1 00:00:00,050 --> 00:00:02,959 Welcome to Post Match Advance Comms. 2 00:00:02,959 --> 00:00:10,010 So it's the third of the series, and since my first slide of the in-match comms. 3 00:00:10,210 --> 00:00:15,370 Advanced comms course was such a big hit where I said, shut the fuck up, 4 00:00:16,090 --> 00:00:17,920 this one is be a fucking professional. 5 00:00:18,010 --> 00:00:26,170 So this is for me and for all of you, I think probably a lot of information 6 00:00:26,170 --> 00:00:29,680 that you know, but hopefully some reminders of things that can help you 7 00:00:30,370 --> 00:00:37,990 just tweak that extra little step of professionalism and the appearances 8 00:00:37,990 --> 00:00:43,720 that are so important after a match to continue building the relationships 9 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:48,130 with the players, the coaches, the fans, and all that sort of thing. 10 00:00:49,050 --> 00:00:54,300 A lot of what this all boils down to is awareness of your surroundings and 11 00:00:54,300 --> 00:01:01,230 the fact that many times we really are still under keen observation and 12 00:01:01,380 --> 00:01:06,930 judgment by the people who we have just umpired, who have watched, was watched 13 00:01:06,930 --> 00:01:09,780 us just umpire and that sort of thing. 14 00:01:09,780 --> 00:01:14,380 So I'm gonna talk about the surroundings of the handshakes and leaving the pitch. 15 00:01:14,380 --> 00:01:16,990 When you're in the changing rooms, when you're at teas, when you're 16 00:01:16,990 --> 00:01:20,920 in the lounges, all that sort of thing, and even your debrief. 17 00:01:21,020 --> 00:01:26,560 Right after the match is over, after we've had this amazingly value-added 18 00:01:26,660 --> 00:01:31,929 and not too verbose sequence of comms for the last 70 minutes. 19 00:01:31,929 --> 00:01:33,910 So it's 60 minutes, whatever we're playing. 20 00:01:34,110 --> 00:01:35,400 In the handshakes. 21 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:38,340 This is, these are some of the points that I recommend. 22 00:01:38,550 --> 00:01:39,810 Keeping the radios on. 23 00:01:40,509 --> 00:01:43,750 The first thing that we tend to wanna do is that our ear is itchy 24 00:01:43,750 --> 00:01:47,559 because we've had this thing in all game and we think it looks dumb 25 00:01:47,569 --> 00:01:49,070 and so we rip it out of our ears. 26 00:01:49,070 --> 00:01:53,590 But I think it's very valuable to keep it in order to hear anything that 27 00:01:53,590 --> 00:01:58,090 might be said around our colleague that alerts us that there's a situation 28 00:01:58,090 --> 00:02:00,340 that we can be of some assistance with. 29 00:02:00,540 --> 00:02:05,849 Having the witness can be very important as well for anything that 30 00:02:05,849 --> 00:02:07,770 is a post-match disciplinary thing. 31 00:02:07,770 --> 00:02:12,570 And obviously when the match has been more tense, you're gonna be more on your guard 32 00:02:12,570 --> 00:02:14,130 and you're gonna be more aware of this. 33 00:02:14,130 --> 00:02:19,290 But don't necessarily let down your guard because sometimes we 34 00:02:19,290 --> 00:02:24,570 aren't specifically aware of how pissed off particular players are. 35 00:02:25,500 --> 00:02:27,839 Or something that's happened just at the end of the match and we're 36 00:02:27,839 --> 00:02:30,779 just not really in that vibe 'cause it happened in our colleagues end. 37 00:02:30,779 --> 00:02:34,649 And we're a little bit out to lunch on these things. 38 00:02:34,649 --> 00:02:37,640 Just keep your radio in and be ready for that. 39 00:02:38,179 --> 00:02:42,920 And if you both do that as colleagues for each other, you'll also know that 40 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,819 if you are the person under pressure, that your colleague is going to be able 41 00:02:46,819 --> 00:02:50,029 to make some decisions as to how they can best support you in that moment. 42 00:02:50,246 --> 00:02:53,756 The more contentious the match is, the more important it is for us to think 43 00:02:53,756 --> 00:02:59,716 about how we congratulate the teams, how we thank them for their participation 44 00:02:59,716 --> 00:03:05,416 in the match, listening to the things that we say, being as even handed 45 00:03:05,416 --> 00:03:10,336 as we can be with telling them that they had a good match, well played. 46 00:03:10,516 --> 00:03:13,336 Thank you appreciate your effort today. 47 00:03:13,536 --> 00:03:14,646 Whatever you wanna say. 48 00:03:14,916 --> 00:03:18,746 That goes for both the teams because we don't care who wins, right? 49 00:03:19,436 --> 00:03:23,486 There might be a couple players that you know a bit better, or the goalkeeper 50 00:03:23,486 --> 00:03:27,086 had an absolute slobber knocker and you want to applaud them for it. 51 00:03:27,286 --> 00:03:31,531 Feel free to do so with understanding and empathy and caution. 52 00:03:32,286 --> 00:03:36,246 Just be aware that in some cases you might be throwing a little 53 00:03:36,246 --> 00:03:40,851 bit of gas on a fire that you really don't wanna see get lit up. 54 00:03:41,051 --> 00:03:45,881 The longer conversations: we can get sucked into something 'cause we 55 00:03:45,881 --> 00:03:47,681 think we can handle the question. 56 00:03:48,191 --> 00:03:50,171 They're just like, umpire, just have a quick question. 57 00:03:50,171 --> 00:03:51,191 Just wanna run this by you. 58 00:03:51,391 --> 00:03:55,741 And I'm not saying don't respond to that positively and say, sure, let's 59 00:03:55,741 --> 00:03:57,331 have a quick conversation about it. 60 00:03:57,721 --> 00:03:58,021 But. 61 00:03:58,906 --> 00:04:03,676 Honestly, if it's more than, here's my response, and the player 62 00:04:03,676 --> 00:04:05,626 says, okay, thank you for that. 63 00:04:06,406 --> 00:04:10,366 If you get anything more of that back, it's just like during a game you say, 64 00:04:10,366 --> 00:04:15,406 look, there's an amazing clubhouse over there that I really can't wait to get 65 00:04:15,406 --> 00:04:18,766 into and get a beverage into my hand, and I'm sure you feel the same way. 66 00:04:18,766 --> 00:04:20,896 Let's continue that over there. 