Why It Is Important to Respect the Sports Official


Legendary team USA Softball coach Mike Cadrea once said, “When mutual respect is established, the official will be better able to give his or her best in calling a good and fair contest[1].” Respecting the official is a tone that the coach sets, the players pick up on, and every game needs in order to be fair, just, and fun.

wrestling official with athletes

Why it is important to respect the official: Officials are human and have feelings, thoughts and emotions. They can be influenced, though can also make mistakes. Coaches, parents and athletes should be respectful, not yell and praise when a good decision is made. When a referee feels respected, they are more inclined to make a rationale, logical decision.

Without respect for officials, the game lacks the integrity to instill the life skills of empathy, compassion and other defining characteristics that can help athletes to be more successful later on in life.

With respect is the only way that coaches, players, and fans should treat an official. There are split-second judgment calls riding on the determination of the official which can become harder for an official to execute if they feel they are not being respected during the course of the game.  Fair gameplay can be crucially decided by officials.

Officials are human and react to the tone of the game set by the coach. Respecting the official also helps to instill good sportsmanship in younger athletes. This tone of respect is picked up on by the parents and even fans and can add a general sense of fairness and fun to the game. Finally, when coaches model respect for an official to their teams, it provides a space for young people to witness and practice compassion for others.

There are several strategies for keeping a cool head in the heat of a sports game which can help coaches to remain respectful towards officials. Also, knowing how to deal with disrespect from your own players, parents, or spectators will go a long way in modeling and instilling respectful attitudes in your players for their future interactions with officials, other players, opponents, and themselves.

Sports Official: A ‘Thankless’ Job

Officiating sports games can be one of the most stressful jobs. Very few times are umpires or referees applauded by fans for making good calls, mitigating risks to players, or controlling unfriendly banter or worse in the stands. But, cries of hatred, boos, and even threats can commonly be heard when an official makes a mistake.

Some say that this inclination to ‘hate’ officials comes from a fanatic ‘love’ for their team. But, the disrespect can be more damaging than possibly realized.

Societies are supportive of respect because, according to an article about the psychology of respect in the journal Science Direct, “For any organization or society to thrive, it must possess a behavioral code that tempers self-interest, promoting instead coordinated, cooperative, and self-sacrificing action among its members.

That means, although fans, players, and coaches may want to hate an official for blowing or not blowing a specific call, always remember the game can’t exist without them.

Positives of Teaching Respect Towards Officials

Teach Players to See the Positive

Dr. Chris Stankovich has authored several books on the transformative nature of positive reinforcement in sports in his books such as Positive Transitions for Student-Athletes, The ParentsPlaybook, Mind of Steel.

Officials are often never thanked for the positive skills they exhibit in order to call a fair game.

Skills such as “communication skills, displaying respect, modeling sportsmanship” can all be overlooked and officials can be more routinely criticized for calls missed or perceived bad calls.

Focusing on the negatives instead of the many positives that officials exhibit models poor life skills for players in youth sports and creates a stressful and thankless job for sports officials.

Coaches Influence Those in the Stands

Respecting the officials of sports games is an attribute that athletic directors at prestigious schools and universities are looking for in their coaches and managers.

In special terms laid out by the athletic director, a coach is expected to do things like asking for clarification of a questionable call during a game from an official “in a quiet and appropriate manner,” according to 24-year veteran Coach and Athletic Director David Hoch, EdD.

However, some of the most unruly participants towards officials during a sporting event can be the parents of athletes and fans. Even though the kids participating are under the control of the coach, where the coach can say things like, “‘Sit by me on the bench,’ or ‘We’re going to do a little extra work at practice,’ or ‘You’re going to have to sit out the next game.” (source) The coach doesn’t always have a concrete strategy for handling unruly parents and fans.

The best way to mitigate bad situations between the stands and the officials is to be a model of humility, patience, and respect as a coach.

Fans and players pick up on the tone set by the coach making their demeanor and approach to dealing with officials, especially during bad calls, of critical importance to keeping the fabric of the game with good sportsmanship and integrity.

It’s Just Not About Getting a Win

Great coaches don’t only focus on the end product of the win, the “W” or the statistic.

The best coaches rebrand what winning means by focusing on how athletes learn during the process of succeeding and recognizing effort as well as excellence.

When it comes to why it is important to respect officials during sports games, a great coach taps into the competitive nature of their athletes and leverages the human side of officiating to teach “players that a winner is someone who makes maximum effort, continues to learn and improve, and doesn’t let mistakes (or fear of mistakes) stop them.” (source)

Parents Are Viewed in a More Positive Light

From a recent poll done by author Deborah Norville in her new book, “The Power of Respect“, 79% of participants said that lack of respect was a serious national problem.

Part of that same poll cited that “side-line screamers” at youth sports events added to perceived rudeness and disrespect taught to younger generations.

Out-of-control parents at youth sports events who shout at coaches, referees, and the kids are not just getting on the nerves of the person being yelled at.

In the Public Agenda survey, “71 percent of people who watch organized sports for kids say they’ve seen sideline screamers, and two-thirds are bothered by them.” (source)

An epidemic of rude and disrespectful behavior by young athletes and, even more surprisingly, their parents, makes coaching strategies on how and why it is important to respect officials during sporting events all the more crucial.

Here are 5 key strategies that can be used by the coaching staff of any team to take rude behavior by players and turn it on its head.

1. Officials are just as important as coaches: when coaches and other adults treat officials with due respect, this translates into great modeling situations for young athletes. Coaches can make a habit of greeting officials before the start of games and thank them afterward.

2. Officials hold the game in their hands: Just like any other person on the field of play, officials are human. When fans, coaches, or players let anger or disappointment get the better of them and disrespect the officials of the game, they can turn the outcome against their favor.

A human being has emotions and can quickly develop biases, even unconsciously, even if they are trained not to. Respect of the officials is the best way to ensure a fairly called game.

3. Never yell at officials: even if a call is totally blown, it is never ok to lose your cool on the field or in the dugout. In keeping calm, it reinforces that a level head allows you to matter better choices and do what’s right.

4. Focus on the Game: when players spend time and energy worrying about officiating they lose focus on the game. This can be detrimental both on their performance and enjoyment of the game.

5. Accept The Training: Even Little League umpires tend to have more training than the players and coaches they are officiating for. The best strategy to instill in players is the acceptance of a call on a field during a game, no matter the outcome. That when, even when a call does not go their way, they can stay centered and focused on the next play.

Summary: Why It Is Important to Respect the Official

When players are first learning about sports, the focus should be on the growth of life skills that participating and competing can help them master. Respect towards everyone, especially neutral participants like officials, can help young athletes learn how to deal with communication, focus and above all, provides a sense of integrity for the game that the athlete loves.

Without top-down modeling by coaches of the utmost respect for officials during games, the tone of a teams interaction, with the official or even other teams, will remain uneasy and possibly morph into hostility. The goal of any great coach is to get their players to understand growth and simply instilling respect is an easy and often overlooked strategy that can pay big dividends.

Players respect officials they give themselves and their team the best chance to focus on success and ultimately, win their chosen sport.

Cheers,

Daniel


[1] “Respecting Officials of the Game by Coach … – Team USA.” https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/News/2015/June/22/Respecting-Officials-of-the-Game-by-Coach-Candrea. Accessed 23 Jan. 2020.

Daniel

I’m sports mad! I’ve been coaching youth sports for over 15 years, with basketball being my primary passion. You can typically find me in the gym, outside on the court or in front of the TV being absorbed by a competitive sporting event. Sharing my knowledge and thoughts with other youth coaches out there gives me the greatest buzz!

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