And welcome to the world of tennis officiating!
Unfortunately, a lot of people think that the cure is MORE AND LONGER TRAINING SESSIONS for new officials. One of the drawbacks to this approach is that a lot of the horror stories are coming from experienced officials! A few years ago we had a training session for instructors and the guy who taught the class said, "The issue isn't lack of knowledge, it is lack of personal skills." And therein lies the truth behind our statement that training needs to be REFINED instead of lengthened...
We already require all officials to attend an officials school and take a test to be certified so it is doubtful that we need to pile on more classes and tests. The vast majority of horror stories do not come from lack of knowledge, they come from lack of personal skills and training in human interaction. Here are a few suggestions and thoughts for us to ponder:
* Continue the shadowing program for all new officials. Be sure they are being trained by a good, experienced official and not someone who just wants to get it over with as soon as possible.
* Find some monies to pay people during their shadowing time. After all, they are certified officials and all corporations pay their people during training. The USTA and Texas Section certainly do not suffer from lack of money--now it just needs to be focused on the right areas.
* Refine the training to include the following:
1. Anger management focusing on how to deal with angry people and maybe even anger
issues within ourselves.
2. Self-image and specifically the official's self-image and how it affects their performance.
3. Human interaction. Involves learning how to recognize personality traits in people (such
as parents, players, and spectators, and then how to work with those traits.
4. Ego control. Seems like a lot of problems arise because the official's ego gets in the way
and then control and confrontation take over. Many of the problems we encounter come
about because of uncontrolled egos on the court.
* Require remedial training (especially in the above mentioned areas) for officials who are constantly written up and having complaints filed against them.
* Expand the educational horizon for our officials. Develop a good reading list of books that deal with these human issues as well as internet programs that help develop good people. Then make sure we all read and watch and learn.
These are just a few thoughts and suggestions. We would welcome more...
10 comments:
Spot on
I agree. However the officials in training need to be open minded to the fact that they might lack people skills and therefore be open to developing them. In some cases they never will be able to develope them.
You are making entirely too much sense!
For once someone is saying something valid instead of the same bunk we hear from the USTA and our Sectional Chairman. Maybe they will listen for a change.
If the USTA has the funds, why not have them produce a training video we can all access on Nucula. This would standardize the training, as opposed to the training one may get may get from individual trainers, paid or not. I agree it is best to have the refs do the training, but, as a new official, I also think it would be good for all of them to be on the same page, so lower officials do not get conflicting tournament administration views.
The produce videos for the schools but don't have them online for any training.
What a great idea!
Here is a great email I received today:
Here are a few things I would offer to keep in mind…
Not everyone learns the same way. Some do fine with the “sink or swim” method, while others need a lot of structure in the process. Likewise, some prefer lecture while others want to do hands on. There is no one “right way” to do training, but an opportunity to incorporate a variety of methods to ensure that people’s needs are met.
“Experts” are not necessarily the best trainers. I completely understand that we have a wealth of knowledge and experience with a number of the refs and you want to tap into that. However, it has been shown that not all experts make good trainers. Evaluating their effectiveness as you build a training curriculum would be important to ensuring that you are able to consistently achieve your desired outcomes.
One aspect of turning out well-trained officials would be in establishing a training plan that everyone follows. (There still can be some flexibility within the plan.) For example, if someone is shadowing a ref…the ref and trainee should have a checklist of items to review. The checklist should flow in order as the tournament (or day) would flow. For example…when you arrive check-in with the TD. Determine assignment. Become familiar with xxx. Measure all nets. etc. The list should also include items like what to do if someone gets sick, what if a net strap breaks, when to take breaks, coordinating with other officials, etc.
I’m not sure how effective the open-book test is from a learning perspective. I know that I took time to look up the answers and become familiar with the material. However, I can understand the temptation to get the answers from someone else and get it over with. From a training perspective, this is a weak link.
We have found one of the most effective training techniques is the post event day debriefing, depressurizing session with all the officials meeting for dinner after the day's play. In an informal and relaxed atmosphere, we go over the day's events, what went well, what didn't, what was unusual and what was funny. The newer officials get the opportunity to bounce their questions off the more experienced and the conversation is lively and everyone comes away with some new perspective on how to handle the situations as they arise.
The open book test question is really not a factor. Our officials group literally waits with baited breath for the tests to come out and when they do, it's game on! Maybe we are just crazy but the discussions, opinions and wrasslin' we have from December up to the officials class date are priceless! We use the book, yes, but we use it to stimulate the mind and discussion not just get answers from someone else.
I've been around long enough to have done the classroom test and the open book, both over a number of years. What always amazed me was the length of time most people took to take the classroom test. Folks would sit in their chairs agonizing over the simplest of questions. All seemed reasonably intelligent, so I figured they could read, and that couldn't have been the issue with the amount of time answering the questions. Since I didn't work with most of them, I always wondered what they were like when the iron was in the fire.
ANON 9:04,
I think they got better test writers because before these last two years some of the questions were worded HORRIBLY!
All of the ideas sound great and have been talked about for YEARS - it is a matter of breaking a sweat and just getting out there and getting in touch with the right people.
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