OFFICIALS DON'T WIN OR LOSE GAMES FOR YOU

With the playoffs right around the corner, we should expect some close games.  And with close games, we should expect some questionable calls.  But the thing to remember is that the calls we have gotten all season long will likely appear “amplified” in a close playoff game.

A point to remember:  Officials don't win or lose the games.

It's a point too many players, coaches, and fans refuse to acknowledge, especially in a time when many people -- players and coaches included -- don't want to take responsibility for their part in a loss.

After close games, you'll often hear a lot about "bad calls" by the officials.  In fact, there may have been some bad calls.  But how many mistakes did you, as a player (or me as a coach), make that contributed much more to the loss than an official's call?

Officials don't make bad passes, take ill-advised shots, or execute plays poorly.  Passing and execution is the responsibility of the players, not the officials.  How many FT’s do the officials make you miss?

In games where there are perceived missed or bad calls, what ends up happening is that the focus on the officiating becomes a distraction.  It also becomes a convenient excuse.  The attitude often becomes, "Well, we can't win because the refs are obviously against us..." and that opens up an opportunity for a team to stop competing.  Fans convince the players to start thinking they're victims.  The "poor me" attitude comes into play.

As Mike Jacobs, the head men's soccer coach at Evansville, wrote recently, "as a player or a coach, there are only so many variables you can control during the course of a soccer game — a call that a referee makes (or doesn't make) is not one of them."

According to Coach Jacobs:

"As much as athletes and coaches probably feel that 'working' the refs is glorified by watching ESPN, the idea of shouting at the referee during the game becomes more of a hindrance and distraction to the officials and your own players.  As a player, arguing with the referee or even getting yellow-carded for dissent are signs of a lack of mental toughness or focus."

Coach Jacobs rightly contends that "the coach who complains about every call gets tuned out pretty quickly by an official, and now the coach has lost a forum to even discuss a call with the referee."

Of course, there are times when it's important to challenge a call -- particularly a blatantly bad call.  The key is being smart and strategic about it.  Forget about the refs and just play hard.

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