Well, Last Web Page Was Interesting;
Average Ratings were Lower Last Week;
Last Week of Regular Season;
Last Week of Games for Many;
Still Need to Study Rules;
Next Weekend Assignments, Little Time to Accept;
Arbiter, Emails, Phone Calls;
Camp;
Camp Questions;
Updated : 11:30 Sunday, Feb 5 - Final
Results of the NFL Pick Em Contest on Facebook. See
enter 3/4ths the way down.
Well, Last Web Page Was Interesting – Yes, there was a mild backlash over two things that
were in the News Letter. But it proves
one thing, you were all reading the web page. Let’s look at those two items closer:
1 – I
said that the first cut for the Regional selection was all the officials that had been calling
mainly JV games. This was no slur or
no reflection at all on officials that call mainly JV games. I need every official and I have said many
times; I like
all our officials. Some of my favorite
people call JV games. But it should have been a “Given” that if you called in
2 man crews all year and mostly JV games, you would not receive serious
consideration to be nominated to call the highest games that lead to the
State Championships. So in essence,
not considering the
officials in this category eliminated half of our association. That is not a
bad thing or a slap in anyone’s face, it is simply a fact.
2 –
So many of you have asked to know the coaches ratings, but I have promised
the coaches I would protect the integrity of their voices by not revealing
their ratings. I have heard all the
pluses and even agree with some of you that it might help you become better
if you knew what they were saying. But
I also know some of you would not take it as a learning experience and would
retaliate against the coach; so that is a non issue, we are not revealing the
rating. But I thought since the
computer takes an average of all the ratings and puts you in a position from
1 to 80, maybe if I revealed that, it would help. WRONG, it did not help, in fact it was
destroying morale and making some officials really beat themselves up over
where they finished. So we cut that
out after giving out rankings to only 14 officials.
Average Coaches Ratings were Lower Last
Week – As we expected, last week, the coaches ratings were lower. That can be contributed to one thing: The games are getting more important in
that if a team loses now, it becomes harder for them to make the playoffs. Losses are devastating and the wins are
precious. Your calls are all under the
microscope now. The pressure is
boiling over this past week and next week.
Our game has to step up as well.
Be up to the task of being that game manager and having that court
awareness that is so vital for everything to run smooth. And especially referee
the dead ball periods.
Last Week of Regular Season – This coming week will be the last opportunity for the teams to gain that position
to make a run in the playoffs. If they
can’t finish 1st in the conference, they want to finish 2nd
or 3rd so they don’t have to face the # 1 team until the finals of
the conference tournament. Usually a 2
and a 3 seed host the first round in the tournament and they have the home
crowd to help them advance. If you thought last week was tough, wait until
next week. We need your focus. We need you to arrive at the gym well in
advance of the games. We need you to
concentrate on the games, not what happened at work or at home. If you are going to accept these games, we
need your best shot. The game is on
the line, the kid’s future is on the line.
We need to step up to the plate and make it the best experience for
everyone.
Last Week of Games for Many – This week will be the last assignments for over half of
us. With the regular season ending,
the majority of our officials’ season will come to an end. Only about a fourth of the Association will
get the tournament games during Conference Tournament week. I thought we had
a pretty good year so far. We had more
ejections than ever before but that calmed down toward the second half of the
season. The season sure seemed to go
by fast though, did it seem that way to you ?
Still Need to Study Rules – How many of you still study the rules at this time
of the year. It’s tournament time, the
games are tough, the emotions run deeper; this may be the time to go back and
review some rules. What if this
happened, what is that happened; would you be ready. You should seriously scan that rule book as
you go into tournament play. Anytime there is a big play
or big call which you might be a little unsure about the penalty, check with
your partner. If he can’t satisfy your
question, check with your other partner.
Most of all, try to get the play right.
How about after Technical Fouls – Emotions are running high, you just nailed someone on a
technicality, your blood is pumping. You may need to talk to a calmer official
who was not quite as involved in the play emotionally or otherwise. We can’t do too much about a fellow
official on a judgement call; but if your partner
is about to mess up a rule, you got to at least speak up and give him a
second option. Pay attention, be a
good partner.
Next Weekend Assignments, Little Time to
Accept – And the end of the week, we
will have little time to get out tournament assignments for next week.
We will not even know who is playing and where until Thursday and
Fridays games are completed; then we will have to get the games in the
computer and then
assign them. With many of the games
starting Monday, Feb 13, you will have to accept your assignments by Sunday
night by 9:00pm. Games that are not
accepted by then will be given away while there is still time Sunday night.. The Bookkeepers
will need the games
accepted to write checks that Monday morning.
Can’t Assign Wednesday, Feb 15th
until Monday, 13th is
Played – We will only have a day of
turn-around because we have to know who won Monday to determine where you go
for Wednesday. That only leaves one
day to get the assignments out and accepted.
Same True for Friday Games - Friday games
are just like Wednesday; little time to find out who won and get the next
games on. You must stay near your
computer and accept games in a timely fashion.
