No Excuses

Everyone has done it. We've all blown a call or had a bad game. It's going to happen and guess what, it's more than likely going to happen again. How you handle it is what separates you from everyone else. There are so many ways that an Official can handle themselves when dealing with a coach or player who believes that they were slighted by your call. There's arrogance, and I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that in the sense that you have to come across like you know that you are right. Then there's apologetic and then there's making excuses. This is the last thing that you want to do. Never make an excuse for missing a call. That's a great way to lose the respect of everyone involved, not to mention lose control of the situation. You have to have a balance of the arrogance and apologetic. You have to know that no matter if you missed something or not that the play goes on how you see it, but you have to be able to swallow that pride and on occasion admit that you screwed up. I have learned that when you do in fact miss a call, and you will, a coach has a lot more respect for you if you can say "hey, I missed it. I know I did and that's my fault. Sorry coach, I'll try to keep an eye on it from here out." Being able to say this is not a sign of weakness, in fact, it is the exact opposite. By doing this you just took all of the power in the situation. You just took every argument that that coach had and threw it out the window. What's he supposed to say now, "well you'd better"? Ok, you just told him you would. If you go over with the "I'm always right" attitude all that brings is a very unproductive argument. If that ensues then no one wins. Maybe you see being able to apologize as making excuses. Its noT. Trust me. If you were to go over in the same scenario and say "I didn't see it. I was screened." Now look what you've done, not only have you admitted to missing this call, but you've just told this coach that you were out of position. You've just compounded his argument and given him another reason to be angry with you. Now, see the difference? In admitting your mistake you took the power. When you made the excuse for missing it you gave all of the power away and made the situation worse.
Here's the thing, I'm not saying that you should apologize every time a coach wants to yell at you. If you did that you'd never get to stop. What I am saying is that if you mess up and you get called on it, say you did. Believe me I know that we all have to have that sense of a little arrogance. You have to. You have to believe that every call you make is the right call and you have to have the guts to stand behind it. That goes for your partner's calls as well. There will be times when you are questioned for a call that he makes. NEVER apologize for him. The rule of admitting mistakes applies only to yourself. That being said, stand up for him, tell the coach that it was his call and you stand behind it. Keep these conversations short. Even if you believe that it was the worst call ever made stand behind him on it and don't take his decision on how to handle his call out of his hands. Back to that little bit of arrogance you need to possess. Having it is a good thing. I've said before that we as Officials need to be a lot like goalies, having short memories after games. We also have to be like a Boxer. I say this because a Boxer must believe that every time he steps in to the ring he is going to win the fight. If he didn't believe this he'd never leave the dressing room. That's a lot like how we have to believe that every time we step out onto the ice we are going to make the right calls. You have to have that same chip on your shoulder knowing that regardless of what happens you always have the final say.
This is a very delicate balance of two contradictory attitudes. There is no exact science to handling on ice situations. If there were there wouldn't be such tremendous turnover with new and young Officials. These guys are the real reasons I'm writing these posts. They come from my experiences and things that I have learned either through others or from trial and error. You are going to get yelled at, a lot. If you know how to handle it you have a better opportunity to succeed. Just remember the trick in this one is to NEVER make an excuse for missing a call. Take control, don't give control away. With that comes respect.

