October 1, 2010 | Issue 83

Remarks from the Supervisor of Officials: Donnee L. Gray

I would like to thank Dr. Tom Jandovitz, Director of Athletics and Frederick Community College for hosting our MACBOA Clinic last Sunday, September 26, 2010.

I also want to thank staff for their commitment to MACBOA and welcome our new members.  I also want to thank Al Battista for presenting the 2010-2011 Rules Changes and Points of Emphasis for our men and women staff respectively.

Reminders discussed at the September 26 Clinic.

TO OFFICIALS: All paperwork should be in to my office by October 15th or "NO Assignments."

ArbiterSports

• Once members obtain access to the Arbiter system, members are reminded to check their email and ArbiterSports account periodically.  MACBOA has the capability of running reports to research member activity. Members are also reminded to keep their personal information (e-mail address, home address, all phone numbers) closed dates current and update personal calendars in the ArbiterSports system. Once the schedules are posted, members will have 48-hours to Accept or Decline an assignment or reassignments will commence.  Delaying to provide all required documentation will delay your ability to receive consideration for game assignments.
• Staff are requested to review their ArbiterSports information and use the following format in listing phone numbers: 012-345-6789 and not use parenthesis symbols: (012) 345-6789.
• All questions or problems that you may encounter with the ArbiterSports should be sent to me at: dgray@macboa.org. The ArbiterSports hyperlink has been placed on the www.macboa.org web site for easy access.

CLOSED DATES: ALL Division I, II & III officials  should enter their closed dates into ArbiterSports ASAP.  For IT security purposes, the initial Arbiter username and password issued is different from your MACBOA “Members Only” site login.  If you have questions about your Arbiter login information, please contact me at dgray@macboa.org. 

Reminder: *No LATE ARRIVAL TO GAME SITES!!

• A neat professional appearance to and from the game site is required. MACBOA crews are required to wear business attire (shirt and tie, business suit/dress, mock turtleneck with jacket) to and from the game site unless given permission by the Supervisor of Officials to wear MACBOA logo warm-ups.
• Travel to Games: As each of you know, with the major construction projects and security concerns in and around the metropolitan area (i.e. highways 70, 270, 395, 495, and 695) traffic congestion is extremely heavy. Please consistently plan travel time in accordance with mileage, weather, and TRAFFIC. None of these are considered valid excuses for missing or being late to an assignment.  Two lateness’ and your contract will terminated.
• It is mandatory for the Crew Chief to contact your assigned crew 48-hours before a game assignment to confirm game time, location, directions and car-pooling. You may leave messages as well as e-mail, but you must receive a verbal confirmation.  In addition, the Crew Chief must call the host institution and verify the game time and communicate any changes to his/her crew and the MACBOA office. All officials should have their cell phones "ON," especially on game days in the event the MACBOA office and or crew members need to contact you regarding changes or news of any kind. If you are assigned and you have not been contacted by your Crew Chief within 24-hours of the assignment, you are required to call Donnee Gray, Willie Jones and/or Vedia Gray. If you are reassigned to a game, you are required to contact the Crew Chief for that game affirming the assignment.  Failure to do so will result in a fine.
• All officials must follow the "Emergency Procedures" if a problem comes up!! The Emergency Procedures should be put into effect 60-minutes prior to game time if the entire crew is not at the game site.
• Every crew MUST have a pre-game, half time discussion, and a post-game. Failure to follow this procedure will result in a fine.  Communication is crucial! Besides going over rule changes, points of emphasis, and play situations, officials are reminded to use authorized mechanics.  Home made mechanics will incur a fine.
• Officials will wear lanyards.  Failure to do so will incur a fine.
• Fill out Game Reports, Completely!! Crew Chiefs must complete a Game Report online.  Failure to follow this process will result in a fine.
• Don't Gossip, communicate to help!! Treat coaches, players, and fans with professionalism and respect at all times.  
• Choose your words wisely; saying inappropriate things to coaches, players, fans and others will meet with corrective action. 
• Get into the Rule Book! The 2010-2011 Rule Changes have been posted on the www.macboa.org home page.  A link will be provided on the web site under “New Items”
• All officials must get together before any player is ejected for fighting.  Annotate that the player or players ejected for fighting in the scorebook. Each official and Observer must call Donnee Gray immediately (301-775-4088) after the game assignment and report the ejection for fighting and then follow-up with a written report the next day.  Upon review, corrective action may include a 3-game suspension to the entire crew if the fighting incident was not properly adjudicated.  Get plays right!
• If a technical foul, ejection or unusual incident occurs, all 3 officials and the Observer must call Donnee Gray at (301) 775-4088.  Please be prepared to detail time of play or incident, player(s) or coach(es) involved.  Take care of administrative matters.
• Regarding Flagrant Technical Fouls: If an official calls a flagrant technical foul, the penalty is two free throws and the ball awarded to the offended team at the division line on either side. The player IS ejected.  Crew Chief must fill out the ejection form.  The form must be complete and legible.
• The Crew Chief must have a pre-game with the table crew.  Be proactive to head off potential table issues.
• Don't call the office line after 10:00 p.m., this also includes not calling Mr. Willie Jones' residence after 10:00 p.m. Exceptions: Game-related problems, fights, Coach/Player ejections, family or an employment emergency!
• There are three (3) ways to terminate your contract with MACBOA, 1) Late Twice, 2) Being untruthful to the Supervisor of Officials, 3) Tent pitching, as Wainwright Jackson says, “Officiating is a great business, but we, officials, make it ugly.”
• By October 10th, MACBOA will revise its Data Sheet for Supervisor form found inside our Members Only area our web site.  Members are required to complete this form no later and return the form to the Supervisor of Officials office.
• As Supervisor of Officials, and to assess staff development, MACBOA did not renew a number of the staff for the 2010-2011 season.  Some indicators used in the decision process include: not demonstrated improvement in skills, not taking care of administrative matters, not conforming to established proper dress guidelines, poor mechanics, tardiness and sustained below average officiating performance, etc.  As stated by me and for the record, it is up YOU where you land in our out of the organization.

