Being a big fan of wrestling for these many, many years and enjoying the way the compitition continues to get all across the state, it continues to amaze me the low caliber of Nebraska High School wrestling referees.

We were in Neligh this weekend to watch possibly the strongest District in Class C. We were treated to some great wrestling and a good tournament, Thank you Neligh.

However I can't imagine how that team of referees would ever get assigned a DISTRICT tournament. Does the NSAA have any degree of standard by which these men are held.

I won't name the ref's in the post, I think that's not necessary, I will say that Mark Jensen was on the team, and he does a decent job. The other 3 were terible, not terrible to one team or terrible about a specific area of question, i.e. like stalling, they were just terrible!

Of course the coaches can't and wouldn't dare speak their mind for fear of reprecusion on the mat. Which also speaks poorly of a referee. Coaches are forced to spend the tournament biting their toungues and blowing smoke up the refs backside.

I was sadden by the fact that some wrestlers were denied the chance to go to state because of sloppy calling, being lazy on the mat, just plain BAD reffing.

To those ref out there who do a good job, I think it's important to recognize them and reward a good job.
To those poor ref's who will respond "if you think it's so easy, you do it" I say "You're cashing the check do a good job or get out"

The Coaches, the wrestlers and the FANS deserve better from the NSAA.

I agree with you on how some of the refs were not up to par. But as a coach and a former referee, it is not an easy job. I have been in both positions and to tell you the truth, I think being a ref is not the greatest job in the world. You have fans yelling at you, the coaches yelling at you and the wrestlers questioning your calls. I for one am not blaming the nsaa for the refs. If it weren't for the nsaa we probably wouldn't have sports in high school. And if it weren't for the guys giving their time to ref it could be even worse. Sure, some of the refs could use some polishing up on the rules, but give them a chance, because if you don't, we could end up even lower numbers of refs in the years to come because of people bashing them about how they ref. Just one coaches opinion.

discussion further down the line. Doc has graciously given his time to type in one of the tests the wrestling officals have to take every year.

Officials don't get paid as well as you think. It's okay money, but no one's going to get rich from it.

Please, by all means join the ranks of the underappreciated, catch hell from three sides and see how long YOU last!

One last point... I haven't seen any of the refs bash the coaches or fans, although some out there may deserve it.

I was not that impressed with the refs in district C-3 either. I thought one of them did a great job all weekend, but others were not that good. I don't know if I saw a stalling called the entire meet, but since that was consistant I wasn't too worried about that. One time a kid hit a double leg on the edge against an Aquinas wrestler and the ref was not in position and didn't even try to stop them from slamming into the wall. Another time was at 145 when Kratochvil and Wiedel were wrestling there were two almost identical cases of both kids rolling through things across their back. He awarded two nearfall to Wiedel and didn't even stroke once for Kratochvil. My biggest complaint I have seen with referees over the years is if they have a beef with a team, coach, wrestler, or even fans they are often very bias. Are officials not supposed to be impartial anymore? Are they out there to enforce the rules or make sure the person they want to win does?

i just want to clear something up i didnt put up the last pole to bash refs i was just wondering what peoples opinions on the reffing styles was i had just come from 2 successive tournments one in the eastren part of the state and one in the western part and i did like the eastern better but i know that there are good refs in the western but i believe the overall quality is better around omaha and lincoln i had a finger dislocated in a match recently because when i was using a cradel to pin the kid i was pinning was pulling on one finger i said "ouch ref hes got one finger" and the ref looked at it and yelled at me not to talk to him during the match that is just one example that i believe summarizes the caliber in western nebraska i have seen too many dangerous things go unnoticed in that area then in the eastern part of the state and i know there are some bad reffs in the eastern part of the state too and i know its not an easy job i certinally wouldnt want to do it

One thing I think a lot of people would like to see more of in the referees is more consistency. (This is not a ref bashing post by the way, and I WAS an official for three years before I became a coach.) If a double leg on the edge of the mat is a takedown during one match, then when the same thing happens fifteen minutes later on another mat, make the same call. Don't be above explaining yourself, either. There is a difference between a coach asking for a clarification of a call and arguing with a referee. Don't think just because a coach questions a call that he is riding your butt. Work with us coaches a little bit, please. Understand where we're coming from too.

The officiating at the C1 District was consistant..... consistantly bad. I noticed several coaches, ie, not just a couple, upset with the officiating, and complaining out in the hall about it. It is a sad thing for bad officiating to be such a big topic of discussion at the event.