What's Said Between Us Can Have Consequences

We've all been there. Everyone of us has been yelled at, cussed, and belittled by a coach after explaining or informing them of a call. All you can do is stand there and take it. You bite your tongue, you take a deep breath, but you do not fire back. You just stand there holding all those emotions in when every fiber of your being is screaming at you to give this guy what he is asking for. When you finally get to skate away you see your refuge, the only person/people that are on your side. So, what do you do? If you are like me, and if you have the time to do so, you skate over and let some of that frustration go. You just received the chewing of a lifetime and weren't even able to defend yourself. It's just the two/three of you standing there in our crease. You proceed to tell them how big of a ******* ******* this guy is and that you are doing the best ******* job that you can and that he wants to give you this much **** over a 2 minute ******* penalty. You have pride too and when you're not able to stand up for yourself while you are being demoralized its a pretty big hit to it. Ok, so you've blown off some steam and you've done a relatively decent job of keeping your emotions in check. Hey, its nothing a beer or two with the boys after the game won't fix, right? That's when you realize that your Timekeeper has heard every word that you have said. I'm sure a lot of you are like me in the fact that your Timekeeper is usually a parent. If it's not then its some type of league official. Let's just say that this one is not very sympathetic to your current situation. Now what? Now, you're screwed and you have no one to blame but yourself. Yeah, it was supposed to be a conversation that was just between you and your partner(s), but you didn't make sure that they were the only ones that could hear you. This is why I believe that Paul Devorski is incurring this week's Internet Referee hate. I understand that a Referee at his level has nowhere to hide and that what he said was supposed to be a conversation between himself and Dan O'Rourke and that it just happened to be caught on camera. I have absolutely no problem with what he said. You have to be expected to show a little humanity when you are talking to your partner, especially if you have just informed John Tortorella that the opposing team is about to go on a 7 minute 5 on 3 Power Play. Honestly though, I really don't believe that this would even be today's object of Ref hatred if it wasn't A) for the video game like score, B)for the crazy, but rightfully called 7 minute 5 on 3, or C) and probably the biggest reason, in my opinion, the fact that Devorski points to the bench when saying what he said. If it wasn't for that gesture to the bench I believe that no one would be mentioning Devorski's name. Seriously though, anyone who follows NHL Officiating, Hell anyone who truly follows the NHL, knows that Devorski is notorious for dropping F-Bombs. This isn't uncommon, but everyone wants to act like its some big surprise and gets entirely bent out of shape when a Ref get scaught on camera dropping one. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that emotions in very volatile situation are almost impossible to control. Even someone as elite as Paul Devorski can lose control of them.
We all take pride in what we do. We work hard studying, skating, and training to constantly get better. People don't know and don't understand how much time and effort we put in making ourselves better Officials. Except for each other the only thing we have out on the ice is our integrity and when someone calls that in to question, it hurts. I know. All you want to do is scream back, but you can't. You have to hold yourself to that higher standard. You have to be better than what they are. You have to find that strength within yourself to just tune it out and if it gets bad enough there are always penalties that can be handed out.
Its very important to know how to pick your battles. Most just really aren't worth fighting. Every Ref possesses the tools to win every one, its the good Ref that knows which ones to lose. When you do lose one and you're at that point where your anger and frustration is about to get the better of you just remember that an on-ice conversation may not be private. That's why they give us our own dressing rooms. Once you're in there its safe to just let it fly. Talk about it with you partner(s), but when you've got it all out of your system it's important that you leave it there. You can't carry it with you. You have to be able to forget it ever happened because chances are you will be seeing that coach again. We have to be a lot like goalies. Short memories. This is a lesson that I, myself, am still trying to learn. We cannot let what happened in one game follow us around. It is very important to move on and forget about it.
What you say to you partner(s) should always be just between you. However, its not a perfect world. There's always going to be someone with their eyes on you just waiting for you to drop the ball and when you do they will be right there to call you on it. We must be beyond reproach. I'm not saying don't voice your frustrations or anger to your partner(s). In fact, you should. They may be able to give you some tip or advice that will calm the situation. I'm saying you have to voice these concerns respectfully, especially if there are kids involved. Yeah he might have used that language with you, but you have to be bigger, be better on the ice. When you go out for that beer after the game, that's when you say what you want.

