3 days full

Although I could have officiated more last week, I got my fill in the last three days.
12/28 Minion Duals
12/29 Dixie Nationals
12/30 Rockdale Duals.

I was contacted by the tournament director for minion duals about a month ago. He asked if I could provide the officials for the tournament. We worked out a deal that was a little better for him, than the officials because I felt confident that I could find officials that wanted to work the tournament. I had no problem booking the tournament, because officials want to work hot matches (highly competitive, high level wrestling) no matter what the age groups are. I booked the officials and put myself in as well. I assigned a head official, but at the last minute he had a family problem that he had to take care of. By default because I booked the officials, I became the head official. I don't mind being a head official for most events. You do not get paid more, but usually you do not do that much more either. That wasn't the case at Minion Duals. I felt like Santa with a line of kids waiting to tell me what they wanted for Christmas while I was trying to officiate duals myself. I worked the K-3 division which means I spent a lot of time on my knees. needles to say, my legs where tired, and I was still trying to put out small fires. It was fun, but draining.
On the 29th, I was booked to work a high school Duals event, but got a last second call to cover Dixie. I really wanted to work Dixie, so I was not disappointed. I worked with three officials on four mats which means I got lots of short breaks. That helped me focus during my matches, and I had a good day. My legs were tired when I showed up, and even more so when I left. I had very few problems, and enjoyed the day at a National tournament.
Morning came quick on the 30th, and all I knew about my assignment was that I was working with one other official,it started at 9:00am, and it was Varsity Duals. It ended up being 5 duals for each of us. I am usually my sharpest early in the morning, and fad a little in the afternoon. My legs were a little dead in the morning, and it took me a while to shake some life into them. I had one of my worst calls of the year today. There was a scramble on the edge, and I blew the action dead because their feet were out of bounds. As soon as I blew the whistle I realized that the red wrestler had the green wrestlers shoulders in bounds, and he was pretty flat. Before the red coach could complain I apologized, and admitted that I was wrong, and could not fix the mistake. I let the coach give me some grief, and offered to discuss it more at the end of the Dual. The red wrestler did not win the match, and even got pinned. The mistake could possibly have cost the red team a twelve point swing. After the dual was over, and the moment was no longer heated, the coach was satisfied, and we moved on. The rest of the duals were good, but no big controversy. The worst thing that happened was a kid getting pinned with what the coach said was a choke hold. Since I was on the backside for a good view of the shoulders, it is very possible. If I had circled around front to check the hold I would have missed the fall. It was just one of those times where you make a choice, and it may not have been the best one.

I am off till next year. Next up for me is being a spectator at The Scuffle. See you on the mats soon.

Good behavior

I was working a large JV tournament this week. I got to work with some great High School kids that worked the tables, and 3 of the 8 mats at the tournament. I called matches with kids from 17 different schools, and worked along side of 9 other officials.

This was the first GHSA event I worked this year, and everyone was more well behaved than normal. One of the big differences between a High School event, and a club/USA event is the fact that these coaches have more on the line than a Dad/coach. There teaching job could be in jeopardy if they act a fool.
It is not just the relationship between the coaches, and officials, but the behavior of the wrestlers was respectful as well.

I can only remember a couple of times in the entire tournament that were the least controversial, and although at least one person left unhappy in each of those situations, I still feel that the conflicts were handled in a reasonable respectful manner.

The worst incident I had was late in the day, on the second day. The match just started off with a bad handshake. I really did not catch what happened, so I told them to shake hands again, like men. It still wasn't the best handshake in the world, but it was acceptable. The match was competitive, but the green wrestler was clearly winning the match. While the red wrestler was on the bottom, he posted up hard, and lifted his head. he repeated it and caught the green wrestler in the nose with the back of his head. I felt like it might have been intentional, and warned him to keep the match clean during a blood stoppage. I told him that I believed what he did was intentional. Latter in the match in a scramble for a takedown, the red wrestler, who was about to give up the takedown reared back and punched the green wrestler in the head. I immediately stepped in and stopped the match. While I was stepping in the green wrestler said "what the (expletive". As I made sure the wrestlers were separated, I signaled flagrant misconduct on the red wrestler, and told him he was disqualified from the tournament. Then I held out my green hand signaling unsportsmanlike conduct on the green wrestler. The green wrestlers coach did not see the first call, and shouted out what, and before he said anything else, I explained that he had missed the first call. I told him I ejected the red wrestler, and let him know that his wrestler had used profanity. He immediately calmed down, and made sure his wrestler was OK.

I had to fill out a report to send to GHSA. I gave it to the Head Official of the tournament, and he forwarded a copy to the head of our officials association, who will in turn deliver it to GHSA. The wrestler will have to serve a suspension.

One of my goals for the year is to have a better, more positive relationship with coaches and wrestlers. I want to answer all questions as completely as possible, while keeping tournaments moving. I want to give wrestlers a quick explanation when they seem to be confused by a call. If wrestlers ,and coaches have a better feel for what I am looking for, they will be able to produce it on my mat, and I will have nothing to do but award points, and congratulate wrestlers for hard fought matches.

Good luck the rest of the way everyone. We are off to a good start.

In pussuit of perfection.

I am not talking about a wrestler, or a coach. I am talking about officials. I have spent the month of September, and October doing what I can to get ready for Folkstyle season. I ended FS/G season on a high with a strong session in the Junior Finals, and I want that improvement to roll right into Folkstyle season.
I am not the only official working this hard. You would be surprised at the study and work put forth by many of the officials right here in our state. Here is a list of some of the training that has occurred.

Formation of the Team Georgia Wrestling Officials Association.
Online training of new officials by TGWOA.
Training sessions by local GHSA officials associations.
Sharing session with MAWOA, and The Rome Area Officials.
Combined training sessions with all GHSA associations.
3 on sit training sessions by TGWOA
2 onsite Training sessions by MAWOA
A GWOA, and MWOA/TGWOA official(Me) representing Georgia at USA preseason Nationals.
Looking at video (something we can not do in a match) and giving my opinion to parent/coaches striving to learn the sport.

