell me flat out they were just working the officials trying to get a call later in the game. Seems counter intuitive to me but whatever. Those coaches are few and far between today, at least from my experience. 

I believe the masses of coaches in the state of Indiana are among some of the most professional people I deal with. Coaches and officials are always going to have conflict, it's the nature of the beast. But for the most part, coaches ask questions, we answer the questions, we either agree or disagree and go on about our business. I just don't see this as being an issue, at least in the games we do. Perhaps we are the anomaly,  I don't know, but I still think this is some of the dumbest legislation being proposed. But as is typical with government, they don't understand the problem, much less the answer to the problem.

[Bonecrusher]

11 minutes ago, Impartial_Observer said:

I will throw this out there, and this is something that has changed over the course of my nearly 40 year officiating career. In the beginning of my career, there were those "Bob Knight" types. Constantly yelling and screaming. I've had coaches tell me flat out they were just working the officials trying to get a call later in the game. Seems counter intuitive to me but whatever. Those coaches are few and far between today, at least from my experience. 

I believe the masses of coaches in the state of Indiana are among some of the most professional people I deal with. Coaches and officials are always going to have conflict, it's the nature of the beast. But for the most part, coaches ask questions, we answer the questions, we either agree or disagree and go on about our business. I just don't see this as being an issue, at least in the games we do. Perhaps we are the anomaly,  I don't know, but I still think this is some of the dumbest legislation being proposed. But as is typical with government, they don't understand the problem, much less the answer to the problem.

Pretty much like that down here, with a very few exceptions.  FWIW, I think there are lots of fans that could use some sensitivity training regarding their actions/words in the bleachers Friday nights.

The government will never pass up an opportunity to protect us from ourselves.  Sorry I went political there.

[Grover]

My God.  Administrators have gotten so soft.  It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

 

[MacAttack53]

15 hours ago, Grover said:

My God.  Administrators have gotten so soft.  It would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

 

We are a litigious society these days. The schools and corporations have to cover their backs. Until you've spent a few days as a school administrator in the present educational and social climate, you can't possibly sympathize. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by MacAttack53

[Impartial_Observer]

1 hour ago, MacAttack53 said:

We are a litigious society these days. The schools and corporations have to cover their backs. Until you've spent a few days as a school administrator in the present educational and social climate, you can't possibly sympathize. 

Good friend of mine, recently began his tenure as interim superintendent. I called him on Thursday after he officially began on Monday. He said he received notice of three lawsuits on Monday. I realize all this gets turned over to the lawyers, but geez, somebody has to pay the bill.

[Grover]

8 hours ago, MacAttack53 said:

We are a litigious society these days. The schools and corporations have to cover their backs. Until you've spent a few days as a school administrator in the present educational and social climate, you can't possibly sympathize. 

S-O-F-T

[Coach_K]

The real question you should ask yourself is do you want continue watching high school sports? 

There is a shortage of officials everywhere and if you think that nothing needs to change then continue to yell and scream at the officials.  Games are being cancelled and rescheduled because of the shortage of officials.  

Here is a FB post from one of my friends who officiates a few different sports:

"There has been lot’s of talk about officiating the last few weeks and how some people believe officials are “out to get their team”. While some officials are better than others and most officials are better than me, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have never heard an official talk about or engage any behavior to cheat a team or players.

In 2018 I traveled over 7500 miles to officiate contests. No way I would do that just to stick it to a team."

The fact is YOU personally might not need to change, but other coaches and fans might need to change their behavior.

[Impartial_Observer]

@Coach_K I think there are a myriad of reasons why we are seeing shortages of officials in all sports across the country. I think behavior issues mostly occur at the youth level. Youth is the worst case scenario, the most unskilled players, the youngest most inexperienced coaches and parents, and in many cases this is where young officials also cut their teeth. In the last few years I've cut my youth stuff WAY back, and I'm not going to lie, parents are part of that decision. I will do a few games in  a pinch, but only at locations where the games happen in a stadium and the parents are in the stands. The two leagues I work also have policies in place where they don't allow idiots. 

Call me an old coger, but there is a softness in people today. When you put that striped shirt on, you're going to have to deal with some animosity, coaches are going to question your decisions, fans are going to boo, jeer, whatever. It goes along with the territory. If you can't deal with a certain amount of that, you have no business in this avocation. Last stats I saw from the IHSAA the average age of a new official was like 42 and they would keep their license three years. 

Pay, and I hesitate to mention this, but it is a factor. Not unusual for me to leave my house on a Friday night at 3:30 and not be home until after midnight. Drive 1 1/2 hours for a 65-70 buck paycheck. I'm good with that, I knew what it was when I signed up, but when we're trying to attract new blood, a young family man, trying to make ends meet, he can't afford to go into the hole doing this. 

