While sitting in the luxery of my sweet in St. Louis watching the NCAA National Championships this year I noticed something interesting to me. I saw Division I coaches at the end of matches running to the center of the mat disputing calls by officials. I also saw coaches questioning judgement, pleading their cases for the THEIR ATHLETE, and when it did not go their way giving the referee his opinion on what he thought of the call (Sometimes not so nice words).

Where am I going with this? Well, I know as a coach I have went to the table several times to ask a referee about a call. I have went as Mr. Nice Guy, Mr. Pissed Off Guy, Mr. Frustrated Guy, Mr. Confused Guy, Mr. Know I Am Right Guy, etc. I would have to say that in 85% of those visits the conversation ended in this comment by a referee...... "Coach, are you questioning my judgement?" To which I usually had one of three replies...."No I just want some clarification"... "Why, Yes I Am".... or "No, I just think you missed that one".

I would have to say 85% or more of those ended in me getting a "Warning or Team Point taken away....

Here is my question... Why is it a problem for me or any of us as coaches to go to a referee and ask, question him, and judge him. Our job as coaches is to teach our kids, protect out kids, and defend our kids. So why can't I go to a referee when I think he missed a call that might of cost my athlete a match and question him and judge him?

I see football coaches go flat our irrate and crazy on some referees. I see baseball coaches go competely insane on umpires. Why can't a wrestling official just take the heat a little from a coach and move on without a warning or team point being taken?

I umpire college baseball as a side job. I have been called everything in the book from coaches and players at times and was right or wrong 50% of the time. But if I go to a wrestling official and say, "You mean to tell me you did not see locked hands", or "There is no way that take-down was out of bounds" "or how do you not call stalling on that" ..85% of the time or more I am getting a warning or team point taken away????

Referee's, you have a tough tough job. You chose a tough tough job in the most intense sport in the world. However, it is good for you to be questioned. It is good for you to get a good butt chewing from a coach when you fall asleep behind the wheel "or behind the whistle". It happens.... It's not that big of a deal. It's also not personal. When we see you later in the day we don't hate you because we feel you blew a call. I know I move on after about 30 minutes of venting... When you take it personal is when your judgement becomes impaired.

So if the highest officials in the country can take butt chewings like they took in St. Louis... Why do us Kansas High School Coaches have to be warned or lose team points for "Questioning Your Judgement"?????

Have a blessed day and honestly... the sport does not take place without you and you are appreciated for what you do for so little pay!!!! Good Luck in the Off-season and I can't wait for the next season!!!!!!!

Mike:
I think the reason that referee's in St Louis can take the heat is because they are required to be in some semblance of physical shape. If you look at our officials in Kansas (not naming any names) the extra heat caused by a coach could send them right over the edge into a coronary attack.

Coach I think you answered your own question. As soon as we start allowing coaches to go to the table to question a call it is one step closer to what you witnessed in St.Louis and on football and baseball fields. One thing that has always stood out about our sport is the amount of sportsmanship built into it, shaking hands with your opponent prior to and after a match, shaking the opposing coaches hand after. During my adult life I have witnessed how other sports (football and ******ball), have tried to emulate wrestling by at least shaking hands after a game. While you and other coaches might not feel the need to make specticals of yourselves when questioning a call there are certainly those coaches who would. Our sport by it's very nature is somewhat barbaric, so I say lets try to at least keep sportsmanship at the very highest level possible, at all times.

Many refs seem to be on a power trip and will not even let you state your case.

If there is a questionable call the coach should definately have the right to tell the ref (in an appropriate manner) what his thoughts are without being penalized.

If a wrestler does something wrong in a match we let him know so he doesn't keep making the same mistake. If a ref makes a bad call someone has to let him know. How else will they get better?

The biggest problem I see with refs is that while counting back points alot of them dont count until they get down to the mat. You can be standing and counting back points. Mostly I saw this with the kids club.

My two cents...I used to get warning points all the time for questioning calls because I went about it the wrong way. I have questioned many calls this year and never got so much as a warning. Too many coaches question little stuff that doesn't matter and then when they have a legit complaint the ref does not want to hear it, because the coach has been blowing all day about little stuff. Let the small stuff slide and question the big stuff calmly. You get more bee's with honey than vinegar.

I just know that several times this year we had a kid lose due to the fact that the ref did not count back points until he felt he was in position. i asked the ref calmly did you not give 5 back from the time he was flipped on his back. one ref said he didnt start counting because he thought he was pinned at first then he only gave 2 points and the kid was clearly there for well over 5. the other coaches even said we got robbed. then the kid asked me afterward how he lost. i just said lets get ready for our next match. that is hard to tell a kid when he knows he should have won that match.

Frustrating yes, but if you let an officials mistake cost you the match you kept it too close. Good lesson to learn.

I have no problem with the "clariification" process we have now. I think one of the biggest reasons we have such strict guide lines is due to the fact that many coaches abuse or abused the situation by stoping the match, asking for clarification in order to get their kid a rest because of fatigue. I can think of a few coaches that come to mind on all levels. They are not really worried about the call as much as they are worried about the tide of the match turning. With that said, too many refs are all knowing and all being to make our system as effective as it could be.

I cannot let this one go....

As a mother of 2 wrestlers, one has since graduated college and the younger graduating in May... I have a whole new perspective for the referees now!

