We’re going to have our final clinic of the year on April 1st at 9:00am up in the viewing room at the rink. Watch for the notice on the bulletin board. It’s not necessary to sign up to attend but it helps give me an idea about what to expect. I think the response to these clinics has been very positive and I want to thank all those that have attended. New players to our league are required to attend but I encourage all the veterans that haven’t been to one to sign up. One of the main roadblocks, I have found, to having some of our membership ref their game is the discomfort of push back when they make a call that is disagreed with. With these clinics we are talking to you, not only as a ref but the player as well and I hope these talks help address that issue. With that in mind, I want to bring up a few points that occurred in a game I recently played in. This game was officiated by 2 first time refs and I think they did a bang up job. One of the first points we bring up is that mistakes are going to be made. So, don’t worry about it. We’ve got to cut the guys some slack here. They’re not pros.
Another really important thing to remember is, we are a safety-first league and as such many calls and stoppages are made with this in mind. For example, if a player goes down and the ref is unsure whether he is hurt, STOP THE PLAY to make sure all is well. Penalties are also called for infractions that might not have been a penalty in a previous league. Anything that could possibly lead to an injury we would like called. Lastly, for today, referees are encouraged to blow the whistle, for a call, even if it’s a bit late. Consider that they were conducting a video review in their head and knew they missed something. All of these things occurred the other day and to be fair the pushback was very minor and the players easily understood when I explained why the call was made. So kudos to them as well. As for the numbers. We had 9 guys do their first game of the half, last week. Better but still lots left. So far 105 different refs since Christmas. We are behind the pace of the first half a bit, but still have a month to go. 91 players playing full time in March that have not done a game this half. Step up.
Thanks for your support
Chuck