Big Mac,

Which Clarks official are you? That way I'll know how much slack or lack of to give you!!!!

Coach Aschoff

I have wrestled, coached and officiated wrestling. Physically, wresltling is the toughest. Coaching offered me the greatest satisfaction. Officiating is by far the most challenging. There are expectations from all over the gym. If you fail to meet the expectations of anyone group you are left at the mercy of that group of people.

You have the wrestlers trying their hardest to beat the other guy. They expect the referee to call a fair match, interpret and apply the rules appropriately, and not do anything that would influence the match negatively.

You have the coaches expecting the referee to call a fair match, interpret and apply the rules appropriately, and not do anything that would influence the match negatively. This is the same as the wrestlers except the coach expects every call to go his wrestlers way. The coach does not have tolerance for human error on the referee's part. Many become confrontational to the point that they have to be given admission to the cheap seats in the parking lot.

The last group of people are the fans. The fan expects the referee to call a fair match, interpret and apply the rules appropriately, and not do anything that would influence the match negatively. The fan like the coach expects every call to go his wrestlers way. Like the coach the fan does not have tolerance for human error on the referee's part. Many become confrontational to the point that they have to be given admission to the cheap seats in the parking lot. The most unruly fans are the ones that are trying to validate themselves through their childs efforts on the mat. When their son or daughter loses, they have very strong feelings which must be vented. The most obvious place to vent these feelings is toward the referee.

No official wants to do a bad job. No officaial wants to negatively impact a match because of their lack of hustle or knowledge of the rules. Every official I have worked with wants to do a great job. They love the sport.

I think the things that seperates the outstanding officials from the average official are # 1 their experience level, # 2 their people skills, and last, and probably most importantly, the officials ability to handle the pressure packed environment they are in.

Any how, I thought I'd give you an officials perspective. It's a hard job ! It's a job that doesn't pay much! It's a job with very few atta boy's. But if you want a part time job that keeps you involved in something you love and allows you to continue to contribute to Nebraska Wrestling, I encourage you to sign up next year.

Thanks Lovesee Its nice to know that someone thought I did a good job! Thank you!

Take away their whistles