Your Take: Dealing With Bad Calls

Anyone who has ever played, coached or even watched an athletic contest has experienced the phenomenon I’ll call “Referee Induced Mental Hysteria.” We have all been there: some official, referee, umpire or judge makes a call that brings the crowd to its feet, causes a coach to rip his headphones off, or leave the dugout. What happens next can cost the team the game. Not necessarily the ‘bad call’ and its penalty, but the coach’s reaction to the call and the effect that reaction has on the team. Here is my advice: chill out. Take it in stride. Don’t give your players an excuse to lose the contest. When a bad call happens, it is by definition a call or ‘non-call’ that does not go your way. The coach sets the example for the players regarding how to react to the situation. If the coach over-reacts, the impact on the team can be devastating. I first noticed this in youth