Coaches Speak out about officials...

[GAHSUMPIRE]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school/high-school-refs-do-776433.html


“Officials to me -- the good ones -- are great people,’’ Standard said. “They love the game of football. They love working with young people. Sounds like coaches, huh? They sure ain’t in it for the money.’’

[LarryW60]

Funny.  A coach feels an official is bad if they have "rabbit ears".  That's just another way of saying the official is bad because he isn't letting the coaches get away with badmouthing the officials. 

[bama_stripes]

Interesting comment about how contracts are handled.  Does the GHSAA mandate which official's association will work a certain school's games?

[LAZebra]

Bama, based on the article I'd say the Georgia coaches have nothing to complain about. Obviously football officials in Georgia are 33% better than officials in Alabama.  Since we are near perfect at $60.00 per game they MUST be perfect at $90.00 per game! lol

[fbrefga]

Several years ago, the GHSA mandated which schools the individual associations would cover.  Prior to that, any school could contact an association and request officials.  In fact, I traveled 4 hours to south Georgia two different times to work a regular season varsity game.  I also understand that a particular school could petition the GHSA to not use the mandated association; but there needs to be some compelling reason(s) for the request.

Regarding the game fees, I am not complaining.  We, in Georgia, have nothing to complain about regarding money when comparing to other states.  In the article, one coach suggested that the fees be raised so we have better officiating.  IMO, that will not work.  As we all (hopefully all) know and realize, the quality of officiating will increase by other factors, such as: experience or number of snaps; rules study (formal and informal); play discussions; etc, etc.

I would also submit that there are varying degrees of abilities and knowledge regarding the coaches.  Some are obviously better than others (especially AB ).

[LarryW60]

The level of pay tends to be disconnected from the amount of expertise the officials have (at least at the high school level around here).  The 30-year veteran working White Hat gets paid the same amount for the game as the wing official working his first varsity game on the field.

In general, our official's associations are regionalized, with each association concentrating on the games in their "area".

[Rulesman]

...The 30-year veteran working White Hat gets paid the same amount for the game as the wing official working his first varsity game on the field.

In these economic times there's a double-edged sword there. So many school districts operate under "financial duress." If game fees were based on experience, the coach will obviously want the more experienced. But the Athletic Director who is managing the budget might not concur with that philosophy. So who wins? Unfortunately, nobody.

While some may not agree, it is what it is... a fact of life.

[biltheref]

My unscientific survey:

How would you describe the quality of football coaching in Georgia?

Excellent or very good (18 percent)

Good (32 percent)

Mediocre (34 percent)

Poor (11 percent)

[LarryW60]

We wouldn't be able to evaluate that in most cases.  All we could evaluate them on is rules knowledge and deportment.

[Rulesman]

We wouldn't be able to evaluate that in most cases.  All we could evaluate them on is rules knowledge and deportment.

Then the numbers might look something like:

Excellent or very good (10 percent)

Good (15 percent)

Mediocre (50 percent)

Poor (25 percent)