I saw inconsistancies with takedowns. Even within the same match I saw very similar takedowns, wehre one was good, but the other out of bounds. There will always be subjectivity in these calls, but, when so many times you hear such reactions from spectators about takedowns, you must stop and consider if there is some truth to it. I wondered myself at times, and during some of them, I had absolutely no real interest in the match, ie, it did not involve someone from the team I was watching.

I saw 2 wrestlers sustain injuries, that I will forever believe are the fault of the refs. IN each case, one wrestler was obviously pinned, and had been in that spot for nearly a minute, a long time for such stress to be placed on his arm/shoulder. Quite frankly, The ref should have called a pin in these two cases. In one, it appeared obvious that a kid seperated his shoulder, only because the ref swallowed his whistle, and left him in that spot far too long, when he was pinned.
There are other examples, but, no need for endless examples.

C1 refs also did not know how to call stalling, they would sometimes call a stalemate instead.

I was very disappointed. A district meet should have veteran, experienced officiating. This did not seem to be the case. I feel sad for those who feel they got cheated out of going to State because of the ref. There were so many bad calls, that I am sure this really did happen.

Now, I know somebody will point me to that thread and suggest I go take the test. That is not the answer. From what I have seen, it takes $50 (or whatever), and the ability to pass an open book test to become a ref. What does the state do to train, and advise refs? Lets face it, there are good refs and bad refs out there. What is being done to stop re-peated bad officiating?

Some sort of system needs to be in place for choosing officials for district and state. Frankly, these events should have officials that are chosen because they have shown in the past that they are good officials.

I know my post will cause some hard feelings. Other then saying C1, I left names and teams out of it. I am not out to crucify so-and-so because he did a poor job the other day. I am, however, asking that things be reviewed that will lead to better training, and selection of officials.

First off, let me say I'M NOT CRITICIZING OFFICIALS IN THIS POST. What I and a lot of other coaches would like to see is referees from across the state get together at some point and try to get a consistent set of calls...what is stalling, what is a takedown on the line, what isn't, etc.

We in the smaller classes get used to a certain style of refereeing and then we get to state and get Class A officials who ref the match completely different. It would be nice to get a referee from Kearney or Ord or Norfolk or Omaha or Scottsbluff and know you're going to get consistent calls.

Tell you what...just let Dave Saylor from Kearney ref all of our matches and I'll be a happy guy!

I don't know about everybody, but I think the best TEAM of officials I have seen all year was at Schuyler. The past two years running actually.
Albert Rodriquez, Kelly Schany and Paul Martinez. They are very consistent and fair. They listen, explain, and don't jump down your throat if you have a question.
I know in the past I haven't been the easiest coach to work with, but I have calmed down a little, and these guys are really easy to work with. Great job guys, hope you go to state every year!!

They also work the Aurora Duals, with another official. I can't think of his name, but he does a pretty good job as well.

Ditto for C4

I AGREEE WITH BIFOOT, THEY STUNK REAL BAD.

Above the tests, officials are required to attend the same rules interpretations meetings at the beginning of the season that the coaches are SUPPOSED to attend, and those belonging to which ever association, attend monthly meetings to discuss happenings of matches, catch videos of hot topics (stalling, the dreaded front headlock, etc). I for one, am not above asking for feedback from other officials, coaches, experienced table workers, etc. One would be surprised at how well "You could have called it this way" becomes much more constructive than "You suck!"

Bigfoot wrote: "Some sort of system needs to be in place for choosing officials for district and state. Frankly, these events should have officials that are chosen because they have shown in the past that they are good officials."

Don't the coaches rank and select the officials for State?



I'm not here for a popularity contest, I'm just trying to give back a little to the sport.

[This message was edited by anarchist on February 17, 2003 at 10:23 PM.]

My only complaint is when ref's walk around the mat, or ref the match like they are "the show". The ones who like to "dictate" the outcome of a match, who show boat around the mat, or as 1 ref stated "I am GOD when I am on the mat". Its bad when you ask for an explanation on a call and they threaten to ding you unsportsman like because they think your questioning their judgement, or try and start an argument with you on the mat! Its refs like these who give all other refs a bad name. There is plenty of refs who do a great job from the western half of the state - to the eastern.

By know means am I ref bashing, because refing is something I would not want to do. For those you do it and are good keep up the good work!

For the others who have to be the center of attention, its the wrestlers who are supposed to be noticed, NOT YOU!