July 2019 - Parks & Recreation - 25

coaches are our first and last line of
defense against the verbal abuse officials face, they can also be guilty
of engaging in the same behavior
toward them. Competition is and
will always be a huge undertone
of organized sports, which can
lead coaches to inadvertently lash
out at officials for calls that are not
in their team's best interest. This
is where the proverbial line in the
sand needs to be drawn.
Providing a pre-season training
for your coaches is a great way to
set expectations. A short investment
of your time to establish a code of
conduct and inform coaches of possible implications if policies are not
adhered to can have a dramatic impact on their demeanor.
During a past flag football season, I had a coach who was relentless in his abusive behavior toward the officials. Despite talking
to him multiple times, he would
not correct his behavior. After the
game, I informed the coach that
his behavior was not in line with
our goals and objectives as a district and asked if he was available
the next weekend before his game.
With his availability confirmed,
I said, " Great! It seems like you
are very versed in the rules and we
could use your experience. Would
you be able to officiate one game
for us? " After a slight pause, the
coach walked back his criticism of
the young officials, shook my hand
and apologized. Not only did I not
have another issue with this coach
the rest of the season, but even observed him standing up for one of
the officials during a game.
When it comes to youth sports,
" perfect " is a word you will not often hear, especially when it comes
to officiating. What is a perfect

game? It's entirely subjective
ctive and
rarely echoed by two competing
ompeting
coaches, as, naturally, only
y one of
them is on the winning side.
ide. It is
human nature to search forr reasons
for a loss. And, for some, it's also
easier to blame a loss on those officiating the game than to accept
the outcome and find the issues
within their team that need to be
addressed.
Officials are only human and
their job primarily relies on their
visual acuity to uphold league
rules in real time. This can be incredibly challenging, especially
when multiple people are yelling
in their direction. It is inevitable
that officials will " miss " calls, and
at times, make the " wrong " call.
This does not give players, parents
and coaches an excuse to berate
them. This kind of negative behavior is toxic to a league and undermines the objectives and goals of
league organizers. Instead of booing an official for a call that you
don't agree with, cheer when they
make a call you do. By shifting
the way we react to decisions on
the field, we can have a dramatic
and positive effect on all of those
involved.
One of the most valuable lessons
a child can take away from organized sports is overcoming adversity. When a coach negatively speaks
out against a referee's call during a
game, that coach is undermining a
young athlete's character development. Our youth look up to coaches as role models and will absorb
traits and lessons they carry with
them the rest of their life. We must
continue to remind our coaches of
the importance and weight their
words and actions carry.
Next time you are at a youth

Four Steps to
Improve CoachOfficial Relations:

Coaches should introduce
themselves to and thank the
officials prior to a game.

Coaches should never
raise their voice.

3
4

If a coach has a question about
a call, they should wait
until gameplay stops, then
approach the official in a
respectful manner.
Coaches should always
thank the officials after
concluding a game.

sporting event and witness someone acting inappropriately toward
an official, politely remind them
that their actions have dire consequences on the health and stability
of recreational sports nationwide.
Always thank your officials and
remember that they are doing their
job to the best of their ability. And,
instead of avoiding or ostracizing
less experienced officials, welcome,
encourage and let them know you
appreciate them, as they are the
future of the officiating population and, therefore, vital to all recreational sports. Together we can
reshape youth sports by giving our
officials the respect and admiration
they deserve.
Jake Polito is the Senior Recreation Coordinator for Sunrise
Recreation and Park District (jpolito@sunriseparks.com).

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July 2019 - Parks & Recreation

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