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.
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Good advice on being building a rapport and being positive with the table crew. At these tournaments there can be some turnover in the crew at the table. In these cases you can normally focus one or two people that are key to keeping the bout sheets and wrestlers ready.
ReplyDeleteFor the tournaments wil we have the option of working part of the day say the morning or afternoon sessions?
Jack Hesse
Great insight. It is logical to win the trust of your table in turn making your job easier. Are all table workers personable?
ReplyDeleteAll pre-season tournaments are just one session. The tournaments start as soon as weigh-ins are complete, and run till the last match is done. Most are complete in less than 6 hours. We need to work the entire tournament.
ReplyDeleteI have never meet a table worker that was not personable. They are all unpaid volunteers.
ReplyDeleteI worked the score and clock at the collegiate nationals this past year at mercer and we had some really great refs that made you feel comfortable, was great when you messed up and were very vocal but one guy was just terrible did not communicate with the table tried to blame stuff on us when everyone at the table were in agreence, funny same place same mat but what a difference with good refs vs non vocal crappy refs. Dave wojcik
ReplyDeleteeducated table workers can make all the difference
ReplyDeleteYour table workers can make your job easier or a whole lot harder. A bad table can really make for a bad day. Coaches get irritated and that will get taken out on you. Please spend some time with your table workers before you start blowing whistles. Educate them on how you want the table to work. Be friendly and treat them with respect. Remember they are volunteers and it is a very long day sitting at a table.
ReplyDeleteMost tournaments will provide at least one adult as a table worker with the others being HS students. The biggest thing with the HS students is to keep them focus and away from texting. Also make sure that everyone at the table has an assigned duty other than to provide conversation to the other workers. With everyone focused and on the same page, should make for a great day. Billy K
ReplyDeleteWe'll be there for South Forsyth and Alexander. Cullen C and Bill C.
ReplyDeleteGreat info here. On another note, does anybody live around in or near the Athens area and would possible want to carpool to the first Team Georgia meeting?
ReplyDeleteAnother great post, Mark.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight!
Mercedes
Thanks for the insight.
ReplyDeleteDave Goren