On Sunday, Check the Arbiter @ 9:00pm and
then again before you go to Bed – I am
asking that you check the Arbiter this Sunday around 9:00pm and then again
before you go to Bed. Checking around
9:00pm will get you the games I initially assigned you. Checking before you go to bed might get you another game that someone
else did not get when they were suppose to check their Arbiter at
9:00pm. Listen, I can’t PLAY these next two weeks. If you
don’t check that Arbiter and often, Your games are going to someone
else. I don’t have time to wait and
see if you Might get them. I want you
to have your games, so do your part:
Check the Arbiter often during Conference and Sectional Tournament
week.
All or None – Remember, tournament time is all or none. If you have not previously closed out the
date, you are expected to ACCEPT the assignment. If you turn it down, we will replace you in
all the games.
Double Check Your Closed Dates Now – Not only are your closed dates suppose to be marked in
the Arbiter, it is essential that I have them
for next week and the week after on my worksheets.
Close them AGAIN – Let’s figure that you have not given me any closed
dates for Feb 13 – 18 and for Feb 20 – 25.
Send me AGAIN the dates during that period that you can not work. This way, we will have them for sure. Send them again.
At the End of Every Year, Some Officials
Retire, Some Transfer, Some Get Injuried; Be Ready
– Every year, we have some officials
retire from calling. It happened to me
just a year or two ago. Some times, it
is not planned, it just happens. We
can’t go anymore. Every year, with 3
military bases in our area, we have officials that get transferred out. And finally, every year, we have officials
that get injuried and do not recover to continue to
referee. On average, we lose anywhere
from 5 to 8
officials every year that called at the Varsity level. We have to replace those officials from
some source. Where will we get 5 to 8
Varsity Caliper Officials next November?
Do You Work on Your Game During the Summer
– Every year, we ask that question. Many officials will tell us yes; but did
they “really” work on improving their game or did they just go call a game
and receive a pay check. Did someone
stand there and point out what you did wrong, honestly. Probably not. Did that same person go see you call your
next game to make sure you continued to work on what you were doing wrong,
again probably not.
Let’s face it, most people do NOT work on
their game during the summer. And IF
you are satisfied where you are at, that is OK too. But we do have people working seriously on
there game and they have a minimum of eight of the top officials in the east all over their
back to improve, and they do improve.
So while you do not have to go to camp to get games; if you are going
to over take or take some ones games, you have to get better. It is happening every summer at camp.
Need to Be Ready BEFORE you are Needed – You simply can not wait until next Novermber
15 to discover that 3 people in your area have retired and now you decide you
are going to work hard to see if you can get one of those positions. You MUST
be Ready before the slot opens. I do
not book games in
November for the 15th of
November. I book games in November
back in late September or early October.
When you find out someone has retired, those games were booked a month
ago. So you MUST be Ready ahead of the curve.
When I get ready to replace someone, I have to decide who is ready RIGHT
NOW. Who do I have confidence in. Who has shown
that he knows 3 man mechanics and is ready to step up. You must be ready and waiting before the
slot is available.
Arbiter, Emails, Phone Calls – This past week, I had an official to call me. He had
printed his schedule out ahead of time but had heard there was a site
change. So he did not miss his game BUT . . That can be
scary.
1 –
It is OK to print your schedule off in advance, but you had still better
check the Arbiter a day ahead of your game
2 –
The Arbiter suppose to send an email on a change,
but I have told you a thousand times, it does not always do so and you should
not bet your career on an Arbiter email.
That is no excure.
3 –
There is still no replacement for the old fashion phone call the day before
the game. The most professional
referees still do that.
Camp Statement – Most officials that go to camp usually go one time, come
back home and when they do not get the big Varsity game the very next year;
they get discouraged and bad mouth the camp.
Ask any college official; they go to camp, get picked up on a staff
but don’t call the college tournament the next year. And most HAVE to go back
to camp the next year just to save their place on the staff. In High School, you do not have to go back
to save your space, but you should know that you will not be going to the Regionals either with one camp. Camp does not get you games. Camp gets you seen and gives you the
opportunity to learn. What each
official does with that learning is what separates one official from another.
Difference in Officials – Some officials go to local clinics for the rules study
but never open a book at home for self study.
You know who you are. Who is
probably going to rise the fastest. Sure, it is a no brainer,
the official that can’t get enough.
The one that goes to the clinics, the one that studies at home and the
one that gets into every game he can. The one that looks his plays up in the
Rule Book and the Case Book so that he is prepared the next time. Length of service alone will not get you
the best games and the best schedule.
At some point, you are going to have to prove you can officiate and
deserve the best games.
