Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #99: Gill1918 Presents Kim Haddix/Mariah Hohman “Lessons Learned as an Ohio TF Official"

Transcript

#99: Gill1918 Presents Kim Haddix/Mariah Hohman “Lessons Learned as an Ohio TF Official" · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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  Welcome to the Gil 1918 Project, a podcast series by coaches, for
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  coaches, powered by Gil Athletics.
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  Think of this as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
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  Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
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  you grow as a coach. We'll bring in the once a year
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  track clinic straight to your ears daily.
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  Interested in creating your own episode?
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  Everyone's welcome to participate.
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  Check out the show notes below For more information.
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  Now let's get into today's topic.
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  Hi, this is Kim Haddocks. Mariah Homan and we represent
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  the Ohio track and field and cross country of Infos
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  Association. Today, we're going to share some
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  lessons learned while officiating middle school and
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  high school track and cross country throughout the state of
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  Ohio. Oh, we may be some of the
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  younger officials in our state. We have 41 years of combined
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  experience between us. Plus, we have both had wonderful
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  mentors who have shared their many years of wisdom and
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  expertise with us. So at this point, we're going to
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  jump right in. Always arrive at a track meet to
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  do any position necessary, regardless of what your contract
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  says. Be prepared to do anything and
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  everything you can to help. Forget these are kids playing a
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  game. Treat them with respect, but
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  take advantage of all the teaching moments.
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  At the end of the day, they are teenagers who are hopefully
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  going to fall in love with the same sport that we did as we're
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  out there officiating. Find a mentor, It's the absolute
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  best way to get involved and learn.
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  Mariah and I have both been the recipient of many wonderful
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  mentors. My dad was my first and probably
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  my best, but along the way we've had so many people help us,
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  teach us, take us along, and we're hoping to turn around and
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  do the same thing for others. Not everyone even or should be
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  given a microphone or the opportunity to announce.
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  Some people just aren't comfortable with it.
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  Enough said there appreciate coaches who advocate for their
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  athletes and even more so those who do so respectfully.
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  There are those that will come at you yelling and screaming,
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  and then there are the others that will walk up and have all
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  of their thoughts together and their points.
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  Hear them all out. They're doing what they should
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  be doing, advocating for their athletes.
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  Absolutely. The student athletes will teach
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  you as much as you teach them. Let them.
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  That can be things about life. That can be things about the
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  sport. I am well known for not
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  understanding anything in the high jump and pole vault world,
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  and I have learned some of the best lessons from the athletes
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  who are participating. The friendships you make will
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  transcend generations, occupations, and even logic.
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  Embrace and enjoy them all. One of my best memories was when
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  I was working one of my first district track meets and no one
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  wanted to work with a certain official and I said I'll do it.
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  I didn't know him, but I had heard he was kind of gruff and
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  set in his ways. We became best friends and I
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  loved working with him year after year.
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  I learned so much from him and credit him a lot to this day.
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  Absolutely. Talking transcending
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  generations. In my first year, I had the
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  opportunity to, as the youngest official in the state, officiate
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  with the oldest official in the state.
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  We were 18 and I, I believe he was 87 at the time.
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  We definitely set some records on the track that day, right?
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  We are there to enforce the rules fairly, even the ones we
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  don't personally agree with as officials.
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  I think it is a common misconception that we agree with
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  every rule that we have to enforce, but that's not our job
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  to agree with them. We just have to enforce them and
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  make sure it's fair competition for all.
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  Preventative officiating can prevent the majority of
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  violations. Do it.
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  Absolutely help other officials along the way any way you can,
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  any opportunity you can. We have a lot of districts here
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  in Northwest Ohio that if I reach out to them, the athletic
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  directors are willing to pay my trainee officials that are
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  coming along with me. So we're getting brand new
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  officials on the track, seeing how it works in real time, and
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  we're taking the opportunity to do that.
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  Someone mentored us, so we need to pass that on as well.
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  Be sure you fully explain the concept of heats and lane
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  assignments at all middle school track meets.
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  Have them repeat it back to you unless you want 88 kids all
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  taken off together. Spoken from experience.
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  Never leave a meet without asking the host school or meet
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  management if you can help in any other way.
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  I've had very few schools take me up on the offer for help, but
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  I think it helps to create those relationships and those
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  connections with the schools that are hiring you and paying
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  your contract. When doing 5-Alive, your thumb
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  keeps your place. Don't move it.
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  Again, spoken from experience. This one is half joking, but
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  also very serious. Don't be a discus magnet.
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  As a throws official, I have seen more people than I care to
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  admit be hit with discuses a little bit of everywhere in the
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  body and while we want to be there to get the mark, please
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  make sure that you are on your toes and ready to move.
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  And that was the only advice I have ever received, having never
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  worked. The discus was Don't be a discus
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  magnet. Correct.
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  If you think you saw an infraction, you didn't.
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  You must know and be able to detail it.
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  Absolutely. As a clerk, don't forget to hand
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  out the numbers and make sure athletes put them on the side
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  where the camera can see it. We can't just hand the athletes
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  the number and say OK, left hip. Sometimes they need reminders
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  where their left side is and what their hip is.
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  So making sure that the numbers are useful and that you remember
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  to give them out. And that it looks like the
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  number you tell them to the camera, not to them.