Why I Chose the Stripes

Let's face it, the obvious reason is because I was never good enough to play. Sure there are development leagues or whatever, but playing competitively was never in the cards for me. I've always found myself to be a decent enough skater, I just never had the hands, skills, speed, or size to play. That being said I love this game and anything I can do to stay on the ice and be a part of it I'm all for. So, if you add my love + my knowledge, the best answer you get is Official. Sure, I could coach, but this is the best off all sides. I get to skate, teach and continue to learn and grow. I've always felt like there is a ceiling to coaching. (I'm sure all coaches will disagree with me here) Don't get me wrong without coaches there would be no game. Most put in countless hours developing their craft. I'm just saying that I feel like it is a skill that can be perfected. It wasn't the right fit for what I want to do. As an Official I have to constantly change, learn, adapt, and grow. I really can't call any two games the same way, so it is a constant learning experience for me. I'm not even necessarily speaking of rule changes, sure they are a challenge sometimes. I'm speaking more to the side that each team, each matchup is different. I can not take what worked before and apply it to every situation. That doesn't work. That's a quick way to becoming the guy/girl no one wants to see. I'm not trying to badmouth anyone. The point I'm trying to make with that statement is if I decide to go out and call every game the same way  then I paint myself into a corner of expectation. I know what you are going to say, "that's called being consistent". I'm not saying don't call games consistently, we all should. I'm saying that I have to be adaptable. I can't have a rigid, unalterable mindset. There is a difference between consistency and rigidity. What it boils down to is every situation can not be handled the same way. I have to be able to be creative, to think on my feet. Something I used before to defuse a situation may escalate it in another instance. Different people react differently to like situations. I have to be able to read that and adapt accordingly.
Probably the biggest reason I Ref is because of my teammates. I've been part of a lot of teams in my life, but none of them have been anything like my experience as an Official. No matter what, we are always there for each other. I doesn't matter if its covering a game for someone, talking another official through that always lurking tough game, or standing behind us even if we completely blew a call. I'm pretty sure I've referenced this before, but it is very important to me and rings true every time. In one of my first games back my partner knew I was nervous. He looked at me and said "I don't care if you go out there and call a Double Dribble. If you make the call I've got your back, no matter what." That made me realize I wasn't on an island. That we were in it together, good or bad. We were going to be great or be miserable, but we were going to do it as a team. The thing is situations like this are consistent across the board. We all do this for each other. We never throw each other under the bus. If our partner makes a bad call we stand behind him, always. We never turn to players or coaches and tell them our partner blew it. It may be the most brutal blown call in the history of the game, but any of us would be right behind him. We take a lot of crap doing what we do, but the reason I continue to be able to take all of it and put on the stripes game after game is because there is an entire world of others standing right behind me. It's not just my on-ice partners, the guys I work with, but the community that we have built through each other. If you were to go through my followers on Twitter you'd find that probably 65% of them are other Hockey Officials. All of them from different levels of the game and from different countries. Neither of which matters. We are all part of the same team and we are all there for each other. There has been many times several of us have talked out a call or an interpretation through Twitter and most of the time we don't live in the same country. I've never met these guys, but all of them are willing to have my back because we are all teammates.
A lot of people believe that I am drawn to officiating because of my Asperger's. That I love this part of the game because it is about the rules and the order. That there is a designed punishment for each breach of the rules. Having this order makes the world a lot more understandable of a place for me even if it is only 17,000 square feet of it. On the ice I'm able to be me, and I'm, if only in one place in the world, comfortable. Being an Official I am able to bring order and control to, in my eyes, an uncontrollable world. All of this may be true, but I still love my game. I love to be a part of it and as long as my legs can carry me I will be out on the ice wearing the Stripes.

Pierre McGuire: The Art of Bad Reporting

As those of you who follow me on Twitter know I am usually the first person to stand up and defend Pierre McGuire. That will not be the case here. Also, this is going to tend to be more of a rant than the usual educated discussion or explanation.
I know to some people getting a Linesman's name correct is no big deal. Hell, I could probably forgive it if it happened just the one time and if there were no anecdote about how he knew the incorrect Liney since he was a kid. The problem is that it took place 4 different times throughout the game.
So let's start from the top. 2014 Winter Classic officiated by Dan O'Halloran, Brian Pochmara, Scott Driscoll, and Mark Shewchyk. Within the opening minutes of a very cold game there is an offside call to be made. It is made correctly by Mark Shewchyk who's whistle fails him due to the very cold weather. He promptly turns to a back up and problem solved. This is where Pierre comes in. In his reporting as to what had happened he refers to Mr. Shewchyk as Scott Cherrey. Ok, so maybe its a mistake, but Pierre goes on to tell this story of how he has known Mr. Cherrey since he was playing Juniors in North Bay, Ontario. If you have known someone for what is now 20 years since Mr. Cherrey played in North Bay, wouldn't you at least know what the man looks like? Better yet if you worked in a profession that you cover on a daily basis wouldn't you know his number? These guys look nothing alike!!! Now I know I'm a nerd when it comes to Officials. I can tell you each NHL guy by his number. Hell, I can pick out some guys by skating style or body type. It's a gift. I know this isn't something everyone can do. I don't expect that, but if you are a professional "Between the Glass" reporter I expect you to know the Officials on the ice. Not out of memory even. Pierre has access to the Game Notes before every game. As a professional he should be reading these. I wouldn't be so upset by this if it had happened just the one time, but he continued to do it throughout the game.
I don't know this for a fact, but I'd have to say that this was the biggest game of Mr. Shewchyk's life. For him to be continuously called by someone else's name is a slap in the face and frankly, embarrassing. Now wait, I'm not saying anything against Mr.Cherrey, he is one of my absolute favorites and best in the game. What I am saying is Mr. Shewchyk didn't work his entire life to get to the most viewed hockey game of all time to be called by someone else's name. It was a shame and disgraceful and Mr. Shewchyk deserves a public apology from Pierre McGuire. All I Can say is I'm glad Mr. Shewchyk is Canadian. Maybe his family didn't have to see or hear this blatant disrespect.   