67 00:04:22,006 --> 00:04:24,136 The visual appearance to everybody. 68 00:04:24,136 --> 00:04:24,616 When you're in. 69 00:04:24,816 --> 00:04:29,436 These handshake moments, everybody is watching. 70 00:04:29,526 --> 00:04:33,756 And I don't know if you've been in a watch party where I've specifically 71 00:04:33,786 --> 00:04:37,746 kept the match rolling, so I could see what happens at the handshakes. 72 00:04:38,316 --> 00:04:41,196 So I can see how the umpires handle certain players. 73 00:04:41,676 --> 00:04:44,376 If players are pissed off, what happens? 74 00:04:44,616 --> 00:04:46,086 Are the TOs out there? 75 00:04:46,116 --> 00:04:48,851 Is the umpire manager out there, all that sort of thing. 76 00:04:49,121 --> 00:04:51,131 How does everybody feel about this? 77 00:04:51,191 --> 00:04:55,151 If there's contention and arguments and a long discussion, 78 00:04:55,331 --> 00:04:58,061 all of a sudden everybody's oh, there's something going on here. 79 00:04:58,061 --> 00:05:01,541 The umpire must have made a really big mistake in near the end of the game. 80 00:05:02,276 --> 00:05:04,676 And reading the body language. 81 00:05:04,796 --> 00:05:09,446 Reading, reading lips to figure out what people are talking about, it turns 82 00:05:09,446 --> 00:05:14,186 into another spectator activity that we don't necessarily wanna encourage. 83 00:05:14,826 --> 00:05:21,176 So think about continuing to keep that nice and short and tight and 84 00:05:21,506 --> 00:05:26,366 moving it away into the clubhouse afterwards, where we expect to have those 85 00:05:26,366 --> 00:05:31,796 conversations and we've got a different dynamic to deal with how that appears. 86 00:05:32,276 --> 00:05:37,826 And like I said before, in the more contentious matches or even in slightly 87 00:05:37,826 --> 00:05:42,446 contentious ones that you might not be aware of, just having that awareness. 88 00:05:42,596 --> 00:05:46,061 The clock, if you're in England, the clock on the 30 minutes has started. 89 00:05:46,286 --> 00:05:49,886 But there's a lot of things that can still happen, and I have certainly 90 00:05:49,886 --> 00:05:53,966 been guilty of not being as diligent as I need to be in this moment. 91 00:05:54,116 --> 00:05:57,716 And something's happened and I haven't been able to be there for my colleague. 92 00:05:58,016 --> 00:06:02,206 I haven't anticipated something was gonna happen to me and I just didn't 93 00:06:02,206 --> 00:06:03,766 deal with it the way that I wanted to. 94 00:06:03,766 --> 00:06:08,286 So just keep that awareness about you and keep your vision big. 95 00:06:08,486 --> 00:06:14,756 Don't get too close to any one player so that you can keep your eye on many 96 00:06:14,756 --> 00:06:18,566 players at the same time coming through the handshakes, and there's ways that 97 00:06:18,566 --> 00:06:21,716 you can point your body and open your shoulders and do all those things. 98 00:06:22,106 --> 00:06:24,771 You're still umpiring, is the bottom line. 99 00:06:25,321 --> 00:06:28,771 When you're walking off the pitch together and the door is showing 100 00:06:28,771 --> 00:06:32,851 you the way out, if there is a match official, if you happen to be doing 101 00:06:32,851 --> 00:06:37,901 some a match at the level three or at some level where there is a technical 102 00:06:37,901 --> 00:06:42,281 table present, really nice just to check in and say, Hey, are we good? 103 00:06:43,151 --> 00:06:44,051 Can I go now? 104 00:06:44,291 --> 00:06:47,611 If, even if you're not signing match sheets out there, it's just nice 105 00:06:47,611 --> 00:06:49,201 to let them know that you're going. 106 00:06:49,951 --> 00:06:51,091 And a walk off as a team. 107 00:06:51,291 --> 00:06:56,151 And this can be a moment where if your colleague has, 108 00:06:56,211 --> 00:06:57,651 they've gotta rush off there. 109 00:06:57,651 --> 00:07:01,821 There's something else, it's still, if you can endeavor, just for that last piece of 110 00:07:01,821 --> 00:07:05,361 teamwork, to show that off is important. 111 00:07:05,391 --> 00:07:09,681 If your umpire coach or assessor is out there and if there's been 112 00:07:09,771 --> 00:07:15,221 any kind of tension in that match, I know that I endeavor to walk 113 00:07:15,221 --> 00:07:16,421 off with the umpires as well. 114 00:07:16,621 --> 00:07:21,031 Because it's that show of solidarity, it's that extra witness. 115 00:07:21,061 --> 00:07:22,381 It's all those things. 116 00:07:22,681 --> 00:07:25,141 So think about doing that. 117 00:07:25,801 --> 00:07:28,261 Think about the way that you're walking off the pitch. 118 00:07:29,041 --> 00:07:35,021 So I was told a story by a house owner who I was looking after their dogs. 119 00:07:35,121 --> 00:07:37,131 Just one or two weeks ago. 120 00:07:37,131 --> 00:07:40,901 And when I mentioned that I was an umpire and oh, my daughter played at the 121 00:07:40,991 --> 00:07:44,801 National Lacrosse tournament, let me tell you about what happened in the final. 122 00:07:45,251 --> 00:07:50,801 And they told me a story about how the umpire, the referee in this lacrosse match 123 00:07:50,801 --> 00:07:55,031 had made a very evident error apparently. 124 00:07:55,601 --> 00:08:00,671 And it was at an unfortunate moment in the match close to the end, which. 125 00:08:01,436 --> 00:08:07,096 Meant that one team felt aggrieved, that decision had cost them the match. 126 00:08:07,726 --> 00:08:11,506 And as this referee was walking off, she was talking to 127 00:08:11,506 --> 00:08:12,976 somebody and she was laughing. 