At Fargo this year, there was an emphasis on Coaches and officials being cooperative. Coaches would come to the table with respectful questions, and officials would give complete answers. The tournament not only ran smoothly, but I think the officiating was better than usual. I want to do what I can to carry this over to the folkstyle season.

One of the top coaches in the state told me Saturday that he was going to hold his emotions back, and approach officials with respect this season. His theory is that he is more likely to get the benefit of a doubt in more instances. I am here to tell you that the coach is right on the mark. No matter how you approach an official, they will take it to heart, but if that approach is respectful, they are way less likely to become defensive. You are more likely to get the outcome you want with respect, than you are with random rants, and insults.

As always, If you have a question, I will do my best to answer it, or find you the answer if I do not know it.

Good luck to everyone, the season has begun.

Observations from The Hill

The Collins Hill Preseason Tournament was a training event for the Team Georgia Wrestling Officials Association. There were several points of confusion that I noticed, and want to clear up.

Headgear is mandatory at Team Georgia Folkstyle tournaments.

You can not alter your headgear with tape, but you can tape your fingers, or shoe laces.

There is a fifteen minute rest time between matches.

If you choose to wrestle two brackets, you waive your fifteen minute rest time moving from bracket to bracket.

Figure four to the head, body, and around two legs is illegal.

T-shirts, and underarmour shirts are special equipment. When the head official asks if anyone has special equipment, you need to have it approved.

You get what you give. If you give respect to officials/coaches, you get it back. There is no reason that we can not all treat each other with respect.

No matter how hard you try to be in position, you can not see everything. Sometimes you can not believe what you see, but you have to keep moving forward and make the appropriate call.

It is nice to have extra officials to discuss calls with, and answer questions for coaches, and wrestlers, but that luxury is rare.

Teaching is a great way to learn.

Two best questions of the day.

A young wrestler asked me something about batteries. I don't know what it was, but but I thought it was interesting.

Ronnie Milhof asked, If you are about to get an escape during the ultimate tie breaker, and as you limp your foot out, your shoe comes off, what happens.

My answer was, I would give one point for an escape, and the match would end. The argument could be made that the defensive wrestler would loose a point for being improperly equipped, but I compared it to loosing a headgear. You would keep wrestling to a stopping point.

If you have rules questions, shoot me an email, I will do everything I can to get you the correct answer.

Good luck everyone, it's time to wrestle.

Scheduling.

I know several officials are straddling fences. They are involved in more than one officials association. This can lead to some scheduling conflicts. Here are some things you can do to limit the confusion.

Get a calendar book, desk top calendar, or use a cell phone to help stay organized.

Block off dates that you can not work on your Isocs calendar if you are with TGWOA, MAWOA, or All South.

Check your emails at least once a day.

Confirm all assignments on your isocs calendar.

Answer your phone, it might be a last minute assignment.

Keep your gear, and a uniform with you. You may get to cover a last minute assignment.

OK, now I am organized and prepared. What happens if I get booked on a date that I can not work? All you have to do is turn back the assignment. The isocs administrator will see that the assignment has been turned back, and will assign it to someone else.

What if I can not work an assignment that I have already confirmed? Log onto Isocs, and look at the people list. Contact officials until you find one that can work. After you find someone to work your assignment, contact Me, and I will change the assignment in the system.

I hope this was helpful I am waiting to schedule December, and later tournaments til MAWOA sends out the first half schedule.

Please email me, or leave comments here with questions.

New Rules

There are plenty of spots where things have been reworded in the newest edition of the rule book, but only a few new rules. Here are the ones that may have a n effect on you.

Change to 2nd injury time.

They added choice on next restart in the following situation.
Wrestler A takes a second injury time out at the conclusion of the second period.
Wrestler B already has choice at the start of the third period.
Wrestler B will get choice at the start of the period, and the next restart.

Figure 4 is illegal if around the head, body, or two legs.
This is a simplified rule that should be easier on everyone.

The boundary lines are now inbounds.
You must have at least one supporting part of each wrestler across the line before the match will be stopped for an out of bounds call.
This is a 2 inch change, and will have little impact on wrestling in my opinion.

New High School weight classes.
106
113
120
126
132
138
145
152
160
170
182
195
220
285

That's it in a nut shell.

Here are some common questions/points of confusion.

Near fall criteria is one shoulder on the mat, and the other shoulder forming an angle of 45 degrees or less. A high bridge, or posting up on two elbows constitute criteria as well. Both shoulders held 4 inches or closer to the mat also constitute criteria for near fall.
You can only earn near fall when you are in control. A defensive wrestler can earn a fall, but not near fall points

You can earn a fall, and near fall points as long as you have criteria and any part of two shoulders, or scapula are inbounds. You can not earn near fall or a fall if one entire shoulder,and scapula are out of bounds.

If you earn a fall, you are not also awarded near fall.

Your not on your own.

It can be very lonely out on the mat, but remember you are part of a team. Your primary team consists of you, and your table workers. How well you work with your table can make an OK day a great one.

Talk to them before you start.
Smile when you talk to them.
Let them know that they are part of a team.
Tell them that we have the best mat in the gym.
Make trips over to the table when you think there is confusion.
Let them know that you will not allow a coach to yell at them.
Show them your hand signals before the first match.
Tell them how you want to be alerted of the end of the period.(I like to hear a loud count down from 4)
Tell them they are doing a great job throughout the day.
Help them if there is a problem.

It is easy to screw this up by making the table workers feel as if they are messing up. If things are not going perfect, let them know what you want them to do in positive terms, and when they do it that way complement them.

At the end of the day, your table workers may be the only people in the gym that like you.

