A New NHL Season Begins

Atta boy, Clutter.

As I type this, there is approximately 45 minutes until the puck drops in Helsinki, Finland between the Minnesota Wild and the Carolina Hurricanes.  I love a new season in the NHL, with all the hope and promise for playoff glory (OK...I realize that most "experts" have the Wild picked to finish 14th in the 15 team Western Conference...there's still hope).

I also love watching referees work NHL games.  Yep...you might be like me...but I spend the majority of my time watching the Zebras, seeing how they react to situations. 

Brad Watson

I watch refs to see how they are communicating.

I watch refs to see how they skate.

I watch refs to see their body language.

I watch refs to see how they drop a puck, signal a goal, signal a penalty, work the goal line, work the blue line, and skate on an icing.  I watch it all and DO IT SO I CAN LEARN.

***********

I am also amazed at the people who bitch and complain about officiating.  I am a huge fan of Justin Bourne's Blog, and he had this to say about officiating:

So here’s what I’ve discovered about myself from really being immersed in the NHL with other fans: nothing makes me lose more respect for one of them than ref blaming.  It’s by no means just in hockey, but I’m BOGGLED by how many people actually think their team got the raw end of the deal every night.  I don’t just mean Canucks and Red Wings fans either.  I mean there’s this CRAZY percentage of people who regularly blame losses on bad reffing.

My question is, if NO ONE in the world can do it well (in those people’s opinion), how hard must that job be?  Making split-second subjective calls that are subject to the scrutiny of millions of people with instant replay and slo-mo?  No sir, I don’t like hearing that crap. Can’t respect ref-blamers.

Well said, sir.  Spot on.

Do you have a funny story about an idiot fan (kind of like the two dads I saw at a girls HS game who were going to fight because one owed the other one money?).

Good message, but not intended to be a political message

OK...let's drop the puck already!

The Hockey News: Inside player-referee relations

The Hockey News: Justin Bourne's Blog: Justin Bourne’s Blog: Inside player-referee relations
(click on the above link for story)

Posted using ShareThis

I'm not a used car salesman.  I can't think up quick and witty one-liners when coaches ask questions or players protest a call.  And I don't think I need to be.  I think communication as a referee needs a few key ingredients and I  strive to bring these ingredients every game:

1. You have to look the part.  Communication is 55% non-verbal, 38% tone, and only 7% words.  So basically you need to look the part.  My question is, "Do you look like a NHL official?"  None of those guys look like dorks on T.V.  None of them have too short of pants, too tight of a sweater, have stickers on their helmets (especially NCAA stickers - I hate those damn things, if it's not an NCAA game), and none of them have 3 day growth.  Do you look like them?  If you don't, I can almost guarantee you that a coach and the players will look at you decided whether or not you're qualified.  To sum up my point better, look at these two guys:

Who looks like they can do their job better?

2. Hustle.  Plain and simple.  Are you working your butt off for this game or not?  One line I read once was, "When you talk to a captain of a team, you should be have sweat running down your face as much as they have sweat running down their face."  Coaches want to see that you are out there giving your best, because they expect the best from their players.

3. Honesty.  This is realization that I came to after some poor attempts at being "sharp and witty."  I wanted to be the guy who could drop a zinger or two.  I'm not that guy.  You might not be that guy either.  What you can do is talk to the benches, talk to the players often throughout the game.  Be 100% honest.  If a coach is irrate because I didn't make a "hooking" call on a breakaway, I am going to go over and tell him this..."You know what...that looked like a hook, but I feel lucky that I happened to be on the side of the puck carrier to see exactly what was happening with the stick and hands.  I thought that was a great back check and the defenseman got the stick and no hands." (those were the exact words I used in a HS game last night). 

I need to be honest with the coach and tell them what I saw and (a) why I called it a penalty or (b) why I didn't call a penalty.  I don't need fancy one-liners.  Just honesty.

If he can't handle that...well...I have alternatives. (I'll talk about that in my Ultimate Officials Ref Camp - there's a new 3 Month Camp starting Feb 1 through April 30 - email info@ultimateofficials for more info).

Game Day Blog -2/09 - Need a Good Laugh?

"Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech."

Martin Fraquhar Tupper

"Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt"

Mark Twain

"....adding a little humor seasoning to a presentation can add a little zest here and a little zip there. Incorporating humor into a presentation doesn’t mean you take the
topic or audience lightly, on the contrary, it means you know enough about effective communications and your respect to the audience enough to want to give them."

Mike Kerr

Are you a naturally funny guy?? If so, good for you. If not, always keep a bunch of "well-timed" one-liners in your pocket for times during a game where humor can diffuse a situation (WARNING: If this is not natural for you, and you don't practice this, it won't land and you will look like you are not serious about the game).