128 00:08:13,176 --> 00:08:19,596 Now, that could have well been a reaction of nerves, of anxiety, 129 00:08:19,776 --> 00:08:24,066 she's releasing tension for herself 'cause she knows what she's done. 130 00:08:24,066 --> 00:08:26,796 She knows that she's in for it, and. 131 00:08:26,996 --> 00:08:32,696 Maybe mistakenly doing it on purpose as well, trying to let it be known that she 132 00:08:32,696 --> 00:08:35,156 feels comfortable with what she's done. 133 00:08:35,156 --> 00:08:39,266 But the appearance that it gave off for these parents in particular 134 00:08:40,016 --> 00:08:40,976 was that she didn't care. 135 00:08:41,636 --> 00:08:45,596 She was completely free of any worries, anything like that. 136 00:08:45,626 --> 00:08:50,206 And that is not the kind of impression you wanna leave. 137 00:08:50,566 --> 00:08:52,456 You also don't wanna walk off, hang dogged. 138 00:08:52,736 --> 00:08:56,906 With your head down and your eyes down and, oh, shaking your 139 00:08:56,906 --> 00:08:58,466 head and that sort of thing. 140 00:08:59,126 --> 00:09:04,856 Showing and leaking emotion from the end of your performance. 141 00:09:05,056 --> 00:09:10,226 Having a nice, quiet word with your colleague as you're walking off. 142 00:09:10,661 --> 00:09:15,641 Maybe some subtle smiles, some handshakes, a little bit of fist bump. 143 00:09:15,861 --> 00:09:17,931 I try not to make that look too triumphant. 144 00:09:17,931 --> 00:09:21,941 Yeah, we fucking nailed it when one team might be like, yeah they fucked it up. 145 00:09:22,541 --> 00:09:25,001 You don't want that impression either. 146 00:09:25,001 --> 00:09:31,081 So it's a lot of balance and it might sound overly particular and 147 00:09:31,081 --> 00:09:32,581 anxious and really, Keely, what? 148 00:09:32,641 --> 00:09:33,511 What does it matter? 149 00:09:34,171 --> 00:09:37,891 These are the elements of professionalism that if you are in the habit, when 150 00:09:37,891 --> 00:09:42,871 you are under pressure, these things will be with you and you won't have 151 00:09:42,871 --> 00:09:46,351 to worry about putting something on that you're not comfortable 152 00:09:46,351 --> 00:09:48,541 with and it not carrying across. 153 00:09:49,331 --> 00:09:52,931 If this is the way that you act after every match, whether you 154 00:09:52,931 --> 00:09:57,491 had an amazing game and it was super fun and nothing happened or. 155 00:09:57,691 --> 00:10:03,001 You got the shit kicked out of you and both teams are equally mad and a fight 156 00:10:03,001 --> 00:10:08,161 almost broke out and you had to give eight cards and all that sort of thing. 157 00:10:08,161 --> 00:10:12,511 You want your appearance, your outward appearance to be 158 00:10:12,601 --> 00:10:14,581 similar in those situations. 159 00:10:15,341 --> 00:10:16,271 You've done your job. 160 00:10:16,751 --> 00:10:17,441 End of story. 161 00:10:17,853 --> 00:10:21,633 When you're in the changing rooms, make sure, first off that you 162 00:10:21,633 --> 00:10:24,393 know that you have entire privacy. 163 00:10:25,293 --> 00:10:30,003 I'm not particularly comfortable or knowledgeable about what happens 164 00:10:30,003 --> 00:10:32,073 in, in change rooms around here. 165 00:10:32,073 --> 00:10:35,403 We think we've got the place to ourselves, or I think that we have the place to 166 00:10:35,403 --> 00:10:38,943 ourselves, and then the team walks in and you're like, oh, oops, sorry. 167 00:10:38,943 --> 00:10:40,413 Let's stop talking about you now. 168 00:10:41,013 --> 00:10:45,393 So having a bit of a awareness again. 169 00:10:45,973 --> 00:10:47,953 Will you truly be in a private space? 170 00:10:48,013 --> 00:10:49,843 Is there a chance you're gonna be overheard? 171 00:10:49,963 --> 00:10:54,013 Are they in the next room, the players and that sort of thing such that you 172 00:10:54,013 --> 00:10:58,813 keep your conversation, your tone, all those sort of things the way that 173 00:10:58,813 --> 00:11:03,663 you would still wanna be outwardly representing to the teams in question. 174 00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:09,263 Fans could be walking through, parents, coaches, anybody that sort of thing. 175 00:11:09,313 --> 00:11:10,393 Have that in mind. 176 00:11:12,133 --> 00:11:17,863 Have some consideration for your colleague and maybe ask them, Hey, 177 00:11:17,893 --> 00:11:19,753 do you just wanna chill right now? 178 00:11:19,753 --> 00:11:22,273 Or did you wanna get into a few things? 179 00:11:22,273 --> 00:11:25,123 Do you wanna talk over a couple things while they're fresh in your mind? 180 00:11:25,323 --> 00:11:30,423 You might be really excited about talking a few things through. 181 00:11:31,083 --> 00:11:35,063 And your colleague has a very different sort of feeling after 182 00:11:35,063 --> 00:11:36,413 the game, a different perception. 183 00:11:36,413 --> 00:11:41,513 Maybe they had a tough time and you had a fabulous game and you're a little 184 00:11:41,513 --> 00:11:43,133 bit unaware of how they're reacting. 185 00:11:43,133 --> 00:11:48,503 Or there was one particular decision that they really wanna talk about, but with a 186 00:11:48,503 --> 00:11:51,383 little bit of wisdom and a little bit of time and empathy, you can say, you know 187 00:11:51,383 --> 00:11:56,543 what, if I just give them five minutes, it would be really beneficial for them 188 00:11:56,543 --> 00:11:59,173 just to just have that decompression. 189 00:11:59,518 --> 00:12:04,288 So that they can approach the conversation more constructively. 190 00:12:05,248 --> 00:12:14,128 This is a tip that I would think about for all of you and use this judiciously is. 191 00:12:14,328 --> 00:12:16,008 I'm not talking about collusion. 192 00:12:16,158 --> 00:12:19,608 So the two of you get together and say, okay, how are we gonna run our debrief? 193 00:12:19,608 --> 00:12:20,298 What are we gonna do? 194 00:12:20,298 --> 00:12:21,018 What are we gonna say? 195 00:12:21,018 --> 00:12:25,728 The umpire manager, coach, assessor, but you may want to 196 00:12:25,728 --> 00:12:27,738 talk through with each other. 