I am sure that to referee a kid’s wrestling tournament is very difficult and stressful. I truly respect these men who choose this job. Passionate parents and coaches watch their young ones strain for victories. Close calls that go against a kid can cause some bad reactions. Bad calls can cause some very bad reactions. Referees are human and they will make mistakes...just like the young wrestler will make mistakes…just like the coach will make mistakes. We all need patience...but...

This is my first year coaching a wrestling club and I have seen some dramatic inconsistencies in the some of the decisions made by referees. Again, please, I am not here to throw stones. But we should all try to get better at what we do. I know that I need to get better at what I do.

Let me give some examples of questionable calls…

(By the way, in one of these examples the call was to my wrestler’s advantage. This is not about hard feelings. I just feel we should talk about this and improve.)

Situation 1:

Wrestler 1 has Wrestler 2 in an arm bar. Wrestler 1 "wing tilts" Wrestler 2. The referee counts 5. Wrestler 1 lets Wrestler 2 off his back. Wrestler 2 returns to his base. Wrestler 1 keeps the bar, releases the wrist, hooks the far arm and runs the bar in the other direction placing Wrestler 2 on his back again (it was the same arm bar but it was a different move executed from a defendable base). The referee did not count a new 5. The referee awarded only 1 set on back points (he stated that it was because the arm bar was not released)...

Later in a different match...Wrestler 1 has in a leg turk. Wrestler 1 turns Wrestler 2. The referee counts 5. Wrestler 1 lets Wrestler 2 off his back but keeps in the leg turk. The referee awards 3 points. Wrestler 1 then executes the exact same move putting Wrestler 2 on his back again. The referee counts 5. Wrestler 1 lets Wrestler 2 off his back again. The referee awards 3 more points (he stated that the Wrestler had returned to a defensible base)...

In both cases I was told “It is a judgment call”. But I believe these two situations were a contradiction.

Situation 2:

Wrestler 1 executes a Peterson. The referee did not award a reversal. Wrestler 2 is rocking on his back, trying to cross-face. Surely, 10 seconds went by. No call. Wrestler 1 had to let go of the Peterson, turn into his opponent before the referee gave a 2 point reversal. No back points. (Referee claimed that there was no change of control).

Again: “a judgment call”.

I know that there are “judgment calls” in this sport. But we need to ensure as best as we can that one referee’s judgment will be close to another referee’s judgment. This plays an important role in what we teach our kids (and our parents) about the rules of this sport. I am sure that we try to achieve this now. But I believe we need to get better. What might we do?

Maybe we could have a post tournament coach's meeting where the particular referee, his peers and the coaches could review a given match situation and examine how a rule was applied. (How a judgment was made.) I know that after a tournament is over, we all want to get home. I also don’t want to set our referees up for a bitch session. So maybe this wouldn’t work.

Maybe the only answer is that we all do the best that we can. Maybe we just shake it off and move on. But I believe we need to reduce some of these “gray areas”. An inside cradle is an inside cradle. We might all agree on that. It is not a “judgment call”. So…is a Peterson a Peterson or is it a “judgment call”? If I put you on your back, let you off your back, and put you back on your back again, when do I get 2 sets of back points and when do I get 1. Judgment call?

Let’s get the rules right and consistently apply them. Shouldn’t we strive to have as few “judgment calls” as we can? I know this is asking a lot. Maybe too much. Maybe the whole sport is judgment calls.

Again, I thank all the referees for their contributions.

a peterson (if done correctly) is a reversal, not a judgement call.

the back points are judgement.

as far as tilts, the hold must be released before back points can be awarded again. The ref was correct in the arm bar situation (from what you explained) As for the leg turk or any ride, you can get a count multiple times as long as the bottom wrestler establishes his base after the initial count.

an example would be a leg ride and red neck. come back to the base and then run it again. I have seen some good leg riders tech kids in the first period doing that.

as far as refs, they don't get paid enough and it's not worth the time to go get yelled at by parents and coaches who have no idea what the real rules are all day. I'm not saying you don't but that is what I have heard from many refs at the high school level as to why they are in huge demand for new refs.

On the Peterson situation: the referee contended that control was not established so there was no reversal...

On the arm bar situation: it was a tilt to the near side, defensive wrestler returns to his base, another tilt was NOT performed, the offensive wrestler changes the hold to a double arm bar (really bar and hook) and turns his opponent to the other side...Seemed like two different holds.

On the turk: I also have seen a "legger" use a Cross-Body ride to turn his opponent multiple times but not a Leg Turk. The defensive man's hips are still half turned...

