Part of the school day
For several years, I've had the pleasure of expanding my role as referee of youth league soccer games to officiate in high school games. Although covering some of the same age groups, there is a different feel to these school games. School loyalties are different from town team loyalties. Coaches are more often professional and paid rather than being volunteer parents.
One of the things drilled into the referees is that the matches are "part of the school day." We're told that the main value of the athletic endeavors is that they are part of the curriculum. The coaches, we are advised, have a teaching role, just like in the classroom. Indeed, many of the coaches are classroom teachers, too, during the previous hours in the day. Our job is to defer to these teachers in matters of deportment and discipline (while of course officiating the game in a fair manner and one which helps ensure the safety of the teenagers.)
So, what happens to all that when the coach loses it? When, in the excitement and stress of the match, he or she feels that calls are not going their way and when he or she loudly and persistently dissents from the calls made by the referees.
In youth soccer matches, the established ethic is that the coach shall not dissent, in word or deed, from the calls made by the referee. Indeed, a coach can be disciplined--and even ejected--for doing so to excess. Not so in the high school matches (except in very extreme cases.) When the yelling begins, you maintain your composure as a referee and just continue to do your best.
I don't have a problem with that. I personally have taken a lot more heat as a public official and CEO than I get from the sidelines of a soccer match. I've had hundreds of people screaming at me in public meetings, death threats from aggrieved parties, not to mention really nasty commentators in the media. I've learned to breathe deeply and go on.
No, the problem I have relates to the setting: The game is supposed to be part of the school day. The coach's role is that of a teacher. What possible lesson is being taught to the students when the coach engages in obnoxious and disrespectful behavior to uniformed officials who main job is to use their judgment to maintain a fair and safe environment? Who is there to remind the coaches that the circumstances of the game should not overtake their roles as mentors and role models for the children?
One of the things drilled into the referees is that the matches are "part of the school day." We're told that the main value of the athletic endeavors is that they are part of the curriculum. The coaches, we are advised, have a teaching role, just like in the classroom. Indeed, many of the coaches are classroom teachers, too, during the previous hours in the day. Our job is to defer to these teachers in matters of deportment and discipline (while of course officiating the game in a fair manner and one which helps ensure the safety of the teenagers.)
So, what happens to all that when the coach loses it? When, in the excitement and stress of the match, he or she feels that calls are not going their way and when he or she loudly and persistently dissents from the calls made by the referees.
In youth soccer matches, the established ethic is that the coach shall not dissent, in word or deed, from the calls made by the referee. Indeed, a coach can be disciplined--and even ejected--for doing so to excess. Not so in the high school matches (except in very extreme cases.) When the yelling begins, you maintain your composure as a referee and just continue to do your best.
I don't have a problem with that. I personally have taken a lot more heat as a public official and CEO than I get from the sidelines of a soccer match. I've had hundreds of people screaming at me in public meetings, death threats from aggrieved parties, not to mention really nasty commentators in the media. I've learned to breathe deeply and go on.
No, the problem I have relates to the setting: The game is supposed to be part of the school day. The coach's role is that of a teacher. What possible lesson is being taught to the students when the coach engages in obnoxious and disrespectful behavior to uniformed officials who main job is to use their judgment to maintain a fair and safe environment? Who is there to remind the coaches that the circumstances of the game should not overtake their roles as mentors and role models for the children?
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