Last night's action (or inaction in some cases) brought about theses lines:

"The Steve Tatro-Is-That-A-Goal Line"

Situation: Goalie makes a great save on a scramble in front of the net. The defensemen are all congratulating him on what a great save, etc. You come flying in and ask incredulously, "Did that go in?!?!?" When everyone snaps at you, "No, No, it wasn't in!!!," you just smile and say, "Whew, good...we got it right," of course with a smile.

"The Pushing-Shoving after the Whistle In Front of the Net Line"

Situation: Players are bushing, bumping chests, being a bit rowdy. You come flying in and say, "Hey, hey...let's just have a push up contest to see who's toughest." When they look at you like you're on drugs, simply ask, "Well, how about a spelling contest?" Of course, do it with a smile.

I also had two different players who knocked down my partners and caused them to fall, go over and say they were sorry, or they just might get a penalty later on. Of course, with a smile...

Funny in Any Language:

Ref 2.0 is Here!!!

I am happy to announce that the Ultimate Officials Ref 2.0 program is now running! I am happy for those who chose to participate (don't get me wrong...it's not that I'm not happy), but I am happy because referee instruction is now the way that people want it -- visual, game situations, memorable, and, if I have any say, remarkable.

So many times I have been in a camp or seminar setting and have heard from participants, "I wish we could see MORE VIDEO..." We have had campers dutifully fill out feedback and camp evaluation forms, with most of them saying, "More Video, please".

I even had my assumptions proven this past summer about visual learners!!

At the MHOA Camp in June of 2008, there were 11 participants. 6 of them said they preferred seeing examples, videos, visuals over any other medium. 5 of them said they preferred "learning by doing" over any other medium. NOBODY SAID THEY PREFERRED LECTURE! (Reading can be the same as lecture...very, very low retention rates).

At the Minnkota Camp in August of 2008, there were 18 participants. 10 of them said they preferred seeing examples, videos, visuals over any other medium. 7 of them said they preferred "learning by doing" over any other medium. (1) SAID THEY PREFERRED LECTURE!

Well...we are trying to teach something, aren't we?!?!?....These people do want to RETAIN the information, don't they?!?!?...Why not use video? If you want to learn the best, then you need to use video...if you don't use it, and instead use lecture (dry/boring), then they won't learn the best. Just use video!!

We did, and now you can learn...for more information, contact me:

info@ultimateofficials.com

Thanks,

JB Olson

p.s. Those who wait, hem and haw, procrastinate...they aren't the 5%-ers. I am looking for 5%-ers. Contact me at info@ultimateofficials.com and you will get a whole series of videos to take you to the next level.

Secrets of H.S. Hockey

Here's what I have noticed in closely studying officiating the past 5 years (NOTE: I have been officiating high school hockey for the past 15 years, I am not talking about reffing the games -- Rather, I am talking about "studying" the games)...

1. high school officials in ALL sports are suspect with skills and abilities - hockey is no exception
2. the spectrum of officiating skills goes from "all-world referees" to "did he ever play the game?"
3. the philosophy of how to call a game at the high school level is non-existant (Answer quick! What's your philosophy on how the game should be called???)
4. A lot of referees try to develop themselves by doing as many high school games as possible. This is the "trial and error" method, and with some guys, it is more error than trial.
5. Communication is the greatest denominator for whether you are successful or not in the high school level.

Here's a few other things I feel about high school (NOTE: These are feelings, the above were concrete observations...):

1. high school hockey has some great games, with great players, and great skill
2. high school coaches are better than at any other point in time
3. Minnesotan's love high school hockey -- especially the State Tournament -- and many, many, many officials have the goal of getting to work the State Tournament.

How can we get you there???

1. Communication
2. Communication
and...
3. Communication

Today I'll talk about number 1 on the list...yep, you guessed it, communication.

55% of all communication is done through non-verbals.

So what's half the battle??

** being in position to make the call

** having a strong presence on the ice

** looking sharp, professional at all times

** working just as hard OR HARDER than the players

** having signals that are calm, cool, and confident

** establishing constant eye contact with the benches

55% of all communication is non-verbal...I recently supervised a high school game and was sitting next to some high school kids. When the officials went on the ice first, before the teams, at the start of the game, one of them made the comment, "Good thing the officials are in shape." (sarcasm was dripping all over the place). I guessed he was referring to one the officials, who was definitely overweight, AND to make matters worse, he didn't even work hard during the game. 55% of all communication is non-verbal.

Do you look like a championship game referee???