Maybe you're right about the rest. I know I would find the job challenging.

I think this issue has been rehashed over and over again this year, and quite frankly it’s getting a little old. Honestly there is no real viable solution to getting every single referee to "be on the same page" where judgment calls are concerned. Now as an official I know for a fact that the interpretation of some of the rules differ from one referee to another. This is to be expected. Let me give you a few situations I saw this weekend specifically involving the matches I worked.

Situation #1.

A kid from Mill Valley had chosen top position in the second period. As the two kids started to wrestle they eventually worked their way towards the edge of the mat. About 1 foot or 2 from the edge of the mat the bottom wrestler executes a move and ends up on top of the Mill Valley kid. Here is where the judgment comes in. The Mill Valley kid in the process of trying to defend the move managed to put 1 arm over the head of the kid who had been on bottom, much like a headlock but with no arm( he didn't lock his hands because his other hand was on the mat supporting his and the other wrestlers weight, Note: this is going to be an important detail in a few moments). In the mean time the kid that was on bottom who is now lying over the top of the Mill Valley kid has his arms around the Mill Valley his waist but not locked. At his moment the two roll off the edge of the mat with the kid who was on bottom still on top, but no definitive control established. In my mind I recognize that the Mill Valley kid was no longer in control of the defensive wrestler. So I award a 1 point escape since control was not reestablished yet it was lost by the wrestler in control. As I’m heading to the starting grid the Mill Valley coach who I’m pretty sure is also an official goes to the table and this was his argument "My kid still had his head, he couldn't have lost control" That is pretty much verbatim what he said to me.

Here's my though process on that. Had his kid had a full headlock in with both the head and the arm, while the defensive wrestler was over his back like that, I most likely would not have awarded the escape simply because already having established control a headlock situation like that warrants control. However that was not the case as he only had 1 arm draped over his head. Second having a hold of a wrestlers head is not a criteria for control, it’s a combination of your body position in relationship to your opponent and the hold you have applied. If your underneath your opponent yet you have a hold of his head the doesn't mean that you have control of him. In most situations like this neither wrestler has control. And if one wrestler did have control and then the above situation was established then by rule ( 5-2-2 ) an escape shall be awarded. Note: There is no such wording in the rule book that says that having a hold of a wrestlers head establishes or keeps control of them. And I wish I would have told him that at the time. Regardless, his kid was still up by two points, was not at a disadvantage, and he had wasted my time when I should have been out their focusing on the wrestlers. I think unfortunately I have been far too lenient this year when it comes to coaches questioning a judgment calls. I want them to understand the rules so I normally offer an explanation. However as the season progress on and coaches are still questioning these calls its gets very old and you get to the point where you don't care to even speak with them anymore. This particular situation happened pretty early in the day so I was nice about it.

Situation #2.

A kid from Saint Thomas Aquinas was wrestling another kid we'll call him wrestler B. Wrestler B takes STA kid down, rides him for about 30 seconds something like that, then runs a chicken wing. As he’s turning the STA kid over, I'm looking right at both his legs and the STA kids shoulders. I start counting back points. After about a 1 count, B moves his leg into a figure 4 around STA kids head, perfectly legal right behind the knee. STA kid gets pinned. STA coach his jumping and hollering. I go over and ask what the problem was. He says "You can't scissor the head" I agree with him and tell him that it was a figure 4. He says "No on the way over to his back his legs touched into a scissors." I say "Well first of all I was watching the whole time and did not see that occur. Second if he just briefly touched his own calf with his ankle together on his way up to apply the figure 4 with no pressure being applied to the head the that is not illegal (some what similar to the rules governing a sag head scissors which his legal). Understand that these rules are there to prevent injury so to penalize the top wrestler because he may have touched his legs together for less than a second which I did not see was not something I was about to do. Yes this was a judgment situation and the coach acted inappropriately.

Situation #3.

Wrestler

Wrestler A takes wrestler B down rides him for some time, they go out of bounds. As I blow the whistle to start the match again, wrestler B stands up. Wrestler A holds him for about 3 seconds. Then executes a belly-to-back suplay, lifts his opponent over his head. All the while I' verbally reminding him to return wrestler B safely to the mat. Right as both wrestlers are about to contact the mat Wrestler A turns wrestler B out and B hits the mat on his side and shoulder very hard, his legs flailing. I immediately stop the match and award a takedown for an illegal slam, although in this situation Unnecessary roughness could have been called. His coach, who I know knows both folkstyle and freestyle rules immediately questions my call. I explained to him that his wrestler did not bring the opponent to the mat safely. If anything it was an attempt to hurt him judging by how hard he hit the mat. The other coach on his side said something like "but wasn't his knee down first" which made me chuckle because that is not a criteria for determining a slam. My thought on this after the match was over was that had this been a freestyle match it would have been a perfectly executed maneuver. However this was a folkstyle tournament and the move he used was not technically illegal since he did turn him out, however he did not do it in a controlled manner Add I had warned him verbally twice before.