Tournament directors can be of service to you as well. Unfortunately the beginning of a tournament is no time to talk to a tournament director. They are busy getting the event started, and are usually stressed out. The time to talk to your tournament director is the Monday before the event. Make sure to at least send an email letting them know you are covering the event. If you have time, two minutes on the phone is even better. Putting the tournament director at ease will help ensure a smooth day for you. It is not just common courtesy to contact the Tournament Director, it is smart business. You are way more likely to be requested if you do the small things.

You are a member of the officiating team in that gym as well. If someone asks you about another officials call, it is a good idea to keep your opinion to yourself. If you think another official has made a mistake, find time to discuss the call away from the mat. It is a great learning tool, and you may find out that you are the one that is wrong. It may open your eyes to a different perspective that changes the way you call matches. Officials do not spend enough time talking about tough calls, and it is a great learning tool.

Speaking of great learning tools, We have four tournaments that we will be working as training events for TGWOA. You can sign up to work these events at the Fall meeting. You must work two of the events. You will be donating your time for training purposes.

Here are the training events.

9/17 at South Forsyth
9/24 at Newnan
10/1 at Eastside
10/8 at Alexander.

That is a North, South, East, and West side event. I may have a more centralized event as a last minute trainer latter in the season if needed.

We will also have the option to work training events, and go to training sessions with WAWOA, and GWOA. I will let you know of those opportunities when they become available.

Start now.

Legs, legs, legs.
You will be surprised the effects a long day of officiating will have on your legs. The more skilled you become at being in position, the less you will actually chase wrestlers during a match, but you will still have constant level changes.

If you are not a jogger, at least get out and do some long walks in the park now. If you are a jogger, start working up to a minimum of 3 runs a week of 1.5 to three miles.

If you start the season with some muscular endurance in your legs, you will be a much better official.

A couple of other things you may want to try for experience.

Volunteer to be a line Judge at a Volleyball game. I have attended my High Schools Volleyball games since my first week at the school. I have done the line judge job in the past, but today, I worked 4 games in a tournament. The need to make quick decisions, with some hand signals that were unusual to me reminded me of how I felt out on the mat, the first few times I officiated. I wanted to get everything right, but my inexperience with the hand signals made it difficult.

Volunteer to help with the chain gang at a High School football game. You will not have that feeling of making quick decisions, but you will be part of an officiating crew. You may pick up a tip from an experienced official that helps you get through your first season as a wrestling official.

Get out there and make sure you are in shape mentally, and physically before you have to blow that first whistle.

There will be opportunities for in person training sessions with The MAWOA, and the GWOA. Those that can make these sessions will benefit highly. If you ever want to become a GHSA official, you should attend them. I will post the training dates, as well as our training tournaments as soon as the information is available.

Take care of it.

What are your responsibilities as a Team Georgia official?

After 9/1/2011 get or renew your USA official license.
Go to themat.com Click on join or renew membership. Click on Add official if you have not been licensed, and renew official if you have been licensed before.
If you are 18 years of age or older, you will be asked to go through the background check. It costs $17.00, and takes from one hour, to one week. After your background check is complete, you can return to the site and complete the purchase of your license.

Read, and post comments on all of the Blogs assigned for training.

Purchase your uniform.

Team Georgia will be providing us with rule books.

Attend the Team Georgia Fall meeting. You only have to attend the morning session. You will receive your rule book, and a flip disc like the one in the picture above.

The Team Georgia Annual Fall Meeting is Sunday Sept 11th 11:00am - 3:30pm at Mountain View High School.

Mt. View High School
2351 Sunny Hill Road
Lawrenceville, Ga. 30043

This is an open meeting and everyone is encouraged to attend. The meeting will consist of a luncheon, workshop sessions and the business meeting. A detailed schedule can be found in the Team GA documents section of the Team Georgia website.

To get a head count for lunch, please send an RSVP to robsherryhorton@att.net with your name, club name and email address.

If you are a Folkstyle tournament host you are required to attend the Fall Meeting. Tournament sanctioning and club charters need to be submitted online before this meeting. Instructions for this are the same as last year and will be sent out shortly.

Clubs must be chartered before the fall meeting is called to order at 2pm to be able to vote during the meeting. Please arrive no later than 1:30pm on Sunday Sept 11th to pick up your club packets and paper work.

There are several proposals to be voted on. Proposals are posted on the Team Georgia Website in the forums. The sponsors of the proposals have been accepting input for several months and will present the final proposals on September 1st. Please review and provide feedback on the proposals to them before September 1st.

We will have a few small door prizes for those that RSVP and attend the meeting so, please RSVP ASAP.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Sherry Horton
Fall Business Meeting Coordinator
678-442-0270
robsherryhorton@att.net

We will have 4 opportunities for you to show your skills at preseason tournaments. You will work those events for free as part of your training. You will be required to work 2 of the 4 events.

The tournament directors will be contracted to pay you at every event.
For Middle School Duals, you will receive $50.00
Beginners tournaments will pay $1.00/match
Open tournaments will pay $2.00/match

Experienced officials will be assigned as Head officials and will be paid $150.00 for Middle School duals, and Beginners tournaments. They will work the matches, and work as trainers to the less experienced officials. They will settle disputes, and get everyone through the rough patches. They will be paid at the normal $2.00/match at open tournaments.


Do not forget to RSVP for the Fall meeting.

More tips for new officials

Mistakes

You will make mistakes. If you can learn from your mistakes, you will get better every time you step on the mat.

If you know you have made a mistake, and can correct it, correct it quickly.

Some mistakes you can not correct, such as an inadvertent whistle. Let the wrestlers, and both coaches know that it was an inadvertent whistle, apologize, and inform all parties how it will be handled. If you admit your mistakes, coaches will realize you know how to get it right.

If you are calling stalling for a specific action, such as backing up, be consistent with the call. Call it that way the entire day. Ask other officials, and even coaches for their opinion, and if you think it was a mistake to call it that way, change it latter. Coaches can still coach their wrestlers if you are consistent, even if you are consistently wrong.



Coaches

The best way to deal with coaches is prevention. As a head official, you will be meeting with the coaches before any wrestling starts. Give them clear expectations.
Points of emphasis.

