Question Number: 23381

Other 5/27/2010

RE: Competative and recreational Adult

Doug Anderson of Orillia, Ontario Canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 23368

Keith makes an excellent point about terminology; it applies both to discussions on this site, but also how we speak to and instruct / mentor new referees. The point I hear is 'Terminology needs to be tight". Without the precision that consistent terminology brings, you don't know what we are asking and we are not hearing answers that can be useful.

Box" is a good example; but I think of constant references to "bench", "goalie", "sidelines", ?.

Many offenses under the laws suffer from poor use of terms like "pass back", "interference", ?

And I am going to scream if a read another question about "offsides".

I am sure you could add numerous other examples.

I think we use this flexible terminology partly out of a wish not to sound boring, partly to show we are familiar with the game, but mainly out of habit. And we need to shed that bad habit.

If terminology is tighter, the communication is clearer and we can feel more confident to learn and progress.

Often just paying attention to terminology can answer questions we have (think about the numerous questions about "pass back" to the goalkeeper which are easily understood when you think of the wording of the law that says offense is "handling" after the ball "deliberately kicked" to the goalkeeper.

So "Watch your language" may be more than a warning against infringement of Law 12 (the misconduct of foul or offensive language)!


The second point Keith makes is about not taking offense to the criticism offered.
We need to take this professionally, not personally.
Often it is easy to find offencse in criticism which is offered and miss the point. We need to listen and find that which makes us better referees.

Dont know a great deal about the world of martial arts (karate) but have heard the concept of instructions offered by a teacher (sensei) described thus: I make comment on your faults because I think of you as "worth fixing". I offer criticism to honor you as a practitioner and not to belittle you.

Taking comments like Keith's (or any other answering panel member) in that light may help us grow as a referee - which is the point, right? I need to get over the personal offense I take to the words and look to the meanings beneath.

Thanks to all the panelists and the questioners; you guys and gals make me better at this every time I read this stuff.

Sorry if this is more of a comment than a question but Keith's answer shows what I mean and I think it worth exploring. What do you think?

DSA

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Some terms are interchangeable with no change in meaning - goalkeeper/keeper/goalie for example.

Other incorrect terms suffer little or no loss of meaning, but tend to grate on the nerves - offsides for example. Yes we know what it means. But no, it is neither correct in Law or in grammar.

Although in some questions, words like box make sense, in others it is difficult to determine what the questioner meant. 'When the goalie is in his box ...' - err, which area are we talking about there?

And in some cases, using the wrong terms leads to wrong conclusions about the Laws. The poster-children for these are handball and passback, because they don't convey the same meaning as what is written in the Laws. So often I hear pleas for, 'Handball, Ref!' And I want to say, 'Yes it was, but it wasn't deliberate handling.' But that wouldn't be of any benefit to the player that doesn't know the difference in the first place; it would only serve to confuse her more.

As far as not taking corrections personally, I agree with your points and example from martial arts. All of us are on this panel because we want to help our fellow referees, not criticize them. There are times when a question from a referee is so far out there that we simply have to say, 'Ref, please, please, for the good of everyone, don't accept any more assignments until you have a better understanding of Law 12.' Or we encourage non-refs to report the referee in their game for having made an egregious error so that ref can get (re)training. But most times we can say something like, 'Yes, you made a mistake. But if you learn from it, you will never have to make that mistake again.'

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

And occasionally we get snarky and smart alecky, or at least I do. It most often has to do with referees who write in with absurdly obvious questions - speaking of things that make me want to scream! AHHHHHHH. We usually ask the rest of the panel if our answer is too strong, though - checks and balances.

And there is occasional player who is, shall we say, taking advantage of our good nature and attempts to be of service. We try to be gentle with coaches and fans, unless they are shouting at us. Ignorance is fixable (most of the time).

Rarely, what we said or more correctly, the way we said it rubs folks the wrong way. That isn't usually the intended consequence and we've been known to apologize.

We strive to use the correct terminology always, or explain when we don't, because we are in complete agreement with you - if you are talking about apples and I'm talking about tomatoes, we're both talking about fruit but simply not communicating well about our subject. As much as anything, I guess we try to walk folks through the logic of the Laws and how using the terminology and the common sense approach will yield the best answers.

Appreciate your thoughts and insight - we like to know when we're being helpful! Even Keith. LOL.