So as you can see the job of the ref is not an easy one, and it only compounds the problem when coaches are not aware of the rules and how they are interpreted. Far too often someone has head a myth about the rules and they take it to heart, myths like "You have to separate from your opponent to gain an escape. (false)" In all honesty I do think there are some newer officials who may not fully understand a certain situation, but I promise you that as an officials we do work together to all try and get on the same page. Every situation is different, different officials will call things different but they will be in line with the rules. Its "in their opinion, did such and such occur" As long as what they called is in line with the written rules then there is absolutely no reason why a coach should be out their questioning. And for next season, I'm fairly sure that at the officials meetings there is going to be a crack down on coaches who question judgment calls, it has gotten out of control, and some officials are just too afraid to toss them. I don't see this situation continuing.

Nigel, I think since you have over 500 posts that you should turn in your stripes!

I think if coaches spent more time talking to the officials (off the mat) they would find that the officials are humans too.

Yes they can make mistakes, but they are not "out to get you". If a "judgement call" was made, ask about it after the match. It will not be reversed, not matter how much you scream and yell.

Also, your wrestler is waiting on the mat, while you are making a "donkey" out of yourself.

Sportsmanship is learned best by example - set a good example for your wrestler and the sport.

Nigel,

I respect and appreciate your observations. I believe you are quite correct that there are so many situations that are hard to call, that require a judgment to be made, and that this will inevitably result in someone’s kid, coach, and parent thinking they were screwed. I have seen some pretty ugly moments and agree that officials may need to start enforcing behavior policies and start ejecting people.

I will never go to the table to discuss judgments like "stalling", "locking hands", "out of bounds" etc... I have told several parents, “it is what the official saw, we can’t argue it.” When I do approach the table it is always after the match and I try very hard to let the official know that I just want an explanation so that I can explain to kids how to approach certain match situations. I want to be able to say to my kid, "You have to let go of that arm bar, get your points, and then try to turn him again." I want to understand the rule. It just seemed to me in these situations that I described in my posting that there may have been a contradiction in how a rule was applied. But maybe I am mistaken.

I know that it can get “pretty old” listening to people gripe. I apologize if you interpreted my posting in that way. You guys deserve our respect and you have mine. Thanks.

No Spratster,

You are an example of the type of coaches I like working with. The kind that doensn't want to interupt a match with a complaint that is going to go unheard and will not be changed. I have absolutly no problem going to a coach after the match is over and explaing why I made a call that I did. However there have been times when that coach has insulted me or told me I was wrong during a match. I went and explained it to him after the match, even showed him the rule or a picture in the rules book in situations where it was practical, and even gone to the extent to get the head ref to confirm it to him, because he thought I might be lying to him (sarcastic grin). If more coaches were like you Spratster our job would be alot easier. What bothers me the most is 99% of the time the coach is questionsing a judgement call which they can't do anyway, they are wrong in their interpretation, and they are setting a bad example for their kid. He/she is stadning their listening to their coach who they always think is right questioning a call. Then they get it in their head that they are getting screwed over, and it messes with them mentally to the point where they lose the match, and eventually blame it on the ref. I have hnoestly see na kid that was winning by 5 points get reversed and taken to his back, the back points were a judement call by the ref who thought they were being scored, the coach did not. Hes up at the table screaming his head off, the kid is listening to him screaming his head off, The ref tells the coach to shut it or be thrown out, THe coach tells the kid he might as well quit cause the ref is not going to let him win. THey go back out and the kid basically rolls over and pins himself. I coulnd not beleive that I had saw that. And afterwards when I spoke to the ref doing the match, I told him I was totally sickened that this is what our sport has come to when a coach can have that much effect on his kid to make him just give up becuase of a jugdement call. People who don't ref have no clue this type of thing goes on. As I said in my earlier post, I'm hoping next year as we begin the season that we as officials make it a point to warn all the coaches that judegement questioning is not going to be tolerated and start providing immediate ejections. We'll do so at the coaches meeting, they should do it at the state meeting, and head coaches of clubs need to start emphasizing it to their assistants/parents at practice.