Verdict in: coaches and officials on the same side

Gymnast standing in front of judges
Author:  Sharon Phillips
Issue: Volume 29 Number 4

It’s been said that the nature of relationships between coaches and officials is due to one big difference in their points of view: coaches care who wins and officials don’t.

In some literature, the relationship between the two groups has been described as resembling that between siblings: love-hate, cooperative-competitive, protective-rejecting, respect-disdain.

Perhaps that is true in the sporting family, but like many families, the things that coaches and officials share outweigh any perceived differences. Both groups love their sport. Both want participants to compete in a safe environment.
 
Some, like Andrew Higgins, are in a unique position of being both a coach and an official and can offer an insight into what officials want from their relationships with coaches.

Higgins is one of the Australian Sports Commission’s National Officiating Scholarship holders.  A gymnastics judge, Higgins has been an elite gymnast and now also coaches high performance junior gymnasts as a Level One accredited coach in Victoria, as well as coaching members of the Australian Ballet and the School of Circus Arts.  Higgins likened gymnastics to a ‘small community’ and says his experience shows that coaches and judges share a ‘collegiate’ role when it comes to making the sport work.

'Gymnasts are the ones who are short-changed if coaches and judges are not on the same page,’ he says.  ‘Our sport is obviously a subjective sport and [as a judge] it’s in my best interest to see the gymnast do the best that they can. This is no different from what the coaches want.’
 
As a coach himself, Higgins said he has learned to anticipate what the judges need. 'Certainly, looking from both sides, the best advice I can give is that it's better to go to an official and ask a question before competition starts rather than getting frustrated with a decision once things get serious.

‘It’s perfectly legitimate for a coach who might have a gymnast performing a certain skill in warm up to know if a judge is going to recognise that skill.’

Higgins said tension often occurs when there is a perceived ‘knowledge gap’. ‘You find it when junior coaches don’t know too much about how judging works. On the other hand, a lot of coaches are more knowledgeable than junior judges. Judging is very, very complex, and I have to say that from my experience as a judge, knowing how things fit together, how rules are interpreted, has definitely made me a better coach.’
 
Higgins says until recently there have been few formal mechanisms for judges and coaches to sit down and discuss rules and decision making processes. But that has recently changed with the Gymnastics Judges Association of Victoria introducing a coaching forum.

‘Providing formal means of communications helps make the judging community more professional, but I’ll always be willing to talk [more informally] if I can see a coach is not happy about a score at a particular competition,’ Higgins says.

Keeping coaches informed is a theme that keeps recurring in any discussion with an official. Officials say they are not ‘the enemy’ and that they are happy to listen to legitimate queries, talk with coaches at appropriate times and answer reasonable questions, but they say the tone of such conversations should reflect the respect that each expects to be paid.

Damien Mitchelmore is a former National Coaching Scholarship holder in rowing who is currently the head rowing coach at St Josephs College, Sydney.  He has been refereeing rugby union for 13 years and is a member of the Australian Rugby Union’s National Referee Academy.

Mitchelmore says that communication is the ‘only way to move forward’ for any coach and official.  ‘There will be differences of opinion and having the ability to communicate that difference of opinion in a succinct way and to find common ground is an important skill that both coaches and officials need to have.

‘I have certainly found that as a rugby referee, there is so much going on that time is limited and I’ve learned to make decisions quickly and to get my message across quickly.  I’ve taken both of those things into my coaching and I think it’s helped me become a better coach.’

Mitchelmore says in his experience, the higher he goes with refereeing the higher the expected levels of communication between coaches and referees.
 
‘We are all working on a similar path, using a set of rules and methods for achieving those results.  [When refereeing] at a junior level I also respect the fact that I’m not there to coach and there’s a safety issue associated with that.  There is and should be a distinct line between coaching and refereeing.’

Mitchelmore says that rugby referees meet with coaches once or twice a season. ‘We also use email to get out information about experimental rules that we might be using in first and second grade.  There are mechanisms there, and if coaches need clarification, I’m happy to be approached.  There are laws that need interpretation and different interpretations can arise, but consistency is important.

‘When issues arise, they can be resolved if both sides approach it in the right manner. We’re all there to get the most of the game of rugby.

 ‘As a referee I’d like to think that I’m approachable and that’s a message I’d most like to get out to all officials, be approachable and you’ll earn coaches’ respect.’

Tips for coaches working with officials

  • As a coach, you will not always, nor should you be expected to, agree with every decision.  But how you react is something you can control and your reactions will set an example. Ask questions in a reasonable tone at an appropriate time.
  • Use officials’ knowledge in the lead-up to competitions (such as at pre-season camps) and familiarise yourself with any rule changes or new interpretations.
  • Make use of any formal mechanisms in your sport for raising officiating issues.
  • Understand that once a call is made, it’s out of your control.  Rarely is this overturned.
  • Be realistic about expectations of officials during sporting events.  No competition has ever been played, coached or officiated perfectly.
  • Make it a goal to understand any rule changes and how they may be interpreted by officials.
  • Encourage players to thank officials after a competition.


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