197 00:12:27,938 --> 00:12:33,038 How you are feeling about the match so that you don't feel blindsided when 198 00:12:33,038 --> 00:12:36,968 one or the other starts talking in that debrief and they go in a different 199 00:12:36,968 --> 00:12:38,378 direction that you were like, what? 200 00:12:38,598 --> 00:12:39,468 How did that happen? 201 00:12:39,668 --> 00:12:40,658 You're still a team. 202 00:12:41,228 --> 00:12:46,358 And I hear things about, colleagues getting thrown under the bus 203 00:12:46,408 --> 00:12:47,698 and those kind of surprises. 204 00:12:47,698 --> 00:12:48,628 And I don't like that. 205 00:12:48,698 --> 00:12:52,148 I don't like thinking that as an umpire coach, I could be sitting 206 00:12:52,148 --> 00:12:54,638 there witnessing something like that. 207 00:12:55,208 --> 00:13:01,688 So if you have a coach or assessor watching your match and that you're 208 00:13:01,688 --> 00:13:05,588 gonna go and speak to them after you've had the opportunity to get all cleaned 209 00:13:05,588 --> 00:13:07,208 up, then maybe run through those things. 210 00:13:07,238 --> 00:13:12,278 It can also be really helpful for you to start constructing how you 211 00:13:12,278 --> 00:13:15,758 are going to approach the debrief and just do a little bit of rehearsal. 212 00:13:15,958 --> 00:13:20,678 You know what I think one of the key points there in that match was that we 213 00:13:20,678 --> 00:13:27,248 really did do a good job of getting on the cards correctly, and they came out 214 00:13:27,278 --> 00:13:28,898 early, but I think it really worked. 215 00:13:28,898 --> 00:13:29,798 Did you feel that? 216 00:13:29,858 --> 00:13:31,058 Did you feel the same thing? 217 00:13:31,058 --> 00:13:32,198 Yeah, I felt that way. 218 00:13:32,568 --> 00:13:36,318 What we could have done a lot better was our whistle timing in the second half. 219 00:13:36,318 --> 00:13:40,268 And you just have this sort of Hmm, okay and you can really generate that 220 00:13:40,268 --> 00:13:44,798 consensus so you don't feel quite as lost when you sit down for that debrief. 221 00:13:44,978 --> 00:13:47,588 Then when you're heading into the clubhouse, this is the part 222 00:13:47,588 --> 00:13:49,198 where I've always struggled. 223 00:13:49,538 --> 00:13:55,978 Because for those of you who have grown up as umpires in your hockey 224 00:13:55,978 --> 00:14:00,088 cultures, it probably comes quite more, much more naturally for you. 225 00:14:00,568 --> 00:14:03,628 You might be a lot less awkward than I am as a human being. 226 00:14:04,273 --> 00:14:09,193 Whatever the case might be for me, this whole sort of being in the clubhouse and 227 00:14:09,193 --> 00:14:12,853 figuring out how to socialize and talk to these people and talk to those people 228 00:14:12,853 --> 00:14:17,083 and don't hang out with that person too much and make sure you're smiling 229 00:14:17,083 --> 00:14:20,233 and handshaking and where's the club chairman and all those sort of things. 230 00:14:20,923 --> 00:14:25,663 I am really fucking terrible at it, but I'm really trying because I understand 231 00:14:25,663 --> 00:14:32,478 that these things really do help with the future rapport building for 232 00:14:32,478 --> 00:14:34,158 the next match and the next match. 233 00:14:35,118 --> 00:14:39,198 And even if that's not happening for you right now, at the level 234 00:14:39,248 --> 00:14:43,048 that you're umpiring at, this may be something that comes into 235 00:14:43,048 --> 00:14:44,758 play for you a little bit later. 236 00:14:44,858 --> 00:14:49,103 Don't disregard this as a skill that you don't ever need to learn and 237 00:14:49,103 --> 00:14:52,583 whatever format this happens for you in it could be that it's just 238 00:14:52,583 --> 00:14:54,263 hanging about the pitch afterwards. 239 00:14:54,473 --> 00:14:56,453 There is no clubhouse for you to go to. 240 00:14:56,633 --> 00:14:58,133 How do you talk to the players? 241 00:14:58,133 --> 00:15:03,818 How do you talk to the coaches that at least I did back home in Calgary better. 242 00:15:04,703 --> 00:15:11,783 But I did that after I learned how to be in a clubhouse with National League teams 243 00:15:12,083 --> 00:15:16,493 after NPUA matches, and then I brought back the whole, Ooh, how can I have 244 00:15:16,493 --> 00:15:18,353 conversations with certain key players? 245 00:15:18,953 --> 00:15:22,223 How can I go talk to that coach and say, Hey, did you have anything for me? 246 00:15:22,423 --> 00:15:26,603 Those are the things that I've been able to learn, but still I'm working on. 247 00:15:26,803 --> 00:15:29,653 You're still in that politician mode. 248 00:15:29,803 --> 00:15:32,323 You're still circulating and smiling. 249 00:15:32,323 --> 00:15:37,263 You're being respectful you're being moderate about all of your reactions, 250 00:15:37,263 --> 00:15:40,503 and this is really a time where you wanna be open to listening. 251 00:15:40,703 --> 00:15:43,643 This is not about you being right. 252 00:15:44,393 --> 00:15:46,733 This is about you gathering information. 253 00:15:47,228 --> 00:15:50,648 The information you gather could be completely fucking wrong. 254 00:15:50,828 --> 00:15:54,398 It could be so out to lunch if it's something factual, like 255 00:15:54,398 --> 00:15:56,288 what a rule actually reads. 256 00:15:56,438 --> 00:16:00,738 It's great to have that conversation respectfully again and say, my reading 257 00:16:00,738 --> 00:16:04,368 of the rule book is when I look at that rule, this is what it says. 258 00:16:04,368 --> 00:16:06,908 So that's why I applied it that way in that moment. 259 00:16:06,908 --> 00:16:08,048 Does that make sense to you? 260 00:16:08,438 --> 00:16:09,188 Okay, great. 