My name is Jamie Sauder and I have been a registered official for 7 years. This past weekend I officiated for the last time (at least for now). I have consistently watched and read the various posts on the forum since I began officiating. It is a great way to stay tuned with what is going on in most of the state in regards to wrestling. I have never posted my opinion on here from an officiating perspective, mainly because I don’t think this is an official’s place to do so. But, because I am now “retired”, I wanted to take an opportunity to do so. My only disclaimer is that the points I wish to make here are merely my opinion and are not intended to offend anyone. Besides, I’m a lover not a fighter. I realize no one asked me to do this. I am not looking for a debate, I merely wanted to share my point of view from my time as an official.
From my position as the “3rd part” of a match, I have had the good fortune to make many observations of the various aspects of wrestling competition. I would like to share some of those with you who frequent this forum in hopes to give you the perspective of the zebra:

• Stalling is a hard call to make. From the seats, with or without bias, it seems easy to detect and ask “what’s the other guy doing” or “make him get off the hips”, etc. However, when you have the whistle in your mouth it is a whole different perspective. I don’t care what the level or the venue, when stalling is called, 50% of the coaches and competitors involved don’t like the call.
• Coaches: when stalling is called on your wrestler, “what is the other guy doing?” is the wrong thing to ask.
• Coaches: when stalling is called on your wrestler, going to the table to argue is a worse decision than asking what the other guy is doing. Pick your battles.
• There is no such thing as a “free move” when locked hands is called. Officials are supposed to stop action immediately, unless the defensive wrestler is in the process of an escape or reversal.
• I don’t know any officials who don’t love the sport and love the kids. Yes, we come in all shapes and sizes. Some move faster than others. But at the end of the day we do it because we love it.
• We live in a world where we take comfort if we have someone to blame when something goes wrong or not our way. I have never seen an official actually cost someone a match. Matches are 6 minutes. The competitors have exponentially more to do with what occurs while the clock is running than the official does. The next time your child/wrestler “gets jobbed” or is the victim of a “questionable call” or “gets hosed”, try to take a deep breath before you lash out at the official. Think about the message we are sending our kids. Do we really want to tell them it is easier to blame someone else for their shortcomings or mistakes? Responsibility is a hard lesson to learn and to teach. I have 2 young boys I am trying to teach now.
• A lot of people read and post on the talk forum, including me. I hate that people say such negative things about other people on here, whether they put their name on it or not.
• Everyone who is involved with the sport as a coach, competitor or fan should take the time to really read a rule book. I don’t say this to sound rude. Before I started officiating, I thought I knew the rules really well. But once I committed to reading the rule book thoroughly and frequently I found that my understanding of the rules greatly improved and it made calling matches easier as well.
• It has also been my experience that there are coaches who know rules and then are coaches who KNOW THE rules. Coaches who know the rules are the best to work for, for 2 reasons. First, as an official you have to be on your game, because a coach who knows the rules WILL hold you accountable. Second, a coach who knows the rules understands when and why the tough calls are made and respect an official for making them and getting them right.
• There are A LOT of coaches who don’t know the rules at all.
• I would love to have been evaluated as an official. All of us should crave to get better. My only request is that it have been done uniformly and constructively. After working with 2 of the best in NCAA DII and learning about their evaluation system, I learned that it can be just as political as the recommendation system.
• Think twice before you blame or bash an official on the forum. Watch the whole match over again and see if your wrestler may have had any opportunities to change the outcome of the match.
• I am getting out of officiating because I will have 2 boys in our kids club next year. So, if you observe me breaking my own rules, nudge me and let me know. I don’t want to end up on YouTube!
Thank you to everyone I have gotten to know over the years and have helped me in my career as an official.

Jamie Sauder
Emporia, KS
jamiesauder@gmail.com

Well said, Jamie -- great points!

Jamie,
You will be missed and have helped both my brother and I out a ton with the officiating side of things so thank you. My younger two will probably start next year so I am sure we will see each other at some kids tournaments.

Jamie is one of the best in the business. He actually has written me up and I deserved it. I will say I disagree that officials have never cost someone a match. I do preach to our guys to not let an official decide a match but the bottom line is the window of opportunities in a match close quickly and officials do make the calls that decide matches. It's their job and most of the time they make the right call. But all humans make mistakes and sometimes a mistake decides a match.
Jamie, thanks for your service the last 7 years. You've trained new officials, helped coaches and wrestlers improve, and built many strong relationships because of the respect the wrestling community has for you. Great job!

Jamie Sorry to see you go. I have watched many matches you have worked and will say I think you have improved a little bit each and everytime. Thanks for your service to our sport.

Thanks for being a good sport and laughing at my sometimes over the top comments. It was always fun having you at tournaments. I dont know how good or bad of a ref you are or were, but you will always be a good friend. Take care and good luck.

Some very good commentary, Jamie. Great advice and words of wisdom for us all, regardless of our role. Thanks for sharing.

Jamie,
Very well put! I have seen this great sport from all 4 angles(Wrestler, Ref, Coach and Parent). There is a different prespective from each and I wish everyone could experience each perspective. Great job over the last 7 years and I look forward to seeing you and your boys on the mat for years to come!

Jamie,

Been great working with you, sad to see you leave.