A positive ref thread

[King'sPawn]

It's a very difficult, thankless job. I couldn't do it.

 

[hangman005]

But why have it in the rule book then? If you call every offense the players will adjust. If not, then they probably won't be in the NHL long then. But, when you don't call everything, aren't you changing the outcome of the game? The hooking call that you called in the first period is NOW not a hooking penalty in overtime. Why, what changed besides the time it happened? Call everything or change the rule book.

The biggest problem is the fans will never be happy. Half will scream call the rule book the other half will scream let them play.

There is no consistency from the refs but there is also no consistency from the fans about how they want the game called... and because of that the refs will always be wrong to half the fans

 

[cowboy82nd]

The biggest problem is the fans will never be happy. Half will scream call the rule book the other half will scream let them play.

There is no consistency from the refs but there is also no consistency from the fans about how they want the game called... and because of that the refs will always be wrong to half the fans

I agree with this, but isn't it easier to call everything and show consistency then to pick and chose and show consistency?

 

[tsanuri]

I agree with this, but isn't it easier to call everything and show consistency then to pick and chose and show consistency?

It's not just fans that would scream. GM's would be upset League offices including the head of officials. Paul Stewart wrote an article a few years ago that talked about him doing so during a preseason game, in a minor league not the NHL, and it didn't go over so well

 

[hangman005]

It's a very difficult, thankless job. I couldn't do it.

Have never reffed hockey and never reffed on a big stage like the NHL but I reffed touch rugby which is extremely competitive and more physical than you would think... and it is a tough job especially if you’re a young teenager reffing grown men. The thing I learned very quick was how to remain in control. Call the play as you see it... and stick to that call. If you give players an inch they will take a mile. The penalty I called most often would have been dissent or as you’d know it unsportsmanlike conduct and it had nothing to do with being thin skinned. You could disagree with a call but if you go overboard complaining about or flat out disrespect me I will penalise you for it. You may not like the call but if you let players get away with disrespecting you once.. it is extremely difficult to get that respect back. Heck reffing kids I’ve unfortunately had to penalise a team for the actions of their parents.

But no matter how fair you actually are, and many players had told me I was the fairest ref they’ve had, the thought of appearing to be fair does creep into your mind. If one team has been playing undisciplined and you’ve penalised them several times and the other team played a disciplined game and had none... you do think do I need to find something to penalise the other team for so it doesn’t seem like I’m favoring one side. I like to think that 99% of the time I ignored those thoughts but they are there.

So reffing is extremely tough you feel bad if you miss a call because your in bad position (and sometimes you get run over being in the wrong lane) but you can’t call something you didn’t see just because everyone else did. But it is still quite fun and extremely rewarding.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

Most don't have 10,000+ individuals ready, and all the willing, to yell at them when they make a mistake.

really? I made a powerpoint slide last week that had a typo and thousands of my co-workers started booing me

 

[Juicy Pop]

really? I made a powerpoint slide last week that had a typo and thousands of my co-workers started booing me

It's probably because your slides had too many text animations.

 

[hangman005]

I agree with this, but isn't it easier to call everything and show consistency then to pick and chose and show consistency?

I’d say yes, but I think the first few weeks of doing that would be absolutely awful as a spectator sport and the league is too scared to call the book across the board because of it.

 

[hangman005]

really? I made a powerpoint slide last week that had a typo and thousands of my co-workers started booing me

I’d boo you too, who still uses PowerPoint lol

 

[vuvuzela]

Have never reffed hockey and never reffed on a big stage like the NHL but I reffed touch rugby which is extremely competitive and more physical than you would think... and it is a tough job especially if you’re a young teenager reffing grown men. The thing I learned very quick was how to remain in control. Call the play as you see it... and stick to that call. If you give players an inch they will take a mile. The penalty I called most often would have been dissent or as you’d know it unsportsmanlike conduct and it had nothing to do with being thin skinned. You could disagree with a call but if you go overboard complaining about or flat out disrespect me I will penalise you for it. You may not like the call but if you let players get away with disrespecting you once.. it is extremely difficult to get that respect back. Heck reffing kids I’ve unfortunately had to penalise a team for the actions of their parents.

But no matter how fair you actually are, and many players had told me I was the fairest ref they’ve had, the thought of appearing to be fair does creep into your mind. If one team has been playing undisciplined and you’ve penalised them several times and the other team played a disciplined game and had none... you do think do I need to find something to penalise the other team for so it doesn’t seem like I’m favoring one side. I like to think that 99% of the time I ignored those thoughts but they are there.

So reffing is extremely tough you feel bad if you miss a call because your in bad position (and sometimes you get run over being in the wrong lane) but you can’t call something you didn’t see just because everyone else did. But it is still quite fun and extremely rewarding.

This pretty much sums it up.

I ref ball hockey/street hockey in a single ref system and it can be insanely hard. I don't ref a lot, I fill in when needed, I have enough experience I'm confident doing high level games, but I still consider myself fairly decent. For every person who has told me I'm their favourite ref for my consistency and fairness, I've had 2 others tell me I'm awful (usually players I've called penalties on). I've never been called the worst ref ever, at least not to my face.