261 00:16:09,238 --> 00:16:12,208 Let's move on now, and you can handle those things that way. 262 00:16:12,868 --> 00:16:16,698 But when it came to what you saw and what you didn't see, take the 263 00:16:16,698 --> 00:16:21,708 opportunity to find out why they are feeling the way that they are. 264 00:16:21,908 --> 00:16:24,788 They may be completely wrong in those feelings, and they're gonna stand there in 265 00:16:24,788 --> 00:16:26,528 their wrongness and continue to be wrong. 266 00:16:26,918 --> 00:16:30,278 But it could be that you're learning about how different 267 00:16:30,278 --> 00:16:32,828 their angles were from yours. 268 00:16:33,278 --> 00:16:36,998 It could be that you're learning about how you presented your decision, 269 00:16:37,198 --> 00:16:41,448 that you weren't as strong, that you didn't communicate it effectively 270 00:16:41,478 --> 00:16:45,498 in the moment that you had way too long of a conversation with that one 271 00:16:45,498 --> 00:16:48,108 player afterwards, and they didn't appreciate the way that you were 272 00:16:48,168 --> 00:16:51,798 only talking to that one captain instead of talking to both captains. 273 00:16:51,998 --> 00:16:53,768 ' cause that was information that they both needed. 274 00:16:53,768 --> 00:16:56,338 Try to pick up on the subtext. 275 00:16:56,908 --> 00:16:58,558 What their real concerns are. 276 00:16:59,098 --> 00:17:02,518 Do they fundamentally misunderstand the obstruction rule? 277 00:17:02,968 --> 00:17:07,408 Is this something that you can, again, maybe a little bit later 278 00:17:07,408 --> 00:17:10,588 when the tempers have died down a bit, have a deeper conversation. 279 00:17:10,688 --> 00:17:14,148 You were mentioning about 10 minutes ago about, obstructions. 280 00:17:14,198 --> 00:17:17,748 Let's talk about that a little bit more because I think you're making some points 281 00:17:17,748 --> 00:17:19,878 here that, we can, dive into a bit. 282 00:17:20,078 --> 00:17:24,688 Those are the sort of things or that you're gonna follow up in a few weeks and 283 00:17:24,688 --> 00:17:29,088 have a phone call, have a, send an email along with a clip, do that sort of thing. 284 00:17:29,288 --> 00:17:30,338 Gather the data. 285 00:17:30,578 --> 00:17:33,308 The data is valuable, even if it's wrong. 286 00:17:33,508 --> 00:17:37,158 I mentioned sticking up for your colleague, and I know that should go 287 00:17:37,158 --> 00:17:45,148 without saying, but I have firsthand and secondhand been witness to times 288 00:17:45,178 --> 00:17:49,498 where a coach or a player will make a comment about an umpire's colleague, 289 00:17:49,888 --> 00:17:55,348 and they don't do an adequate job of respecting the effort that their 290 00:17:55,348 --> 00:17:59,878 colleague put in, and the fact that they are, and they were a team out there, 291 00:18:00,078 --> 00:18:02,718 I'd be like, yeah, I don't know where the fuck he came up with that one. 292 00:18:02,858 --> 00:18:04,338 Ooh, pulled that out of his ass. 293 00:18:04,538 --> 00:18:05,498 That kind of thing. 294 00:18:05,618 --> 00:18:10,998 Please, no throwing under buses, it's still a no drag zone because 295 00:18:11,028 --> 00:18:16,188 next week that player could be making that comment about you to 296 00:18:16,188 --> 00:18:19,758 your colleague, and I don't think you would want to feel that way either. 297 00:18:20,658 --> 00:18:27,798 All of this sort of thing also reflects on our pitch side, so if we're not. 298 00:18:27,898 --> 00:18:31,918 In the clubhouse, we're not having that post match decompression 299 00:18:31,918 --> 00:18:34,918 if we're out on the pitch and we're watching other umpires. 300 00:18:35,578 --> 00:18:38,978 Again this is just a general reminder about being professional 301 00:18:38,978 --> 00:18:44,948 in that environment and be aware of who's around you when you 302 00:18:44,948 --> 00:18:46,718 speak about umpires' decisions. 303 00:18:46,918 --> 00:18:52,438 I actually gather a lot of data about the umpires who might be around me, 304 00:18:52,678 --> 00:18:55,738 about the way that they are reflecting about what's happening on the pitch. 305 00:18:55,938 --> 00:18:59,818 And when somebody says oh my God, I gotta say that, that decision 306 00:18:59,818 --> 00:19:01,458 was absolutely flat out wrong. 307 00:19:02,448 --> 00:19:03,678 I never would've called that. 308 00:19:03,878 --> 00:19:07,148 That gives me some information as to what that umpire's 309 00:19:07,448 --> 00:19:09,278 potential character could be. 310 00:19:09,668 --> 00:19:13,358 How they would react to coaching, what their empathy is like, 311 00:19:14,258 --> 00:19:16,538 what is their growth mindset? 312 00:19:17,138 --> 00:19:17,978 That sort of thing. 313 00:19:18,098 --> 00:19:22,868 You are being watched and you are being listened to, so keep that in mind. 314 00:19:23,341 --> 00:19:24,091 The debrief. 315 00:19:24,271 --> 00:19:24,751 Oh boy. 316 00:19:25,921 --> 00:19:31,891 The first question that I would allow you to raise that I don't 317 00:19:31,891 --> 00:19:35,791 think we ask ourselves enough is, am I actually ready for this? 318 00:19:36,781 --> 00:19:39,601 Is this the right time for me to have this conversation? 319 00:19:39,801 --> 00:19:40,401 And. 320 00:19:40,601 --> 00:19:44,891 I know this happens at the National League level where we just get 321 00:19:44,891 --> 00:19:49,001 into it because that coach or assessor is there in the moment. 322 00:19:49,421 --> 00:19:54,521 We have this brief, it's like a, it's like a first date and only date kind of 323 00:19:54,521 --> 00:20:00,091 situation where you may never see this coach or assessor again, and we think we 324 00:20:00,091 --> 00:20:03,931 have to pile through it in that moment, and then everybody get in their cars and 325 00:20:03,931 --> 00:20:06,391 drive home and we never revisit it again. 326 00:20:06,591 --> 00:20:12,946 I had a, an instance where I sat down for a coaching at the National League 327 00:20:12,946 --> 00:20:17,326 level, and I was asking some questions and trying to pull some things out of one 328 00:20:17,326 --> 00:20:19,396 particular umpire who was very resistant. 