Please coach the wrestlers, not the officials.
Please follow bench decorum.
Please approach the table with all questions, but keep in mind that questioning judgment calls is not allowed.
If you have a problem with, or praise for an official, please bring it to the head official’s attention.



Coaches do not have the right to yell at you, but they will. Ignore the need to react, and do your job managing the situation. You have the penalty chart at your disposal, however keeping your cool, and giving the coach a chance to settle down without adding fuel to the fire can get you out of a bad situation. Remember, every time a coach is yelling, you should take what he is saying to heart. Stick the coaches’ comments in your back pocket, and think about them when you have more time. If you wait till the end of the competition, you may be able to talk to the coach, confirm his point of view, and let him know you will keep that in mind.

Coaches want to know what you are thinking, so they will ask you questions. If you can give a coach an answer (Not related to judgment calls) even if it is not the answer they want, they will appreciate it.

A coach may disapprove of you stopping an action that is potentially dangerous, but you will never fight a lawsuit for keeping a wrestler from being injured.

Making a tough call.

Stalling is one of the toughest calls in wrestling. You have to be able to recognize it when it is happening, and be willing to make the call. You will be able to tell when stalling is occurring, but will you be able to make the call. I have no great advice hear other than be consistent.

You will find that as you are evaluating maneuvers, that there are golden windows of opportunities to get a call right. Unfortunately it is easy to let that moment pass, and regret it immediately. It can get to late to make a call. If you spend too much time second guessing yourself, you will miss the golden window. Make the call.


Mechanics.

Practice your hand signals in a mirror. This is an old chart, and does not include the signal for start blood time.



Get a stopwatch, and practice your count for near fall points.


Always strive to improve.

The Folkstyle Officials survival guide.


There is great information in the rule book every year about being an official, but this post is about the things you may not think of till it is too late. Let’s start with the uniform.

Gray/Black pinstriped shirt.
Black pants
Black socks
Black shoes
Black belt
Black whistle on a black lanyard
Red and Green wristbands
Red and green flip disc.

With the shirt, there is no cheap alternative. I usually get mine from Takedown Sportswear, but there are several choices online. There are some choices of material now, but most are just a poly shirt, and they are not the most comfortable things in the world. You may want a black undershirt. The cheapest I have found shirts is $10.00, and have seen them priced as high as $28.00.

The Pants is an area that you can really save some money. Don’t get denim, or 100% cotton pants. The cotton picks up every piece of trash that you did not realize was on the mat, and your knees will look dirty. Stick with polyester, or a poly wool blend. Because I do not have a 32 inch waist, I prefer to get pants with a built in stretch waist. You can go online to the manufacturer, and spend more than $60.00 for a sports specific pair of pants, or you could get lucky at good will. Don’t go nuts, because you will wear out the pants in no time. A more expensive pair will not last longer than a cheap pair. Here is an important hint, wear black underwear. Of course it would be better to have a back up uniform in your car, at least black underwear can get you through a tournament if you have a small rip in your pants.

You probably have a few pairs of black socks laying around, don’t buy new socks till you wear out the old ones.

Shoes are a learning process. Make sure the toe area of the shoes you use is sturdy. Officiating tends to beat up the toes of shoes, and you will end up trying to glue them back down. I usually get two pairs of inexpensive shoes and rotate them. Dr. Sholes makes a good deodorant foot powder that I sprinkle in my shoes. Stinky shoes in your car all day makes for a bad ride home.

You probably have a black belt in your closet. Use it.

Whistles and lanyards are a place you should not skimp.
You can buy the lanyards that hook to the loop in the front of your shirt. I see plenty of officials that prefer these lanyards. They will let your shirt stretch if your lanyard gets kicked, and are less likely to hurt your mouth. I prefer a breakaway lanyard. With the break away lanyard if it gets kicked while the whistle is in your mouth, the lanyard will come apart, and prevent damage. The plastic break away connectors are easily snapped back together.

I recommend a pealess whistle. Fox 40 is the leading manufacturer, and they have lots of models to choose from. The new Sonic Blast is my whistle of choice. You can get whistles with mouth guards that will help protect your teeth, but I prefer whistles without the mouth guard. The mouth guard forces you to have your mouth wider open, and it is not comfortable to me.

Wrist bands.
You can shop around and find wristbands, but there is not a significant savings no matter what you find. I recommend having two sets of bands in rotation. It is nice to put on a dry set after a break. If you get wrestling specific wristbands, go ahead and get the ones that come with a flip disk.



You are dressed in an appropriate uniform, you look professional, and people may actually be convinced that you know what you are doing. What else do I need to bring with me.

The bag.

You need a container for your stuff. A gym style bag is a good choice. I have a backpack that I like, but sometimes it is a little small. Make sure you keep your bag in plain view, they tend to grow legs.

The stuff.

Some of the things you need in your bag are obvious, but it is the other stuff that can turn a bad day into something more tolerable. Here are the things in my bag. Leave a comment if you can think of something I should add to my bag.

1. Wristbands, flip discs and whistles. Two sets.
2. Pens, and pencils
3. A notebook or at least blank paper.
4. Disinfecting wipes. I clean my shoes with them after I use the bathroom. and it is nice to have a backup when there are blood issues.
5. A set of ankle bands. Sometimes they are not available at tournaments.
6. Gum. It is easy to get dry mouth with a whistle in and out of your mouth. The gum helps with the dry mouth, and the smell of your whistle.
7. Peanut M&Ms. Sometimes you get stuck on the mat for more than 4 hours at a time. You will loose your ability to concentrate when your blood sugar drops. The protein in the peanuts, sugar in the candy, and caffeine in the chocolate are my perfect combination to get back on track. A quick handful between matches can get you through the rough patches.
8. A bottle of water. You will be surprised how quickly you will dehydrate if you do not drink water.
9. Street clothes. There may not be a facility for you to shower after the match, but changing clothes can make you much more comfortable for the ride home.
10. A draw kit. I have to redo it this year since the weight classes have changed. Small Popsicle sticks from the craft store with the weight classes on them are a good choice.
11. My USA License book.
12. My phone. Once the tournament starts my phone is in my bag, and turned off.


