Before every varsity event at NRHEG, I remind fans to, “Show your Panther Pride through good sportsmanship, which is the only sportsmanship in high school athletics.” This idea, however, seems to elude people at every level of athletic competition, and as playoffs approach, good sportsmanship should be insisted upon.
Here’s the basic idea that most people who yell at officials don’t seem to get: your bellowing won’t change what’s happening on the court. You can yell until your voice disappears and you’re blue in the face, but a good official will not be affected by a crowd, no matter how boisterous.
In fact, sometimes your yelling works against your team. Sometimes officials will subconsciously continue to not notice whatever it is you’re harping about.
I admit, I used to be a shouter. In the early years of my coaching career, I got after officials a lot. Shockingly, nothing ever seemed to change. Then I started doing some officiating and umpiring myself.
If you’ve never officiated or umpired a game, don’t ever bother to yell at one of them. Don’t even think about it! You have no idea what it’s like to try and notice everything that needs to be seen, especially in a varsity level event.
I learned how I wanted to be addressed, and coaches in the area are well aware of how to let me know they disagree if they want to be “heard.”
Don’t ever show up an official; it will just make them mad. If a coach lets an official know something that is concerning as the official runs past, it’s likely to get noticed. Baseball coaches know that there are better ways to let me know they thought the pitch was the opposite of what I called rather than screaming about it.
I was coaching my daughter’s basketball team during a championship game in a tournament. The officials were consistent in what they called and didn’t call; after all, this was 5th-grade basketball. The fans from the other team were irate every time the officials didn’t make a call they thought should be made or when a borderline call went against their team.
I was proud of our fans. The girl from the other team probably shuffled her feet right before the game-winning shot, but I didn’t hear an outcry when we lost the game after the non-call. The simple matter is that if you are in a position where one call or missed call can cost your team a game, it’s your own fault for being in that position. How many opportunities did you miss out on earlier that would have made that last call a moot point?
As our local teams make a playoff push, please remember these things when the referee misses what you thought was an obvious traveling or foul call. Standing up and screaming will not do the Panthers any good.
It’s important to be excited and into the game. We all hope we can head to Minneapolis to watch some basketball again this year.
If things don’t go our way though, please don’t blame the officials. Remember to show your good sportsmanship and understand that officials are human…and so are our players. They might make mistakes as well, but I hope nobody feels inclined to yell at them either. Go, Panthers!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is didactic, which means intended for instruction or to teach a moral lesson, as in, “The columnist’s tone seemed to become didactic, and some wondered if they were on the receiving end of a sermon.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!