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  Specifically sixes and nines. Oh yes.
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  Early is on time, on time is late, and if you are late, you
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  better have called ahead. And the world of cross country,
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  if you are in the finished shoot, always approach athletes
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  from the side. There's a less chance that
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  you'll be in the splash zone, which means the less chance that
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  you will get vomited on. Many officiating positions
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  require the ability to make split second decisions.
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  If that isn't your wheelhouse, avoid those assignments.
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  It's in your best interest and that of the athletes and fair
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  competition. Or relays.
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  Blocks are optional, batons are not.
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  Make sure everyone has a baton when they show up to the line
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  and that it's a baton. We no longer run with pizza
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  boxes or shop puts, especially in the weight man relay.
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  Travel with layers and outfits for every climb and place.
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  You will never regret this. You will never regret having
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  more clothes than you think you need.
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  Absolutely. Ziploc and trash bags are multi
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  use essentials. Pack them and have enough to
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  share. They do make 2 gallon Ziploc
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  bags that are big enough to hold a clipboard.
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  So if your weather writer is broken or you don't have a
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  weather writer, bring a 2 gallon Ziploc bag that can hold
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  everything and save your results.
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  And trash bags. Not only can you wear them in a
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  real pinch, but they're also great to pack your stuff in, tie
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  them up, and then your stuff doesn't get wet.
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  Brilliant. Also learn from experience.
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  Many new cross country parents don't recognize or understand
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  the course boundaries and protocols.
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  Educate them respectfully. Honestly, many believe the white
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  line is there for them to stand on.
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  They do not understand that that's the middle of the course
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  for the runner. Educate them respectfully.
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  And if you are the lead cart driver, sometimes you have to
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  respectfully educate them in a hurry before you or the runners
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  teach them not so respectfully. Again, experience is a great.
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  Give yourself grace. While we all try to be perfect
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  as officials, we're going to make mistakes.
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  That's just the nature of the job.
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  We're human, but the ability to bounce back from your mistakes
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  is crucial. If you make a mistake first
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  thing in the evening and you're dwelling on it the rest of the
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  night, we've lost an entire track meet that we could be
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  improving and making it a good experience for our athletes.
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  Taking meats and assignments based on the concession stand
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  food is a perfectly acceptable reasoning.
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  I don't have to say anything more there.
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  Obviously show no favoritism, but always be an equal
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  opportunity supporter and encourager, making sure that we
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  are cheering those athletes across the line, especially when
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  we're doing events like the 3200 meter run where they have 8 long
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  laps to be out there by themselves.
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  Make sure you're cheering them on.
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  It's more than OK to be a generalist, somebody who is a
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  quote UN quote Jack of all trades, master of none.
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  It actually makes you more hireable and you're learning a
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  lot more in the process. Didn't tell newer officials that
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  I start meets during the season so that I can stay in the shot
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  put pit in the postseason. Give the opportunity to have the
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  meets. I get that experience.
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  We can be pickier when it comes time to be all right.
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  You are never above being a block holder, a block mover, or
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  an exchange zone judge. Sometimes we just do not have
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  enough people. So if you are in a position
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  where you can help out, please do.
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  Others will recognize when you're ready to be a head
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  official before you do. If you trust that person, trust
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  their opinion and try it. We both can speak from
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  experience in this next one as well.
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  People will remember the mistakes you make as an
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  announcer. Just laugh it off and move on.
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  It happens. We try.
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  It does. And if by chance you happen to
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  announce the discus results into the walkie-talkie and someone
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  says that's great, now two of us know, just go ahead and.
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  Repeat. It into the microphone.
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  Don't forget to check the backs of uniforms.
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  Violations are often seen as the athlete is running away.
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  Again, this is preventative officiating.
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  Absolutely. And.
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  Finally, in addition to having those Ziploc bags, having things
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  like binder clips and rubber bands also come in handy.
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  I recently learned at our state middle school cross country meet
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  where it down poured for hours that you can put your hood up on
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  a rain jacket, take a binder clip and clip the hood to your
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  hat and it'll keep your hood in place and keep you dry.
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  Things like that. You also never know where there
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  is going to be a split in your uniform that needs to be held
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  back together. And rubber bands and binder
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  clips I think can fix almost anything on a track.
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  So true. Well, thank you all for
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  listening and you can learn more about the Ohio Track and Field
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  and Cross Country Officials Association by visiting our
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  website, OTFCCO, a.wixsite.com/ohio Track
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  Officials or visit our Facebook group, Ohio High School and
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  Middle School Track and Field and Cross Country Page.
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  We hope you enjoyed these lessons learned over our years
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  of officiating. Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here.
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  Hey, I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Guild 1918
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  Project series. It's really my mission, my
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  passion to bring you massive amounts of value and I hope this
• 13:35
  one hit the mark. The Guild 1918 Project is really
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  dependent on you if for you to build your own episode, to hear
• 13:43
  your voice, to have your voice heard you have something to say
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  and teach other coaches out there.
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  So please get a hold of me, E-mail, text message, Twitter,
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  smoke signals, get a hold of me and let's help create your
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  episode of the Guild 1918 Project.
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  Hope you enjoy the day, they will see you tomorrow.