329 00:20:19,996 --> 00:20:24,636 And they said to me, I need more time to digest all of this. 330 00:20:25,116 --> 00:20:27,696 Did you ever think of asking me whether I was ready? 331 00:20:27,896 --> 00:20:29,756 And I was like, oh. 332 00:20:29,956 --> 00:20:31,396 Yeah, great point. 333 00:20:31,476 --> 00:20:32,436 I'm really sorry. 334 00:20:32,586 --> 00:20:33,696 I should have asked you. 335 00:20:33,996 --> 00:20:34,716 That's on me. 336 00:20:35,646 --> 00:20:39,086 And I'm not sure if they were authentically not ready or not. 337 00:20:39,386 --> 00:20:41,366 'cause there was a lot of defensiveness in there. 338 00:20:41,366 --> 00:20:44,336 A lot of, I'm not gonna listen to your messages no matter what time you 339 00:20:44,336 --> 00:20:50,146 say them, but I could wholeheartedly embrace my responsibility in that moment 340 00:20:50,296 --> 00:20:52,266 that I didn't offer them the option. 341 00:20:52,466 --> 00:20:53,816 A lot of people aren't gonna think of it. 342 00:20:54,506 --> 00:20:59,696 So if you're really in that state where you feel like, I'm not gonna be able 343 00:20:59,696 --> 00:21:04,166 to be an active participant in this conversation, my mind is going a million 344 00:21:04,166 --> 00:21:09,356 miles an hour, I'm emotionally activated, whatever the case might be, say so. 345 00:21:09,556 --> 00:21:15,286 We have these amazing tools now like Zoom and Google Meet and WhatsApp video 346 00:21:15,496 --> 00:21:19,216 and all kinds of things that allow us to have conversations after the fact. 347 00:21:20,041 --> 00:21:25,911 And there's merits to both, but there are some particularly good merits 348 00:21:25,911 --> 00:21:27,411 to having the conversation later. 349 00:21:28,251 --> 00:21:33,871 The big challenges though, come around whether you have as an umpire 350 00:21:33,871 --> 00:21:37,891 coach or assessor, you've taken good notes and you're prepared to 351 00:21:38,191 --> 00:21:40,111 make to pull all those things out. 352 00:21:40,291 --> 00:21:45,316 Do you as an umpire feel confident that if you don't have video, or you 353 00:21:45,316 --> 00:21:48,196 don't have access to the video yet, that you're gonna be able to engage 354 00:21:48,196 --> 00:21:49,456 in that conversation meaningfully. 355 00:21:49,486 --> 00:21:53,536 Can you do some self-reflection even though you're not ready to talk about it? 356 00:21:53,536 --> 00:21:59,566 That gets you in a state that when you do have that debrief, you're 357 00:21:59,566 --> 00:22:05,436 gonna have some valuable observations, responses, and activations because you 358 00:22:05,436 --> 00:22:06,786 still have things fresh in your mind. 359 00:22:06,786 --> 00:22:07,806 So that is important. 360 00:22:07,956 --> 00:22:11,466 If you do go ahead with it, in that moment though, you do wanna make sure you're 361 00:22:11,466 --> 00:22:12,906 in a place where you feel comfortable. 362 00:22:13,806 --> 00:22:19,446 And if you've been sat down right next to the teams and you're about 363 00:22:19,446 --> 00:22:23,736 to have a debrief after a tense game, and you're like I don't, this doesn't 364 00:22:23,736 --> 00:22:25,986 feel good to me whatsoever, say so. 365 00:22:26,826 --> 00:22:27,846 Ask the Umpire Coach. 366 00:22:27,876 --> 00:22:29,946 Hey, do you mind if we just go over to that corner? 367 00:22:29,946 --> 00:22:34,226 It's a lot more quiet and nobody should have a problem with that. 368 00:22:34,886 --> 00:22:38,456 You might wanna go into a separate room entirely where nobody is watching you. 369 00:22:39,086 --> 00:22:42,206 And I've been in all of these kind of situations where 370 00:22:42,211 --> 00:22:43,766 we've tried all these things. 371 00:22:44,636 --> 00:22:51,056 There is a benefit to doing a debrief or assessment out in the open from 372 00:22:51,056 --> 00:22:56,436 the standpoint of showing the players that you do receive coaching, that 373 00:22:56,436 --> 00:23:01,896 you are getting feedback, that you are perhaps being held accountable in a 374 00:23:01,896 --> 00:23:04,926 very gentle way for how the match went. 375 00:23:05,126 --> 00:23:10,006 There is somebody there who is helping guide you, and it's happening 376 00:23:10,036 --> 00:23:10,936 right in front of their eyes. 377 00:23:11,136 --> 00:23:16,051 And I know that there are some players out there who love to watch how 378 00:23:16,051 --> 00:23:17,971 umpires are reacting to their debriefs. 379 00:23:18,171 --> 00:23:22,731 Are they showing appearances of being tense or upset or shutting 380 00:23:22,731 --> 00:23:24,231 down, or things like that? 381 00:23:25,041 --> 00:23:28,131 So be aware again, you're still on show. 382 00:23:28,491 --> 00:23:34,931 You're still in that moment and the ways in which you can help to convey 383 00:23:34,931 --> 00:23:39,941 the right sense to to anybody who might be glancing over and having a little 384 00:23:39,941 --> 00:23:44,081 look is skipping to the other one, the asking and answering questions. 385 00:23:44,321 --> 00:23:48,221 Being an engaged participant in the debrief really does help because if it 386 00:23:48,221 --> 00:23:53,921 looks like a lecture, because it is a lecture, that's not gonna be good for you. 387 00:23:53,921 --> 00:23:56,861 It's not good for the umpire coach or assessor. 388 00:23:57,371 --> 00:24:02,651 Because it's putting us in the, in this frame set that we really shouldn't be in. 389 00:24:03,431 --> 00:24:07,591 As we're talking to the coaches and the players afterwards, or if we've talked 390 00:24:07,591 --> 00:24:08,971 to them before, that kind of thing. 391 00:24:09,571 --> 00:24:10,801 Those appearances do matter. 