Camp is No Different – While you get bombarded with a lot of information at
every camp, an official just simply can not grasp all that information at one
sitting. A baby has to crawl before he
walks. An official has to learn to
raise his arm on fouls first, then he has to learn what a foul is, then he
has to learn where to look for a foul; then he has to be aware of the table,
now the coaches, then the court, on to his partners. A new official simply can not step on the
court and have court awareness and game management right out off the
start. He has to get comfortable with
what he can do first before he can become proficient at something else. It’s like school. You can’t go from the first grade to a
senior in high school. You have to go
through the learning process of going to each grade. Same with camp; you need to learn and get
comfortable with the basics before you can command the higher levels. That’s why the determined officials go back
to camp over and over. That’s why one official jumps right over a fellow
official who is satisfied where he is at.
Because there are some officials out there that are not satisfied
until they get to the top and are willing to do what is necessary to get
there.
Camp Dates: June 17 – 21
Schedule
- We will
meet at UNC-W in Wilmington
on Sunday morning around 9:00am, have our check-in and orientation meetings
and begin refereeing games around 1:00pm Sunday afternoon. The camp is estimated to be over in the late
afternoon (around 5:00pm) on Thursday, June 21.
Camp Fees - With the economy still in bad shape, we will not go up on the camp
registration fee even though you are getting an extra day of instruction. It’s five days for the price of four
again. Camp fee for a first time
camper is holding at $ 350. AND we
will offer the same deal as last year. If you have attended this camp before,
we will give you a $ 50 discount from every time you attended
previously. For example, if you have
attended this camp two other times, your fee to attend again would be
discounted (2 X $ 50) $ 100 and you would pay just $ 250.
Camp Brochure for anyone to
Print – For your convenience and review,
here is a camp brochure that you can click on, open and print for your
information. And you can pass it on to
someone you
think might benefit from this camp.
Camp
Brochure
Plenty of Notice – The two most use excuses for not going to camp are:
# 1 –
I did not know about it in time and I could not get off work
# 2 –
I do not have the money
Camp News Letter, Sign Up - I have an email
letter to all interested people where we talk about how to get in shape, what
to bring, what camp is like, where to sleep, where to eat, the daily
schedule, the counselors and a little more about camp in general. There is no obligation to get on that mailing
list. If you have the slightest interest in attending camp, you should sign
up for that news letter. To get on the
camp mailing list, send me an email asking me to put you on the list. There is no obligation to attend, this is just if you might be interested.
Final Standings: Facebook
NFL Pick Em Contest: Congratulations to Alton Brown
This
is the final standings after the tie breaker (38 points) has been figured in
1 – Alton Brown - - - - -- 8
2 –
Harold Lail - - - - - -- 7
3 –
Darren Becton - - - - 6
4 –
Tommy Mattocks- - 6
5 –
Donnie Browder - – 6
6 –
JR Steigerwald - - - 5
7 –
Jamie Sischo - - - - - 5
8 –
Mark Seiler - - - - - 4
9 –
Gary Daughtry - - - 4
10 –
Eric Sadler - - - - - 4
11 – Aaron
Craycraft – 4
12 –
Richard Cole - - - 4
13 –
Robert Farley - - - 4
Notifications of Facebook Contests – Do you want to receive an email when we have a Facebook Pick Em Contest? If
you have a Facebook account and want to be
notified, send me an email asking me to put you on our Facebook
mailing list. We have a contest for
each of the Major Golf tournaments, a contest for the World Series, a contest
for the NCAA Finals in Basketball, the Bowl Games and the NFL playoffs. In
other words, if we can make a pick em contest out
of it, we usually do. Send me an email
if you want on the list to be notified.
It’s fun, it’s something to do,
it’s friendly competition and it gives you reason to watch the games. Join us
for the next contest.
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Tid Bits
Up Coming Events /
Dates::
Conference Regular Season Games – thru Feb 10
Conference Tournament – Feb 13 – 17
Sectional Tournament – Feb 20 – 24
Regional Tournament – Feb 28 – Mar 3
State Tournament – Mar 10
Spring Golf Tournament – May 5
Camp – Sunday, June 17 – Thursday, June 21
Eastern
Application
ArbiterSports Site – For your convenience, here is
a link to the Arbiter Sports assigning site.
Once at the page,
there is a Log In box in the extreme top right hand
corner. I will leave this link here
during the season.
www.arbitersports.com
ARBITER Tid Bit – Click on any official’s name on the ARBITER
and a drop down screen will show his address.
Click on that address and MapQuest will
provide a map to his house. Do the same thing for a school for a map to that
school or rec gym.
My Email Address - eoa1@suddenlink.net (That is a # 1 behind the eoa,
not an “L”)
Home Phone – 252 522 2373
Cell Phone - -
252 559 0493
Mailing Address : 3000
Graham Dr, Kinston, N C 28504
EDITION
# 804
Disclaimer, Fine Print - This web page is not an official site or
endorsed by any organization such as the NCHSAA or the National Federation of
High Schools. Except for the Opinion
Poll Results, all items are the opinion, philosophy or belief of Tommy
Mattocks. It's sole purpose is to provide
information and entertainment for the EOA members, former EOA members and any
other interested readers. We apologize for any inaccuracies or misspellings
that may slip through the cracks. Read at your own risk.
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