As you become an experienced official, you will find things that are not on my list that you just can’t perform without. I just want to put some thoughts in your head on things you may want before your first adventure on the mat.

More experienced officials, please leave comments on things you can not officiate without, or money saving tips for the new officials.

Fargo 2011

Fargo is the largest wrestling tournament in the world. As an official-coach-wrestler it is the place to be at the end of July. This was my second trip to Fargo as an official.

USA Wrestling provides room and board for the event, and officials work for free. Officials have the opportunity to be upgraded by Fila, as well as USA wrestling for exceptional performances, and asked to sit out, or even leave for exceptionally poor performances.

There is pressure to follow procedure to the tee. If you have correct procedure, then the matches are not protestable, and everything runs smoothly. This year had very few protests, and the tournament ran very well.

Socially it is a unique event as well. You get a chance to pick the brains of the top officials in the United States about adventures they have had in wrestling. You see coaches that you respect, and have quick conversations with them. There are Olympians, NCAA champions, and famous college coaches all over the place.

I called placement, and finals matches in Cadet Women's, Cadet Greco, Junior Women's, and Junior Freestyle. I got a little rest on the two sessions that I did not work, but could not stay away and miss the wrestling.

The last final I called was the Junior 112 match. I was the judge. It is hard to tell exactly what is happening with the lower angle, and the spot lights, so it forces you to raise your level of concentration. At one point in the match, the blue wrestler was on a single leg attack moving towards the boundary. Red was at the line, and attempted to take away blues move by throwing him. At the conclusion of the sequence the referee indicated three for red. I indicated three for blue, and the chairman called for a conference. The chairman asked the referee what he saw. The referee said red took away blues move on the boundary and threw blue for three. The chairman asked me what I saw, and i agreed with what the referee had seen, and stated that the red wrestler landed out of bounds in exposure as he was attempting to take away blues move. The chairman asked red landed out of bounds, and I replied yes. We went back to our positions and the chairman confirmed three blue. The red coach threw his block asking for a video review. Our three man crew, and the review committee watched a video of the action. The video was from a terrible angle and it was hard to evaluate the action. The chairman asked me again if red landed out of bounds. The action had come towards me, and I had the best view of it. I stated that red had landed out of bounds. We were sent back to our positions. The chairman pointed to the referee, and he held up one blue. He pointed to me and I held up three blue. The chairman conferred with the committee, and confirmed three blue. Even though everyone agreed that I had gotten the call correct, I still felt bad for the referee.

I am back home after a 28 plus hour adventure in Fargo, Chicago, Washington D.C., and finally home, but that is another story.

Junior Duals.

An officials life at Junior Duals.

Pay=0

Benefit=Education, Evaluation, possible promotion to higher level. Increase in pay=0

Why go as an official? Best seat in the house.

Most of the state associations pay the officials a stipend for attending the National tournaments. I received $100 for representing the state of Georgia.

I received advice, reviews, and education from many of the top officials in the United States, and worked shoulder to shoulder with officials from all over the United States who were doing the same.

I got to doge the attacks of many of the best wrestlers in the U.S. without ever having the fear of being attacked myself.

I trained with Team Georgia's Junior teams, and called several wrestle-offs.

I traveled by bus with Team Georgia to, and from the event even though I was unable to watch them compete in the event. We even survived a blow out on the highway.

I officiated the 3rd place match for Greco, which I am glad to say that our neighbors to the south won, but had to leave before freestyle finals.

I will go again next year.

Here is what it is like for me.
I get dropped off after a 14 hour bus ride.
I find out where we are being housed, and wait to check in.
I unpack, and walk to the local store to buy some drinks, and a belt that I forgot for the second year in a row. (I think I have 6 black belts now, and I don't even do Karate).
I attend a clinic where we are introduced to any rules that are specific to the current event, and have a general rules review.
We have a clinic before every session, and review anything that is observed, or that coaches are complaining about.
Sessions are two or three duals long, and we have three per day.
We work through fatigue, and lack of sleep to concentration at a high level. We do the best we can to maintain excellent position on the mat and get every point scored correctly.
As a judge we give options that are possible so that the chairman can make final decisions on difficult situations.
As Chairmen, we keep things organized, and make final decisions when called upon.
We work long, hard hours, and try to learn, and have fun while we are doing it.

It is by far my favorite tournament, and I hope to return every year.

Behind the scenes at Schoolboy Duals

Just got back from Schoolboy Duals, and had a great time. I worked more than 8 hours per day, and learned plenty. Her is a list of things you may not know.

All officials work the tournament for free.

Every state that has a team must supply officials.

If you have two teams, you must supply two officials.

Most states give the officials a supplement to help cover expenses.

If you want to receive an upgrade beyond an M2, you must be evaluated at a National tournament.

Fully upgraded (M1) officials run the mats, and give training tips, as well as formal evaluations.

If you perform poorly, you can be downgraded.

The tournament provides housing, and food for the officials.

Here is a small narrative of my experience from a technical standpoint.
I caught the team bus at 5:45 at The Wrestling Academy. Helped load food and supplies for about 15 minutes. We drove to our second pick-up sight to pick up most of the team, and coaches. We arrived at Warren High School between 3:00, and 4:00. The Team stayed and got a quick workout before weigh-ins. Wolfgang (the other official) and I were basically dropped off. We worked weigh-ins, and attended the clinic before we were asked to find a ride to the hotel. We got rides with different people. I rode with a couple of guys who drove in from Pennsylvania. We stopped by the hotel, got checked in, and dropped off our stuff. We met back up to get a late dinner, and I picked up the tab so they would feel obligated to shuttle me around for the rest of the week. By the time I got back to the Hotel it was about midnight. I called Wolfgang to make sure he had gotten a room, but he had not. I gave him the number for the room that I was sharing with a high ranking official, and he slept on the floor. Needless to say I was tired, and we were due back early in the morning.