Scrimmages:  For the 2010-2011 season, Donnee and Willie Jones will coordinate scrimmages.  Starting October 12, officials should contact Donnee Gray: 301-775-4088 or Willie Jones: 202-360-9915, regarding their availability for scrimmages assignments.  Officials not working a minimum of two (2) scrimmages will not be considered for 2010-2011 assignments.

Coaching Box/Bench Decorum: Officials should be conscious about severe coaching box infractions and address this issue with specific emphasis on travesty of the game or abuse of officials in mind. If the Coach is 1 step to 2 steps outside the coaching box calling out instructions out to players, then DO NOT assess a technical foul.  If a coach is one step out of the coaching box or in the coaching box and not abiding by the bench decorum rule then it is a technical foul.  Be respectful.  LISTEN, FIRST!  And answer reasonable questions.

We have 3 officials on the court and I will not tolerate losing a shooter or having a wrong free throw shooter on line, missing a goal tending or basketball interference call or putting the ball in play with the wrong number of players on the court (and then calling a technical foul on a team).

Before a decision is made to eject a player for fighting, all officials must confer and share their view of the play.  Then communicate the result to each Head Coach and annotate the ejection clearly in the official scorebook.  Each official and observer must call the Supervisor of Officials (301-775-4088) as soon as possible after the game assignment.  Before leaving the game site, the crew must gather player(s) information involved for documentation purposes.

TO OBSERVERS:

Thank you for your time and the expertise you bring to MACBOA. Please have your MACBOA sweater/vests on when you arrive at your assignments.

Observers should be in the arena no later than one (1) hour prior to the scheduled tip-off.

As discussed, please introduce yourselves to game administration before the game, and if time permits, introduce yourselves to the Head Coaches and staff before, but certainly by half time.
Please email me (dgray@macboa.org) at the end of every month and include:

• Dates of games observed, Game Site, Type of Game:  Men vs. Women and Teams Involved

TO ATHLETIC DIRECTORS and COACHES:

• Welcome to all new Athletic Directors, Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches to MACBOA and Region XX.
• As discussed with your Head Coaches at the Clinic, it is the responsibility of each institution to notify the MACBOA Supervisor of Officials of last minute site changes, game time changes, and or postponements at least 6 hours prior to game time, the day of the game.  The will allow sufficient time for MACBOA to contact officials and observers and make necessary adjustments.  Regarding postponements, we ask each institution to speak personally to someone at the MACBOA Office (Donnee Gray: 301-775-4088, Willie Jones: 202-360-9915, or Vedia Gray: 301-775-4089).  We would like to prevent officials and observers from traveling unnecessarily to a site, particularly in the event of inclement weather.  Once MACBOA officials are en route to the game site, they have to receive the game fee.
• At the conclusion of each game, please encourage Head Coaches to take the time to complete the Coaches Game Report.  This information is very important in the evaluation process of all MACBOA officials.
• If a concern about an assignment is made, please send a video of the entire game for purposes of research and adjudication.
• The Observers work for MACBOA and are an integral part of the evaluation process of MACBOA staff.  They should be treated as professionals at all times.
• Athletic Directors and/or Coaches are not allowed in the Officials locker room without the approval of the MACBOA Observer. If permission is granted, the Observer must be present. Dialogue must be held to rules clarification and not judgment.
• There is NO scratch list.  Please consult with Donnee Gray regarding any issues you may have.
• Bench Decorum – Head Coaches may stand and are confined to the Coaching Box area. 
• If a game site has a monitor for purposes of media broadcast (real time or delay) the monitor must be made aware to the officials to properly adjudicate game ending situations.
• Uniform shirts must be worn inside uniform pants/shorts.

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BOA News

Congratulations of our newly elected BOA Officers:

• President: Rozier Collier
• Vice President: Brian Person
• Secretary: David McAndrew

Please let us know of any MACBOA member news that we should send cards, flowers, etc. The BOA is there for our membership and we can only act if we know of events. Events include sick members and their family members, condolence notices, as well as communication about professional appointments and selections to conferences and leagues.

The BOA is here to service our members and we look forward to partnering with our members in programs and initiatives.  We will be proactive in communicating to you throughout the season to promote activities during the season and beyond.   Any members wanting to be a part of any special interest committees please contact any member of the BOA Board of Directors.

The BOA will to improve its communication between members and WE need your participation. 

You can communicate directly with the BOA by clicking on the “Communicate your BOA” link on the www.macboa.org web site.  Please use us!

Congratulations to our Officials of the Year Awardees:

• Men’s Side Official of the Year:  Rozier Collier
• Women’s Side Official of the Year: David McAndrew

Congratulations to MACBOA official recognized for working the MACBOA post-season.  Awardees received a MACBOA engraved gold watch.

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Contributing Article: Getting Back into Shape!

During the summer, it’s easy to put normal eating habits on the back burner. However, when the officiating season looms near, the difficult task of getting back into shape begins. The longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes. The ideal situation is to continue to exercise right through the end of the season and throughout the summer. The next best way to shed pounds is to return to your normal exercise routine as soon as possible.  Remember, it is about calories in vs. calories out.

Exercise will actually increase overall energy levels and prevent fatigue, providing endurance which may be needed to the rigors of sports officiating. In addition to melting away pounds, exercise relieves stress and strengthens the immune system, allowing the body to fight off cold and flu viruses that we are exposed to during the remaining winter months.

In addition, exercising regularly helps the body burn calories more effectively, making it easier to stay in shape. Though regular exercise will increase physical and mental health, a proper diet is crucial to the success of a fitness or exercise program. It is a good idea to consult your physician when designing an exercise or fitness plan, especially if you have a pre-existing health condition. Your physician will help you determine the right amount of exercise and a diet plan that is right for you.

Dieting and exercising is an effective way to get back into shape. Paying close attention to your eating habits all year round, as well as getting the proper amount of exercise is the best way to live a healthy an active life. As sports officials, pay attention to your eating habits after a game assignment.

Exercise can help prevent the physical and mental deterioration of aging. Older patients who exercise may be swimming in the fountain of youth. As obvious as it sounds, the first step to being in shape is to have that as one of your goals. Next, it is very important to write down your goals as well as a specific conditioning program that will allow you to reach your goals if followed. Then, it comes down to the strength of your desire and commitment to get and stay in shape not just for the officiating season, but for life.  Don’t forget to do active stretching before your game assignment and stretch after the assignment.

If you are presently out of shape, you will not believe how much better you will feel and look from exercising thirty minutes a day three times a week. You will be stronger, have more endurance and more energy in your everyday life as well as during any avocation. Your self-confidence, self-discipline and spirit will grow tremendously in the process of controlling your mind and getting in shape. All it takes is desire, a game plan you can achieve over time and self-discipline to overcome the resistance and excuses.

Disclaimer: the content above is not intended as medical advice and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.