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.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
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.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, August 1, 2011
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.
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.
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