After a quick breakfast at the hotel, I meet up with my new friends from PA. Morning meeting were followed by 7 duals of Greco wrestling. We called matches for about 13 hours. We broke away a few at a time to eat lunch, and dinner.

Next day had a similar schedule. Quick breakfast then a meeting at the venue. 4 rounds of Greco followed by the finals. I got to work the 3rd, 4th place match, and it was a solid dual. After a short break, we started right in with two rounds of Freestyle. It took a little bit of adjusting, but the flow of the officiating settled in quickly.

The short day was Saturday. We only had 5 rounds to officiate, and even took a true lunch break. We were back at the hotel by 8:00pm, and had a social. We ate some good food, and watched the webcast of the World Team Trials. Of course we were watching the wrestling, but we were applauding the officials as we spotted them as well.

Sunday, was a hard day. We were officiating heated matches leading up to the finals. Three of the officials on my mat were getting a specific call wrong, and even after the Mat Chairman held a conference about it, they still got the call wrong. He sat all of those officials, so I worked the rest of the dual in one of the three spots. Next dual, he talked about it again, and put everyone back into rotation. In the heavyweight match, they missed the call again twice. Fortunately no one complained. I went to check on Team Georgia, and they were almost through with the last dual. I told the Head official that he needed to take Wolfgang and I out of rotation, informed both mat chairmen that we had to leave, and shortly we were on the bus.

Favorite things from the trip.

Meeting new people with similar experience from all over the United States.

Officiating Greco matches while Kendal Cross coached the Texas team.(What does that guy know about Greco)

Being an old guy who is in the same shoes as most of the young guys.

Sharing the experience with the young guys.

Finding out what everyone did for a living.

Listening to how things are done in other states.

Learning how to become a better official.

Watching Wolfgang perform well at his first National tournament.

Everyone's sense of humor.

Karaoke on the bus on the way home.


In about 9 days, I will start the cycle again for Junior Duals. I can't wait.

Hitting the road.

When my son was wrestling, I took advantage of every opportunity to make him better. I did what I could to become more knowledgeable, and also put him in front of the best coaches around. As always you have to weigh your expenditures with what is possible. We spent plenty of time traveling the Southeast, and even locations like Oklahoma, and North Dakota looking for great competition, and learning experiences. I could probably be debt free right now, if we had not done these things, but I wouldn't trade it. Heck, I am just finding ways to pay for college now anyway.

Now that my career as a dad of a wrestler is gone, I like to remind myself of how things used to be. This weekend, I took one of those opportunities. I volunteered to go to South Effingham to officiate a freestyle/Greco tournament. I talked my wife into going with me, promising that we would stay overnight in Savanna, and eat some fresh seafood. The tournament was small, but had some great competition from several inexperienced international style wrestlers. I was the only experienced official there, but had some great help from wrestlers working for credit towards their National Team trips, and even Robbie Collum. The tournament director did everything he could to make it a good experience, including announcing winners. It was a good day of wrestling. It did not bother me that I was on the road before 4:30am to go work for free.

Here is the fun part. As I was leaving the tournament, I asked Jason Grinner what time practice was Sunday. I was a little concerned that it may have been 1:00pm instead of 2:00pm. My wife heard us talking and said where is practice. I told her it was in Macon, and we would just go to practice on the way home. She said you didn't tell me about practice. I said really. I know I told our sons. Truth is I wasn't going to let her know til after the seafood, but my wife was a good sport and we continued to have fun.

We met up with a friend of mine that lives on Tybee Island. We used to coach High School wrestling together, and even shared an office, so we always have plenty of stories to share. We went to the Crabtrap, and enjoyed a ton of fresh seafood while sitting outside next to the water. Good food, great conversation but the early morning wake-up call was taking its toll.

Sunday, after a Wafflehouse feast, we headed back towards Macon. There are few things I look more forward to during the week than a Sunday Team Georgia practice. 8-10 coaches and about 50 kids packed into the Midstate Wrestling Academy for two and a half hour work out. We worked live situations most of the practice. I know the wrestlers were sore and tired after that one.

Next thing you know, I am back at school, about $350.00 in the hole, and happy to have done it. I feel for the guys that live in the outlying areas, and do this kind of thing several times a year. I enjoyed it, but I would have a hard time loving it every weekend.

The Half Marathon

That picture has nothing to do with my blog, but it is a great picture isn't it.
The only reason this week was a half marathon is because the youth tournament I was scheduled to officiate got canceled.
Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to conditioning with the girls trying out for my High Schools Soccer team.
Wednesday after practice I headed to Grayson for Senior night. Steve West did a great job of trying to put on a good show. he had the wrestlers in two ankle bands just like the NCAAs. He announced the wrestlers as they took the mat and even did some play by play. It made the event seem special and actually heightened my attention to detail. Steve did announce a couple of points before I got the signal up, but never influenced my calls. It was fun. After the match we discussed a call i had made at the edge. The defensive wrestler got to a neutral position, and it looked as if he was going to continue improving to the reversal. I did not award the escape because of the fact that it looked as if it was going to progress to a reversal, and it would have been an unjust extra point. As the action came to the edge, the offensive wrestler, who was out of bounds, launched the defensive wrestler out of bounds. I quickly blew the action dead so that they did not end up on the floor, and awarded the escape. Steve told me it would have been less controversial if i had awarded the points first, then blown the action out of bounds. I agreed with him, and try to do that when possible.

Thursday I was committed to calling my last wrestle-off for a local Team, so I headed out right after school. What I really wanted to do was go watch some Juco wrestling at Central Gwinnett. There were only a few wrestle-offs so I was able to do both. The coaches for the local team had a tough decision to make, much like the cuts I will be making next week at soccer tryouts. They were asking my advice, and I did not want to be in their shoes. I hope everything works out well for them, and they keep the program moving forward.