At the high school level, I just don't see the behavior issues that are painted in these articles. I try to be professional and courteous in administering the game. For the most part, I think coaches act the same. This legislation in my opinion is a waste of time and money. It doesn't address any of the problems we have in attracting and maintaining officials. 

[JustRules]

2 hours ago, Impartial_Observer said:

@Coach_K I think there are a myriad of reasons why we are seeing shortages of officials in all sports across the country. I think behavior issues mostly occur at the youth level. Youth is the worst case scenario, the most unskilled players, the youngest most inexperienced coaches and parents, and in many cases this is where young officials also cut their teeth. In the last few years I've cut my youth stuff WAY back, and I'm not going to lie, parents are part of that decision. I will do a few games in  a pinch, but only at locations where the games happen in a stadium and the parents are in the stands. The two leagues I work also have policies in place where they don't allow idiots. 

Call me an old coger, but there is a softness in people today. When you put that striped shirt on, you're going to have to deal with some animosity, coaches are going to question your decisions, fans are going to boo, jeer, whatever. It goes along with the territory. If you can't deal with a certain amount of that, you have no business in this avocation. Last stats I saw from the IHSAA the average age of a new official was like 42 and they would keep their license three years. 

Pay, and I hesitate to mention this, but it is a factor. Not unusual for me to leave my house on a Friday night at 3:30 and not be home until after midnight. Drive 1 1/2 hours for a 65-70 buck paycheck. I'm good with that, I knew what it was when I signed up, but when we're trying to attract new blood, a young family man, trying to make ends meet, he can't afford to go into the hole doing this. 

At the high school level, I just don't see the behavior issues that are painted in these articles. I try to be professional and courteous in administering the game. For the most part, I think coaches act the same. This legislation in my opinion is a waste of time and money. It doesn't address any of the problems we have in attracting and maintaining officials. 

I don't believe this training has anything to do with how coaches or administrators treat officials specifically. It looks to be more about gender and sexual orientation; race and ethnicity; disabilities; religious tolerance; unconscious bias; and diversity and inclusion. If officials fall into those categories then yes it would include treatment of officials.

[Bobref]

The National Assoc. of Sports Officials has conducted several surveys to find what is driving officials away from officiating prematurely. You see, it’s a mistake to characterize this situation as only a failure in recruiting. Retention is just as big an issue. And the surveys all show that the #3 reason officials give up their avocation early - behind family and job obligations - is lack of sportsmanship/respect shown to officials by fans, parents, coaches, players, and media. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Impartial_Observer said:

@Coach_K I think there are a myriad of reasons why we are seeing shortages of officials in all sports across the country. I think behavior issues mostly occur at the youth level. Youth is the worst case scenario, the most unskilled players, the youngest most inexperienced coaches and parents, and in many cases this is where young officials also cut their teeth. In the last few years I've cut my youth stuff WAY back, and I'm not going to lie, parents are part of that decision. I will do a few games in  a pinch, but only at locations where the games happen in a stadium and the parents are in the stands. The two leagues I work also have policies in place where they don't allow idiots. 

Call me an old coger, but there is a softness in people today. When you put that striped shirt on, you're going to have to deal with some animosity, coaches are going to question your decisions, fans are going to boo, jeer, whatever. It goes along with the territory. If you can't deal with a certain amount of that, you have no business in this avocation. Last stats I saw from the IHSAA the average age of a new official was like 42 and they would keep their license three years. 

Pay, and I hesitate to mention this, but it is a factor. Not unusual for me to leave my house on a Friday night at 3:30 and not be home until after midnight. Drive 1 1/2 hours for a 65-70 buck paycheck. I'm good with that, I knew what it was when I signed up, but when we're trying to attract new blood, a young family man, trying to make ends meet, he can't afford to go into the hole doing this. 

At the high school level, I just don't see the behavior issues that are painted in these articles. I try to be professional and courteous in administering the game. For the most part, I think coaches act the same. This legislation in my opinion is a waste of time and money. It doesn't address any of the problems we have in attracting and maintaining officials. 

Phew.....made it by a year. Lol

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

The National Assoc. of Sports Officials has conducted several surveys to find what is driving officials away from officiating prematurely. You see, it’s a mistake to characterize this situation as only a failure in recruiting. Retention is just as big an issue. And the surveys all show that the #3 reason officials give up their avocation early - behind family and job obligations - is lack of sportsmanship/respect shown to officials by fans, parents, coaches, players, and media. 

Tune em out. Ignore them. Should never even be approachable. 

[Lemmy]

After reading the article it isn't clear at all how this would help officiating at all, looks like an attempt to ram through someone's worldview.

Sound's like the standard fair corporate HR training that we are forced to sit through in corporate America:

"The bill, as it’s currently written, requires that coaches and athletic directors receive sensitivity training on gender and sexual orientation; race and ethnicity; disabilities; religious tolerance; unconscious bias; and diversity and inclusion. Sports officials also would be obligated to take part in the training."