There are some quality officials. How do we get more involved around the state? Should the way officials get selected for the state meet be changed?

First we should make public how they are selected.

High School coaches should encourage their athletes to get more involved with officiating. Most of the best officials in the state are former wrestlers themselves.

Huskerland has a mentoring program which you can read more about on HUSKERLAND.ORG. It's a great concept which helps to teach the younger generation the basics.

As a young official progresses, they can become a member of one of the 3 officials' associations in Nebraska. From there they will have the opportunity to learn from the best & get some great experience.

I did a story on the Huskerland mentoring program a while back, and I hope that the young men who have gained from that experience will be seen in stripes somewhere down the road.

I know that the officiating pool is slowly leaking as some of the, ahem, mature veterans get to that point in life where the body can't cash the checks the mind keeps writing for them (a kind way of saying they're getting too old, I guess...). And while there are some good officials in the 30-50 age group out there, we need to see more younger officials get into the mix.

The biggest challenge I've seen is keeping those young, talented officials in when they have to put up with the garbage they have to deal with (short-fused coaches, unruly fans, etc.) week in and week out. This isn't a wrestling-only dilemma, though...in about any sport you can think of, finding quality officials willing to put up with as much crap as they do (for as little as they are paid) is becoming more of a challenge in today's win-at-all-costs world.

There are some great wrestling minds out there that would do our sport a great deal of good by slipping on the stripes, and I hope we can continue to develop that talent, especially at the youth level.

I'm not convinced that Nebraska doesn't have some of the best officials. I've been to tournaments in Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota and usually leave shaking my head. About six years ago I was so discouraged by some officiating that I decided to do something about--I went to a website and ordered all my officiating gear, registered with the NSAA and started blowing my whistle....and that's how it gets better. Put up or shut up.

And we need more people like you doing that, but it seems to be easier for some people to pay their $4-6, sit in the stands and do all their officiating from there -- never mind the rule book or putting in the effort that comes with being a good official.

I wrote a column several years ago when I was at the Norfolk Daily News called, "so you think you can officiate" -- a friend of mine in Norfolk was a veteran basketball official, and we had talked several times about the yahoos in the stands who think they know so much, but are so completely clueless about the rules of the game.

I included 10 random questions, taken verbatim out of the open-book test that NSAA requires officials to take, and invited readers to submit their answers. Out of about 100 or so responses, the BEST anybody could do was 5 out of 10 (you have to get 80 out of 100, I believe, to pass). NOBODY could do better than 50 percent. Heck, even I could only get 4 out of 10, and I wrote the column...

If more people would spend less time whining and complaining about bad officiating and more time getting involved in it...well, I'm sure they'd find something else to w/c about, but they'd be too busy studying for their officials' exams to worry about it.

NWI,

If those were wrestling questions, you should post them here. It would be fun to see how the knowledgeable patrons of Huskermat would do.

They were basketball questions...but I'm sure I could get a copy of the wrestling test.

Dude I was a ref for a jr. high meet the other day. Being a ref is like hard and stuff.

It's is all about starting them when they are young. If the young officials can work through the loud parents, coaches, attitudes, etc. when they are young, chances are that they will have no problem in the future. I love it how some people constantly complain about poor officiating. Well, if it is that bad, then go get certified and get on the mat, field, court, etc., then you can see what it is like!

As for becoming certified, all you have to do for high school is take an "open book" exam for the NSAA, send it back to them, and if you get above a 75%, I believe, you are registered. You also have to attend a rules meeting annually. It costs a small fee too, but you make that back on your first assgined match(es). After you register, you can take a supervised closed book test annually to raise your classification. >90% = highest level =Certified (gold patch) 80-90% = Approved (red patch) <80%= no classification upgrade. This is a must when you want to move into the upper level matches (district, state, etc.), cause they obviously take the most qualified and experienced officials. It is very difficult to be chosen to officiate on the district and expecially state level.

Although I do not officiate wrestling, officiating other high school sports has been a great part-time job through college. It also keeps you active in the sport after your competing days conclude. The pay is good and you get to meet some great people/coaches/athletic directors, etc. It is something you can do as long as your body permits and is not that physically challenging for wrestling especially. Now, officiating soccer is a different story. Anyways, there are many benefits in getting started and I would recommend any parent that likes to challenge the officials to go to a rules meeting, take a test, then work a meet and they will have a whole new appreciation for the sport and its officials.

