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The reason we have a shortage of officials around the country is due to the post calling out the official by name. I have done games for 20+ years and the behavior of coaches, players, and fans has gotten progressively worse over that time period. Please DO NOT take this as me "calling out" everyone. There are some coaches and players who simply want an explanation and, agree or not, are respectful during the conversation. There are also players, and coaches that decide that they know the game better than everyone involved and thus refuse to have any kind of discussion and simply resort to shouting and swearing until the official has not choice but to impose a penalty for the behavior. That is on the coach and player, not on the official. Unfortunately, this behavior has led to the situation where you have no choice but to take whatever official you can get because no body else will do it. Also, this also isn't exclusive to just hockey, there's a shortage of officials across all sports because of the behavior exhibited by parents, coaches, and players. The simple answer to this is to say "if you think it is so easy, do it yourself", but the earlier post indicates to me that LGP13 probably wouldn't have the temperament to successfully cover a game. There is not a single official in any sport at any level that can say they have never made a mistake on a call or a rule interpretation and that is called being human. I would suggest being appreciative that these men and women are willing to get up at 6AM on a Saturday/Sunday morning so that little Stevie or Sally are able to play their 7AM 10U B game after working their "real job" all week or cover your adult league game at 11PM on a Wednesday night and then get up to go to said job. Always remember, if the officials don't show up, nobody plays.

What a classless post by another angry parent trying to live vicariously through his kid. Calling out an official while hiding behind a message board handle, nice. Who are you to question a call? A missed call? Gimme a break. If you are such a knowledgable hockey person, why not start officiating so you can give back to the game. You would most likely no be able to handle even a 10U B game.

IUP

No, I helped ref adult leagues for my local rink like 15 yrs ago.

I have ref'd for like 4-5 years. Don't do anymore because I coach and my job pays me enough I don't need the 60$ spending money. I don't care if I lost anyone or not. I'm making people aware. Also, I came here asking questions about standards and what the procedures are for quality control. Now that I've debunked your assumptions, now what? I was being respectful, you won't know that though because the next excuse will be that you can't hear what is being said when I ask for explainations. Your just a troll and mad I called out one of your fellow officials for being a shitty ref. I get it, you don't want that to be the norm. Next thing you know everyone is on here blasting every officials' name. I understand your frustration and how you want to be defensive, bottom line is treat people with respect and don't just show up to collect your 75$, maybe explain to kids why calls are made or what you saw. Basically, don't be an elitist jerkoff because you have the power to make calls and throw people out. I'm done with replying here as I found the information I was looking for. Have a great day!

Messages have been sent to officials; they asked for availability.

Spot on. It's not really the refs fault that no one keeps tabs on them. And there are a few very good refs in the area but not nearly enough. Considering most youth hockey is using a two man system, it always makes for interesting games when you have a very good ref paired with a bad one.

Well said. This falls in the hands of USA Hockey and MidAm, two organizations that are run by incompetent people and good old boys. The incident report portal is archaic and very difficult to navigate, which is why many officials avoid calling penalties that require a report. Often, player and/or coach names cannot be located or a team is not properly listed. Right or wrong, this is a fact. I know some officials who take pride in what they do--few, but there are some. These are the people who when seen hitting the ice, the coaches, players, and parents breathe a sigh of relief. Then, there those who when seen hitting the ice, the coaches, players, and parents say, "Oh no--not this clown."