Juco wrestling at Central was a good show. I know it was a Thursday, and everyone is busy with practice but I was very disappointed in the size of the crowd. For those that attended there was a great show. Great scrambles with no points ever conceded is one of the reasons you should take the time to watch college wrestling any chance you get. Watching wrestlers that I have known since they wrestled youth, competing against others that I have spent hours in practice rooms with made it even better. The company wasn't bad either. I sat with the Head coach of a prominent High school program, and as we talked about the wrestlers we were watching, I was reminded of all the common experiences we shared, and how often our paths had collided. Right beside him was another coach with the same program, and I found out he was going to be at the event I was officiating Saturday. I went ahead and gave him his warning for coaches misconduct, and the funny part was that he was well behaved Saturday.

Friday I Was headed to the Prep Slam. I know the tournament was starting in the afternoon, and I was itching to leave school as soon as lunch was over. I waited impatiently till I was allowed to leave. I got stuck in typical afternoon traffic, and was happy to get there when i finally arrived. I kind of blew past the gate with my GHSA pass, and went straight to the back of the gym to help the number one family of Georgia wrestling run the tournament. Mom Dad, and one of the daughters were running the tournament, and the son was there receiving offers to coach some FS/G for the upcoming season. I looked to see what was up, jumped in and assisted til we got to a good stopping point. One of the coaches told me I should go check in up front and get my floor pass, so I went back and checked in. The lady at the desk said, oh you are the tournament director, and handed me a V.I.P. credential. I am glad there are some people beside my son Max that think I am important. I saw a little wrestling, but made sure I took care of the tournament so that everyone else could go eat. They had been there all day, and I didn't want them to miss the opportunity to eat and relax for a minute. They asked me to do weigh-outs just like last year. I was happy to do it. You would be surprised what you can learn about peoples characters in weigh-outs. On the way to weigh-outs I was slightly delayed. You know how you walk past the kitchen and you aren't even hungry, but someone is eating something that looks good and you just have to have some? Well as i walked past the corner mat, I had a similar experience. The number one ranked 189 in the Nation was wrestling. He looked like a science experiment specifically designed to be a wrestler. He stopped me in my tracks, and I had to watch him finish the match. I found out a little latter that the kid he was wrestling had just one his first
varsity match to earn the right to wrestle him.

What is great about doing weigh-outs? Seeing a kid like T.J Duncan being a true team leader is what is great about it. T.J is a great wrestler, and could become a five time state champion in his home state this year, but he is a great team mate and leader to boot. T.J was the first to weigh-out for his team, and instead of sitting in the bleachers and eating, he made sure that everyone on his team was on weight before they entered the weigh-out area. This took about two hours for his entire team to weigh-out. He showed concern for his fellow team mates as well as the kind of leadership you die for as a coach. Only one wrestler missed weight. I was the only person working weigh-outs so i could not easily control the door as I looked up wrestlers on the weigh-in sheets, and recorded the actual weights. I was chasing wrestlers out all night and having them make sure they were on weight before they entered the weigh-out area. There was a 135 pounder in the room with his coach. I gave him the same instructions that I gave everyone else. Once you enter this room you must weigh-out. They stayed, and the coach had him strip down to his underwear. Before I let him step on the scale, I told him once you step on the scale, you must weigh-out. I told him he would be able to step on, the scale, and if he was over immediately step of and back on to account for mechanical discrepancies in the scale, and he would be able to try that on both scales. It looked as if he did not want to but his coach made him. He failed all 4 chances, and I said I am sorry, you did not make weight. There was a small line of wrestlers in line at the scale now so I moved on. the wrestler and his coach did not leave the room and the coach kept having him step on and off the second scale. While I was looking up a wrestler the coach had him step on the corner of the first scale and he was on weight. I informed him that his official weight had already been recorded, and instructed him to talk to the tournament director to get him out of the weigh-in area. About thirty minutes latter the coach returned with the tournament director, and i explained the procedure that I had followed to the director. I told him that we had not given him the two chances on the check scale so we could do that and still be in compliance with the rules. We went out to the check scale, and gave him his two attempts, and he was still three tenths over. I just wish they had listened to me the first time, and made sure he was on weight before he entered the room.

I got in bed a little after midnight, and the alarm went off early Saturday morning. I was off to Medowcreek for the Gwinnett County 9th grade Championships. I got a chance to talk to and work with a lot of great high School students. The adults were actually pretty well behaved as well. I had a couple of calls that I could have done a better job on throughout the day. I think I missed a couple of illegal holds, and locked hands due to position (There were a lot of them). I had a near fall situation in a match that right before i got to the two count, the defensive wrestler came out of danger. Unfortunately I did finish the hand stroke and said two after he came out of danger. I quickly waived it off and shock my head. The coach of the offensive wrestler started berating me for not giving the two points. i waited for him to stop but he didn't. he kept saying that I had to award the points because I said two, i tried to diffuse the situation by saying i waived it off coach he did not reach the two count. he still kept on me. My back was to the coach the entire time, but it was distracting me, so i waited til there was a stop in the action, called unsportsmanlike conduct on the coach, and he stopped, and only added but you have to admit I have a point. If I had not said the word Two there would not have been a problem. I talked to the coach again at the end of the day, and told him he was right that I should not have said two, but that I was always going to try to make the right call even if I make a mistake. There was no hard feelings and we parted somewhat satisfied.

I will be at Duluth next Friday, and North Gwinnett on Saturday. Hope to see you there.

Cabin fever.