One thing that I think everyone has to realize is that there will never be a large number of what everyone will consider as quality refs. If that number is around 30% of the total, I think the state is lucky.
I have been a ref or an umpire (depending on the sport of course) in Nebraska and in Kansas and I have found that to be true across the board. The first problem lies in trying to find someone to do the job for the love of the sport. You will never get rich doing it and you will always have someone who saw a play, move, point, etc. different than you did.
The second problem is finding the people that would do the job for the love of it that aren't already busy with other jobs relating to the sport. (coaching, running a tournament, watching their son or daughter, etc.)
I think the old saying rings true that 10% of the people do 90% of the work!!

One thing you won't see me knocking is the work these officials do. It's a TOUGH, TOUGH gig and one that seems to get noticed only when a ref "blows" a call (and it's amazing how many of these are perceived that way depending on whether your wrestler was the beneficiary or the "victim" of the call).

It's the easist job in the world when you pay $5 and sit on your lazy butt in the stands, far away from the action. I would say that 99 percent of those in the stands lack any combination of intelligence, knowledge or courage (in some cases, all three are absent) that is needed to get down on the mat and do this job.

Even those whose skills might be off are still far better than those chirping in the cheap seats. Those who complain can either get off their lazy duffs and do the work or sit down and shut up, as far as I'm concerned.

Not that I have an opinion or anything...

Ricky, you did fine. Considering that was your first day as a ref, you were miles ahead of other first-timers. I hope you do more, let Randy know you enjoyed it and he'll find some youth tournaments to ref at. The more you ref, the easier it gets and you'll be more comfortable doing it.

1mz - You failed to mention one thing... Time as an official... Minimum 2 years each as a registered and approved official... By the 5th season, one SHOULD make the jump to certified.

What else can be done? Not enough can be said about feedback...

"You suck" on a forum board is not good feedback.

Dwelling on one call in one match is not good feedback.

Analyzing overall performance and providing inputs on what could be done differently in a positive and constructive manner IS good feedback.

The goal is to improve what is out there, in addition to drawing in new blood, not running off perfectly good officials and wondering where the next "perfect ref" is going to come from.

Thanks for adding that, I failed to mention that you do have to be an NSAA official for ar least 2 years before you take the supervised test. I was certified in my 3rd season, the first year I took the supervised test.

I was an official for 8 years and am now a coach. I have worked the state meet twice. I loved officiating and now love coaching. To be a good official takes alot of the same things it takes to be a good wrestler. You need to get into shape to be able to get yourself in good position, you need to study the best you can find and learn from them. You need to work consistantly to stay on top of your game. You must not forget the most important part, the mental side. You have to be prepared to handle coaches, wrestlers, parents, etc. and stay the coarse. You have to build your confidence so you make good calls quickly. And you have to learn to be color blind, loose your long term memory, and role with the punches. Just like as a wrestler, if you make a mistake, and you will at some point, don't dwell on it or you will miss the next move. That is why I encourage ex wrestlers to try officiating. They have the mindset and skills, just apply them like they did as a wrestler. We as coaches have to work with young officials just like we would a young wrestler. Give them a break and let them get the mat time needed to build skill and confidence. And the best officials are the ones that love the sport the most. Not necsarily the best wrestlers or the ones looking for money. Thats my 2 cents.

Coach Aschoff

Henry..I'll remember this when I have to officiate one of your kids match's...lol

Big Eagle,
Great point about working with the young officials. We must also give those kids opportunities to officiate. Just like a wrestler they may have to work up to the varsity level, give a youngster a shot at some JV or junior high meets. If they do a good job, get them some varsity action.

According to Bob Colgate, the number of officials is up, which is a good thing. I think it will just take some time for those younger guys to gain experience and get better, but that won't happen unless, like others have said, they get the experience they need. For me, a guy who is actually mobile and can move around goes a long way. I've seen some refs who can't/won't/don't even get down on the mat during nearfall situations.