392 00:24:11,651 --> 00:24:16,451 But asking and answering questions to be an active participant, 393 00:24:16,451 --> 00:24:19,451 you could be asking something as simple as, tell me more about that. 394 00:24:19,901 --> 00:24:23,921 So if a coach says to you, I was a little concerned that you may have 395 00:24:23,921 --> 00:24:29,501 been missing a lot of decisions on your sideline near the center because 396 00:24:29,501 --> 00:24:30,911 of this interior positioning you have. 397 00:24:30,911 --> 00:24:32,501 And you can say, oh, tell me more about that. 398 00:24:32,701 --> 00:24:34,651 You don't have to say, do you have any proof? 399 00:24:34,851 --> 00:24:39,111 That might be what you're thinking, but if you just ask a question about getting 400 00:24:39,111 --> 00:24:46,256 them to expand, they will, hopefully fill in the gap with do you remember 401 00:24:46,256 --> 00:24:47,936 that time at this point in the match? 402 00:24:47,936 --> 00:24:51,566 Or I noted it down, here's the timestamp that you can go back and look after. 403 00:24:51,616 --> 00:24:53,416 Do you remember how the temper changed? 404 00:24:54,196 --> 00:24:57,406 Hopefully they will give you the information that you need that helps you 405 00:24:57,646 --> 00:25:03,586 contextualize and really internalize the messages that they're trying to send over. 406 00:25:04,276 --> 00:25:05,956 The note there about taking notes. 407 00:25:06,511 --> 00:25:13,191 I have discovered, and thanks to Mike in here, he was the first person I 408 00:25:13,191 --> 00:25:19,071 did this with recently with him and his colleague, where I just realized 409 00:25:19,131 --> 00:25:23,781 I'm not happy with my own performance as an umpire coach in these sessions. 410 00:25:24,321 --> 00:25:27,441 I don't feel like I'm reflecting very well the things that we've 411 00:25:27,441 --> 00:25:29,901 talked about in an umpiring report. 412 00:25:30,411 --> 00:25:37,236 I want some help with creating my umpire reports, so I thought I should record 413 00:25:37,236 --> 00:25:44,726 this, and then I can use that in order to reflect back on my own performance. 414 00:25:44,756 --> 00:25:47,606 How did I respond to the questions that the umpires asked? 415 00:25:47,606 --> 00:25:49,166 How did I ask them questions? 416 00:25:49,196 --> 00:25:53,546 Am I doing a good enough job in getting the story out? 417 00:25:54,341 --> 00:25:58,031 It was super valuable for me, and then I turned the transcript and I fed it 418 00:25:58,031 --> 00:26:00,671 into ai, and I did this whole thing, and I can talk about that later. 419 00:26:00,701 --> 00:26:01,511 It was very exciting. 420 00:26:01,711 --> 00:26:07,081 Of course, if this is something that you as an umpire want to do, you're gonna 421 00:26:07,081 --> 00:26:09,961 want to obviously ask for permission. 422 00:26:10,161 --> 00:26:13,761 If an umpire coach or assessor says no, I'd be asking why not. 423 00:26:13,961 --> 00:26:19,691 Because this is going to be, you'll assure them, for only for your purposes. 424 00:26:19,871 --> 00:26:23,921 This recording will not go out to anybody else except the people 425 00:26:23,921 --> 00:26:25,301 who are sitting at that table. 426 00:26:26,276 --> 00:26:29,496 Share that with everybody, and that's what I assured Mike 427 00:26:29,496 --> 00:26:31,296 and his colleague on that day. 428 00:26:31,646 --> 00:26:33,426 I'm gonna send you the audio recording. 429 00:26:33,846 --> 00:26:37,116 I'll send you the transcript as well so that you have this searchable. 430 00:26:37,146 --> 00:26:40,906 You can do some AI things with this if you want to that sort of thing. 431 00:26:40,906 --> 00:26:40,907 But. 432 00:26:41,671 --> 00:26:47,221 I want you to hold me accountable for my coaching as well, but I also wanna 433 00:26:47,221 --> 00:26:51,871 give you this very valuable tool of being able to reflect back and say, God 434 00:26:51,871 --> 00:26:58,271 Kelly said something about physicality, but I can't remember was she talking 435 00:26:58,271 --> 00:27:02,471 about the fourth quarter or the third quarter, or which team was it? 436 00:27:02,471 --> 00:27:03,461 I really don't know. 437 00:27:03,461 --> 00:27:04,721 I wanna check the video. 438 00:27:04,921 --> 00:27:05,251 Now. 439 00:27:05,251 --> 00:27:08,911 You can go right back and you can listen to exactly what I said. 440 00:27:09,111 --> 00:27:13,041 Because we are all very emotionally activated in those moments. 441 00:27:13,071 --> 00:27:18,041 We, at least I am, as a coach and assessor, I want to do a good job. 442 00:27:18,611 --> 00:27:24,111 And this is my big moment and I'm trying to do things well and I feel 443 00:27:24,861 --> 00:27:27,051 excited, not nervous, but excited. 444 00:27:27,981 --> 00:27:33,371 And so I wanna make sure that it happens as effectively as possible. 445 00:27:33,571 --> 00:27:36,721 I also want that umpire to be able to get the most outta that 446 00:27:36,721 --> 00:27:37,891 by being able to review the notes. 447 00:27:37,891 --> 00:27:43,771 So it's just, I can't believe that I, it took me this long in my lifetime to 448 00:27:43,771 --> 00:27:48,331 realize all we have to do is take out our phone, start the voice memos app on an 449 00:27:48,331 --> 00:27:55,021 iPhone and just record the thing, and now we have this incredibly valuable tool. 450 00:27:55,786 --> 00:28:00,796 So I am talking about this every time I talk about umpire coaching 451 00:28:00,796 --> 00:28:04,306 now is record it 'cause it works. 452 00:28:05,296 --> 00:28:09,946 And then that gives you more material with which to engage and to follow up. 453 00:28:10,786 --> 00:28:15,166 Recently Firthy you asked me the question about how to prepare 454 00:28:15,166 --> 00:28:18,016 your goals and objectives for an upcoming tournament that you have. 455 00:28:18,016 --> 00:28:23,836 And I went through a suggestion of reviewing any of the notes, assessments, 456 00:28:23,836 --> 00:28:27,076 coaching reports, all those sort of things that you have from previous. 457 00:28:27,916 --> 00:28:28,786 Matches. 458 00:28:29,536 --> 00:28:32,356 If you have the recording, you have the transcript, now you've 459 00:28:32,356 --> 00:28:35,206 got something really comprehensive that you can go back to. 460 00:28:35,356 --> 00:28:36,916 So it just makes sense. 