Now it may sound kind of funny to most people, but I am tired of not working. I miss my students, and all of the other students at my school. I am tired of being at home, and I am ready to work.
The snow didn't keep me from enjoying some good wrestling though. I was disappointed, and relieved at the same time with the cancellation of the State Dual Tournament. Although I had plenty of great volunteers stepping forward to help with the online scoring system, I still was a little anxious about how it would go. I have a little more time to wrap my head around the project before the Traditional tournament arrives.
I had to go to school across some icy roads on Thursday ,and Friday. The students were not allowed to come so I was thoroughly bored. Fortunately Cliff Fretwell sent me a text and asked if I would come down to the Compound, and call some matches. I was more than happy to go. They split guys into groups, and we wrestled matches for about 4 hours. It was a nice break from calling a tournament, or other event. I could step a little outside the realm of strict officiating, and give a little extra instruction, and explanations. At the end of the day, I called a handicap match. I used every rule to my advantage to make the match even. The hardcore fans that were still there got a kick out of it. Fretwell officiated a match right next to me, and was trying to emulate officials from the NCAA finals. It was some good comedy.
On Sunday I got up, and headed to Kell for the youth Open Tournament. I was strictly watching and enjoying. In the morning, I got the pleasure of cornering one of my favorite 8 year olds. He dominated two weight classes, and listened very well. I got a chance to watch some respected officials do their work, and enjoyed the tournament. In the afternoon session I got the chance to hang out with skinnypost, and discuss old times, new talent, and this years High School division. Saw some talented wrestlers wrestling tough matches, and still had good family time once I got home.
Monday came, and I worked my debut TGWOA event. For those of you who are not aware, TGWOA is a group of officials specifically designated for Team Georgia events. We charge lower rates, and emphasis training for upcoming officials. We worked the Walton Middle School duals, and I really liked the way it worked out. Bob Lax did a great job of turning lemons into lemonade. He had several teams bail on the tournament, picked up one team and turned it into a 6 team round robin. I spent the day splitting my mat with a rookie High School Junior who did a great job. I helped him out of a couple of hard situations, but we had no big conferences at the table, and our mat ran very smoothly. The competition was great as well with Milton edging out Jefferson for the first place trophy. Gordon Lee had a great showing as well.
I will be at Grayson Wednesday night, pop in on the Prep Slam Friday, call the Gwinnett County Freshman tournament, and a Youth Tournament on Sunday. See you next week.

Sorry, can't please everyone.

Friday morning one of my students asked me to call his mother and ask her not to move so that he could finish up the year with me. Latter in the day his mother called me to let me know she was moving, and ask me some technical questions about his graduation, and testing. You may ask yourself if I talked to her about not moving. I never got the chance. She spent the entire conversation defending the move, and asking me questions. have I pleased my student? No.
That was just a small example of the daily pull I get from my students and parents. As an official someone is upset with every close call, and even if you are 100% right (rarely am) it is hard for the person on the down side of the call to accept. Great coaches and parents use these situations as a teaching opportunity to help their wrestlers get better. They also use it as an opportunity to demonstrate good sportsmanship.
I ran into some great kids, and coaches this weekend at Brookwood for a youth event. One of the best matches of the day had two tough wrestlers in a close one point match. At the end of the second period there was a takedown attempt that I did not award. It was very close to control when the timekeeper came over and ended the period. There was a lot of noise from the spectators and coaches, but the coach did not call me over to the table, or say anything about it being a bad call, he just told his wrestler good job and keep working hard. As I was leaving, I saw the winning wrestler from this match. I asked him if he would have won if I had awarded that takedown. He answered maybe.
Before both sessions, I met with the coaches while the other officials met with the wrestlers. I told them if they had any problems with one of the officials they could come to me(non of them did in 500 matches). I also asked if they had any wrestlers with skin issues or special equipment that needed to be approved. I did have one coach bring over a knee pad to be checked and quickly approved it. I informed the coaches that they needed to have the wrestlers 100% ready to wrestle when they showed up to check in at the table, and that the wrestlers were to go directly from the table to the center of the mat. There were only 3 matches out of the 100 plus that I officiated that did not comply with these rules. Two wrestlers had on undershirts that had not been approved, and one wrestler went from the table to the center, then over to his coaches corner. I was lenient in the morning session with the little kids. The kid that showed up with an undershirt was not penalized, and I approved the shirt at match time. In the afternoon session (since I had put special emphasis on it)I penalized a wrestler for reporting to the match in an unauthorized uniform. I tried to get the coach to handle it before the wrestler got to the table, but it did not get handled in time. I awarded a team point to his opponent, started injury time and told him he had to remove the shirt. After the match I asked the wrestler if he wanted to wear the shirt so that I could approve it, and he said no. The wrestler who went from the center back to the corner was warned for stalling, and after the match the coach/father was telling me that it wasn't right, so I started to quote the rule to him (should have just warned him for coaches misconduct)and he said I know the rule, but no one else is calling it, and you need to tell the other officials to call it. I still am not sure what his point was. He acted mad at me for enforcing the rules, but asked me to get all of the other officials to enforce the rule in the same way.
I did have another coach tell me I was supposed to coach the kids. I think his wrestler wanted an injury time out. I have no way to know because the wrestler walked off the mat to his coaches corner and took of his headgear. I instructed him to report to the center of the mat, and the coach started yelling at me. I asked if he needed an injury time out and he said yes. I started injury time and went to the head table. I rely do not do not remember what the coach was saying, but his recurring point was that I should be coaching the kids. Believe it or not I am supposed to enforce the rules when I am officiating, and the coach is supposed to do the coaching. I never make any infraction calls without letting the wrestlers know what I called and why. If a coach does not understand a call I will always explain it to them. If a school wants a rule clinic I will come do it for free. I can not coach the wrestlers when I am officiating. I am just not allowed to.
I am about to head to a meeting about the GHSA State duals. I will be volunteering my time at the tournament, and look forward to seeing some exciting action. Hope to see you in Macon.

Quick pin

I was at Soccer practice, but left early to travel up the hill to our Middle School to officiate a Dual. It was fairly uneventful. The coaches had paired up the wrestlers to get the maximum number of matches for the event. There were about 20 matches lined up, and most of them were mismatches. If you watch the match below, I have to say I was a little slow to call the fall. He was pinned for at least three seconds when I blew my whistle.