Our oldest became an official mainly the love of the sport, and to help put himself through college. I have grown a whole new perspective for ALL the refs out there. It is SO easy to sit on the bleachers and saythe ref mad a bad call.... BUT.....you wear the officials shoes for 1 tournament, and maybe you will have a different outlook and a new respect for the referees! Until you are in their shoes, no one knows the mental stress that each and every one of them have to go through. I know of one imparticular, that can recall each point scored through THAT match when questioned.....after the match has ended!

It is so easy to sit in the bleachers or in the coaches chair and yell and scream at the ref....but it is that distinguished individual that took it amongst him or herself to keep the wrestling alive....they should be praised not begrudged!

Maybe more coaches need to become officials first and do a 3 year reffing season, then go to coaching, and then things will seem clearer!

I hope someday when the parents have no more wrestlers,and they are their to support their official... they will see things diffentley!

God Bless all the Ref's we have today...they may not be here tomorrow!

the one thing that i hate to here is the word judgment, its my judgment coach. every time i have been to the table, before i even say anythig the ref says its my judgment coach. not everything is judgment, there are exceptions, u cant even ask a ref anymore what there saw to make that call with out get asked if u want to be gone.

Falcon: Most refs take plenty of guff and let it go. Fans can usually holler all they want, coaches and parents can huff and puff and whine and so long as it isn't disruptive most officials let it go. Unless its personal. "You suck" is going to get you ejected in wrestling...this isn't basketball. But when you go the table there is a clear rule that applies.

I can't explain what you saw at St. Louis. I watch college wrestling on TV and rarely see miscounduct warnings given but that's because there are few conferences. Maybe when its the natioanls everyone gets a little more leeway. And talking right after the match is over isn't a conference, under the rules.

But here's the black and white approach from the rule book. A coach may always question a call. Its his right to do so. He can even question judgment. Its his right to do so. The procedure is to go to the table and request a conference. The official is required to honor the request. By rule, if the coach disagrees with the interpretation/application of a rule, and no change is made by the official, it is, by rule, misconduct. The official is duty-bound to call it. If the coach is questioning judgment, it is misconduct and the official must call it. If the official does not, the official is not following the rules.

Most officials do not want to call this and many shirk their duty. That causes confusion and makes it look personal. It is not. Those not calling it are just making it difficult for those that apply the rule.

Now, all good/experienced coaches know how to skirt the rule and officials appreciate their abilities. They don't question judgment or question calls, they ask for clarification. For example: Instead of saying "how could you miss that (fill in the blank)?" the coach says, "did you see the (fill in the blank)?

Or, if there was no NF or only 2 when it should have been 3, instead of storming over to the table to raise a fuss, the smart coach says "did you award 2 or three back points, I think the table missed it?" For officials that aren't getting in position, a coach can always talk to the official after a match, during a break, and give some friendly advice. Very few officials will be offended, and those that are won't last long anyway and aren't worth the effort.

During a match, coaches are free to point out situations and do so long as it is done tactfully. Yelling "he's stalling" isn't tact...telling your wrestler to "keep shooting, or "keep working" accomplishs the same thing. Coaches will certainly not be penalized for getting excited during a NF situation and yelling "that's points." Its all a matter of delivery and, again, tact.

Beesons' right. If a coach is "chirping" all day long. If he finds fault in every match you do you become tone deaf and even if he has a legitimate beef its going to get less credence. There are those coaches that know the rules so well that when you see them walking to the table for a conference you know you've made a mistake and you know its serious. Others, you think, my goodness, have they ever wrestled or read the rule book. I had a coach complain that I called him for misconduct after questioning a call because he said he had asked me politely. He thought misconduct meant you were being disrespectful.

Finally, misconduct can only be called if there is a table conference. If the coach does something away from the table its unsportsmanlike conduct which has no warning and carries a different penalty, and has a different penalty sequence.

I think that there is a problem with the way the coaches can't protect one of there kids. I see alot of coaches being held back by little things I feel they try to keep the intensity out of the sport at times.

it can go both ways. i have seen some coaches get out of control. a few of them more than once and maybe almost every match. those are the coaches that make a bad rap for the rest of them who might be asking a question. i saw one coach and i wont say any names but 2 matches in a row he was out in the middle of the mat getting pushed back by his other coaches. thats crazy and thats why the rest of us dont have a chance to ask a question because of those incidents.

There are several ways to "protect" your kid. One way is to realize that the refs are not trying to cheat the kid. The other is to be the kind of coach that refs will listen to. Don't try to bring intensity to a ref.

1. Relax...Talk and explain what your problem is.

2. Don't get confrontational with the ref...you'll have problems the rest of the day if you do.

3. Realize that sometimes, you and the ref just saw it differently, and accept his call.

4. Approach the table...not the ref.

5. Could it also be that because you are emotionally attached to the match...you may see the call differently.

6. Let the little stuff slide, most refs do not make bad calls on purpose.

7. There are going to be Bad Calls...but there are also alot of Good calls.

8. We can not have wrestling without the Refs. Thanks Guys!

As a volunteer table worker/club director, I know that once you have a rapport with your ref, the table can even request clarification and request a conference to review points. The only thing that bothers me is that "approach the table" rule. I don't want to have to field angry coaches...