Saturday proved an exausting day for me- 3 games and a scrimmage to officiate. My Cardiotrainer App on my phone tells me that I burned approximately 3000 calories over the course of the day. Exhausting! While it was a great day of skating- it was not without it's rough patches.
My first reffing partner of the day- awesome. We got along great, had good rapport. He had taken a few years off when he started a family with his wife and I couldn't believe when he said he was 35. It was great to have such an affinity with a fellow ref on the ice- I will work with him anytime- which he said was mutual. We worked well together, covered the ice when the other was blocked from proceeding to follow play, had a pow-wow over what call to make (which resulted in a very exciting penalty shot). Awesome. It was an awesome game- the teams were great, the coaches were great, everyone was great.
It seemed like a good start to the day....
As some of you know, I've been an ice hockey referee for 5 years or so now. I ref because I love the game (cliff notes version). After one game at BIG 3 earlier this season, my reffing partner, who I have worked with a number of times, over all of the seasons I have been involved on the officiating side, explained that his next game was at a neighboring town and with a team that has a terrible reputation. I wondered how terrible this team could be but then brushed it aside- afterall, we all have our bad days. Perhaps this was a rumor gone awry.
Mid-day Saturday, I believe I met this team with the terrible reputation. Let me tell you- their preceding reputation did not even do them justice (and not in a good way). I have never worked with such a team. I doubt I will ever meet their equal in poor attitude, terrible sportsmanship, lack of manners, and complete disregard for how they speak to others. I'm speaking specifically about the coaching staff. The coaching staff complained about being told their kids mouth guards needed to be in. Mouth guards being a safe guard against concussions that can end a sports career and cause permanent brain damage. I even had to send one of the coaches to the locker room. He had already received a bench minor and I had had enough. The players reflected the poor attitude and bad sportsmanship displayed by their coaches. These kids are the kids that are really very good, but just not quite good enough to make the A-team. It's one of those terrible decisions where teams have to get picked and they're all neck and neck so they probably just end up drawing straws (this is especially true in ice hockey because there is only 1 A-team allowed per association per age group).
My partner for the game was like wall paper. Still fairly young to the officiating side of the sport- he contributed little and had nothing to offer in terms of being a partner on the ice. It was hugely frustrating. The wrath of the coaches and parents were directed only in my direction. Usually I try to make conversation with my associate referee before we go out for a game- get at least their name and how long they've been involved with officiating and playing ice hockey. It's usually a good launching pad for more conversation. From my partner on Saturday for the two game set- nothing. He was more into his phone than getting his mind set for the game. I've never been so disappointed in a reffing partner. I walked into the ref room and immediately apologized for being late and explained that I had a migraine headache that I was still fending off. He didn't even look up from his phone. It was a bad sign and as I tried a few more times to get him to talk to me before the game (within reason) I knew things were not going to go well. It was clear he had no people skills and was not interested in Dale Carnegie.
Saturday night when I arrived home, I was seriously questioning whether or not to continue after this season as an ice hockey referee. This morning, I realize that this is one bad team with a terrible attitude that is not only hurting themselves, but their team mates, the parents, the team's association, and the sport of ice hockey.
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