New Year's Resolutions: Why Resolving to be a Better Official Isn't for Once a Year, but an Everyday Thing

If your New Year's resolution is to be a better official then you are doing it wrong. Just wait, I'm not trying to call anyone out. I'm saying that just because there is some arbitrary change in the calendar we should not make that a reason to try to do a better job. Being a better Official is something that we should be striving for in every game. Every time each of us puts on those stripes we should be trying to make ourselves better Referees or better Linesmen. Being better is always within our grasp. It just depends on how much time and effort we are willing to put in to do it.
I guess the question is; why do we do this job? Personally, its because I love this game more than I can put into words. So, with this much love why would I not spend every minute that I'm out there trying to get better? It wouldn't make sense. Anything that is worth this much time and effort is worth me continuing to learn. No matter how long I work in this game there is always somewhere that I need improvement. Some of these things are mental some physical. My number one place for improvement at this point is self-confidence. I'm having a lot of trouble right now believing in myself. There is a lot of self-doubt within me that I just can't seem to shake. I have so many people standing behind me that believe in me, but I just can't seem to find the handle on it. I know my weakness. Now what I have to do is trust in myself and my abilities. There is a reason these people stand behind me. They see what I still cannot. They trust me. What I must learn is to trust myself. This is something I have vowed to work on everyday. It's not a resolution, but an ongoing promise to myself and to those whom I work with and those who stand behind me. We all have a place for improvement. I'm sure that if you look within yourself you know that this goes for you as well.  
Learning is part of being who we are. We have to continuously adapt and change. We can't do this job effectively if we are not willing to do that. How you accomplish this is up to you. I do have a couple of suggestions. Use a couple minutes before every game to take out the rule book. Read and reread one rule. Just one. Spend 10 minutes doing this. It doesn't have to be some obscure one, any rule will work. If you do this before every game you will know every subtlety within that rule. Not only that, but knowing rule numbers destroys coaches' minds when they try to argue your calls. If you can quote back a rule number to them it proves you know exactly what you are talking about. I haven't had that not shut one up yet.
Ask questions. If you are working with a more experienced Official use that to your advantage. Older guys are great tools to learn from. They have been there. They have seen the things that you have not. Listen to them. They have been around and know how to handle difficult situations. Ask them lots of questions and don't be afraid to do so. They love that, I promise. I guarantee you that this is why most of them are there. They want to help you learn and grow. They want to know that when they step off of that ice for the last time that they have left the game that they love so dearly in confident and capable hands.
Getting to be a better Official is not something that happens because you make some meaningless pledge on January 1st to do so. It happens through hard work and continuous dedication. It is a promise to yourself. You have to be willing to admit that you can always get better. You will never be perfect. No official is. Every day and every game you have to make a decision whether or not you are going to grow or just go out there and earn a paycheck. Being great is not something that can or will ever be handed to you. You are going to have to work hard for it. It's not going to be easy, but if you love this game as much as I do then it will be well worth the effort.

 

 

P.S. Thank you to Steven Halber for the topic.