Two weeks ago I missed a trip (2 bodies in the way), a would be 7 minute major for high sticking (3 bodies in the way), and called an incredibly soft hold along the boards. There's nothing I can do about the missed calls, I'm the only person on the court and I have to watch the players, the ball (player that was high sticked was shooting from a high percentage area, eyes tracked the ball as he was high sticked, wouldn't have seen the stick make contact unless I was below the goal line, as the only ref on the court, getting that deep in the zone puts me way behind the play), the players behind the actual play, numbers for goals/assists, offsides, and I need to do all of this while communicating with players throughout the game.

As mentioned, it's hard to not let worry about fairness in the game creep into your mind. If you're reffing the same players/teams year round, you get to know which teams/players to watch out for and the fairness issue doesn't really matter, some teams are dirty; if you're reffing new teams, it can be tough.

People often wonder why refs don't call every infraction that's in the rule book, it's almost impossible to do so without a continued parade to the box (hooks/slashes/body contact are all tough to call consistently). I could call 4 or 5 penalties in the first 5 minutes of most games I ref, I generally ref with a warning for players on smaller infractions followed up by a call if they do it again or don't immediately stop doing what they're doing at the time of the warning. This can lead to issues, the soft hold mentioned above was an accumulation of two prior warnings before the actual penalty was called, spanning 3 shifts for the same player. In this instance, only a few players were upset at the call, I explained to the captain at half why I called it the way I did, he told his bench, no more issues.

The teammates of the high sticked player were furious I missed it, ranting about how the player should've sold it better, dropped to the ground clutching his face and screaming, then maybe I would've called a penalty. I calmly explained that I still wouldn't have called a penalty as I didn't see the high stick, all I would've done is stop play (during the stoppage I would've asked the scorekeeper what she saw, but in this instance she also didn't see the high stick).

One of the biggest issues as a ref is dealing with parents/players that don't have a letter. If you're a player without a letter or a parent, it's in your best interest to keep your mouth shut and let your captain/coach do the talking for you. I'm not thin skinned, I've had some nasty things said to me during games, it doesn't bother me, but the distraction of having players/parents yell at you during play leads to more missed calls. If teams don't have a coach, the Captain and Alternate Captains should do their best to control their players, even in a multiple ref system, shouting from the sidelines can be a distraction no matter how hard you try to tune it out.

And in my experience, for the most part I know when I miss a call or bite on an embellishment, I will explain myself to the team captain any time I'm questioned.

I also play ball hockey and have had my share of bad reffing experiences so I'm aware of how frustrating a poorly reffed game is. I generally try to do a checklist of why calls were made or missed based on my own experiences:

- Where was the ref located at the time of the missed call?
- Were there bodies in the way?
- Have we recently gotten away with something that should've been called (don't really agree with this but a lot of refs do)?
- Are both teams committing the same infraction and it's been uncalled to this point?
- Was somebody from my team distracting the ref (happens so much on one of the teams I play for)?
- Will this missed call significantly impact the game?

Usually a couple of the above give me a satisfactory answer without having to call the ref mean names.

Refs see what they see and have to react quickly, if you're respectful in dealing with them, some will even admit when they make a bad call (I do it), but once players start swearing and hurling insults, you just go to the well of "I didn't see it"

 

[Saitama]

Other than Tim Peel and a couple others, I have a lot of respect for the refs. I'm aware that things are happening at a very high speed and that it's not always easy to see everything even if you're looking in the right direction.

 

[Iapyi]

If fans would be objective it wouldn't seem so bad. If I see a penalty I'm not going to pretend it's not just because it was against my team. Fact it the HUGE majority of fans are not objective in the least.

That said, they make a lot of mistakes. I mean a lot. I detest the Oilers but how that hit from behind into the boards right in front of the ref wasn't called against E.Kane last night is mind boggling. You could see that the ref could see it.

I used to referee football at a pretty high level, I know that some of my fellow referees were flat out the poops at the job. They were horrible. Many of today's referees are flat out the poops at their job.

 

[SJGoalie32]

I agree with this, but isn't it easier to call everything and show consistency then to pick and chose and show consistency?

The game itself isn't consistent.

What looks like a trip or a hook or a high stick from one angle may look completely different from another angle.

Did the tripped player step on the opposing players stick, the puck, or did he simply fall? Was the player high sticked by the opponent or by his own teammate?

How many times have we watched a game where there was something the broadcasters were absolutely sure of, and then they changed their tune when they saw a different replay angle. Even the exact same play may not yield consistent calls from two different vantage points.

You have a half second to decide on something that happened 50 feet away in the periphery of your vision. Maybe the next time that call comes up it'll be right in front of you....or behind you...or obscured by 3 other players.

The game isn't uniformly consistent. The players aren't 100% consistent. The broadcasters aren't 100% consistent. The fans aren't 100% consistent (beyond supporting calls in their team's favor and hating calls that go against them).

The level of consistency you seek is simply not attainable. The refs do as good a job as they can, and that's about it. And, all things considered, they do a phenomenal job overall