Just read an interesting article from a national official’s
magazine. The article begins by defining
in detail how these three types of officials apply the rules. 1. The Rulebook Attorney official. 2. The Freelance official. 3. The Combination of Both. Who knew? Article
The remainder of the article
(which is very good) discusses how being balanced is actually the key to good
game management and how to best apply the rules of the game.
What is not good is when a
national official’s magazine begins an article by lumping all officials into three
types, very similar to a Goldie Locks and the Three Bears story line. Too hard,
too soft and just right!
Stating that officials
fit into three types is not only an oversimplification of who we are as sports officials,
but it also demeans who we are as professionals.
My personal opinion is
that there are many more than three types of sports officials. To name a few:
rookies, experienced, veterans, young, old, healthy, unhealthy, slow, fast, conscientious,
and not so conscientious. What we sports officials do have in common, but is under
recognized is our desire to get better and a commitment to always do the best
job possible.
Therefore, the article
would have been better served by placing the oversimplified projections
somewhere else blended (lower) into the story or even better, not at all.
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