461 00:28:37,166 --> 00:28:41,276 So for your own follow up and to be able to take something back and go, 462 00:28:41,306 --> 00:28:44,936 oh, I really wanna ask, I should have asked in the moment I didn't to that. 463 00:28:45,566 --> 00:28:46,226 Assessor. 464 00:28:46,896 --> 00:28:48,276 I'd love to ask them more. 465 00:28:48,576 --> 00:28:52,686 They should be more than happy to continue that dialogue. 466 00:28:53,156 --> 00:28:58,176 I tell the umpires that I work with at any point, if you wanna call me up and 467 00:28:58,176 --> 00:29:01,896 ask me six months later about something that I said that you're still working 468 00:29:01,896 --> 00:29:07,086 on and you're really not piecing it together or you want some more suggestions 469 00:29:07,086 --> 00:29:09,696 because the last one's really worked, but now you have this thing that you're 470 00:29:09,696 --> 00:29:14,466 working on, just call me because I love to coach and I want to be there. 471 00:29:14,626 --> 00:29:17,326 I think this is the last one, the teas again. 472 00:29:17,526 --> 00:29:21,996 This can be one of the most difficult parts is mixing with the teams. 473 00:29:22,296 --> 00:29:28,446 It feels so much safer to go sit at a separate table and have your 474 00:29:28,446 --> 00:29:33,026 private little conversation with your MO and your colleague and your coach 475 00:29:33,026 --> 00:29:35,276 assessor and maybe a select person. 476 00:29:35,476 --> 00:29:39,796 That's how I feel, so I am putting myself in the discomfort zone. 477 00:29:40,186 --> 00:29:45,496 And after matches, I am going and sitting in the middle of a long table because 478 00:29:45,496 --> 00:29:47,476 somebody's gonna have to sit close to me. 479 00:29:47,476 --> 00:29:52,906 At some point, the teams will fill in from the ends and they'll fill up, and 480 00:29:52,906 --> 00:29:54,616 then somebody's gotta sit beside me. 481 00:29:54,616 --> 00:29:58,656 And I feel sorry for them, and I feel uncomfortable, but I need to 482 00:29:58,656 --> 00:30:03,426 be in that uncomfortable situation so I can practice talking to people 483 00:30:03,426 --> 00:30:05,076 that may not like me very much. 484 00:30:05,276 --> 00:30:08,486 The more you do it, the easier it will get. 485 00:30:08,546 --> 00:30:12,716 You have to practice okay with that opportunity. 486 00:30:12,866 --> 00:30:16,586 What you'll often find, or what you may find on occasion, is that it's 487 00:30:16,586 --> 00:30:18,336 the captain that drew the short straw. 488 00:30:18,336 --> 00:30:22,446 I'm gonna go sit next to the umpire and you can ask them questions. 489 00:30:22,506 --> 00:30:24,596 Ask the player next to you some questions. 490 00:30:24,646 --> 00:30:27,646 Don't make it specific about particular plays. 491 00:30:27,706 --> 00:30:31,606 Assume that they feel the same way that you do about very specific instances. 492 00:30:31,636 --> 00:30:35,806 They don't, but just play along with me here and just say, Hey, how did you 493 00:30:35,806 --> 00:30:38,416 feel like the cards went in that game? 494 00:30:38,926 --> 00:30:41,566 Did that feel about the right balance? 495 00:30:41,566 --> 00:30:43,066 Or was there something off for you? 496 00:30:43,266 --> 00:30:46,836 Try to make it more thematic rather than specific. 497 00:30:46,926 --> 00:30:48,786 They will go into specifics. 498 00:30:49,521 --> 00:30:51,801 You don't have to lead them there, they will. 499 00:30:52,001 --> 00:30:55,361 You may wanna ask about particular decisions, be like, 500 00:30:55,421 --> 00:30:57,671 oh my God, that foot did it. 501 00:30:57,731 --> 00:30:59,141 Did it actually go over your foot? 502 00:30:59,141 --> 00:31:00,191 Or did I screw that up? 503 00:31:01,151 --> 00:31:05,531 If you do approach it from a position of humility, recognizing that you 504 00:31:05,531 --> 00:31:07,391 may be wrong about what happened. 505 00:31:07,841 --> 00:31:11,171 And with that openness to hearing what you're gonna hear. 506 00:31:11,371 --> 00:31:14,071 That's the dangerous part about the very specific question. 507 00:31:14,071 --> 00:31:18,121 The general stuff, you can talk more about concepts or you can say, 508 00:31:18,571 --> 00:31:20,871 Hey we had a lot of aerials today. 509 00:31:21,531 --> 00:31:24,501 What happened today, does that match up with what's been 510 00:31:24,501 --> 00:31:26,121 happening for you all season? 511 00:31:26,121 --> 00:31:27,771 Or did it feel different? 512 00:31:28,521 --> 00:31:30,621 And using very neutral language for that. 513 00:31:30,651 --> 00:31:32,931 You can learn a lot from these conversations. 514 00:31:33,216 --> 00:31:37,836 Thanking the captains if you get that opportunity really valuable. 515 00:31:37,836 --> 00:31:42,186 Thanking the teams in general, thanking the staff, thanking the 516 00:31:42,216 --> 00:31:47,546 club chairman, thanking the coach and the teas people and anybody. 517 00:31:47,546 --> 00:31:51,166 You can, you are an ambassador in that moment and. 518 00:31:51,811 --> 00:31:58,561 Anybody you can smile at and show them that umpiring is cool and fun 519 00:31:58,981 --> 00:32:04,541 and that you're sexy and everything's great is a massive win for all of us 520 00:32:04,601 --> 00:32:06,491 and a massive win for the third team. 521 00:32:07,121 --> 00:32:09,431 Again, it can be very uncomfortable. 522 00:32:09,461 --> 00:32:10,961 It can feel awkward. 523 00:32:11,531 --> 00:32:16,211 I have to push myself to do it, but I feel very good when I do, 524 00:32:16,331 --> 00:32:18,191 'cause I know I'm making an impact. 525 00:32:18,191 --> 00:32:22,991 And now when I walk into a clubhouse for the second time, people remember me. 526 00:32:23,561 --> 00:32:25,181 People are smiling at me more. 527 00:32:25,181 --> 00:32:26,531 The players are smiling. 528 00:32:26,711 --> 00:32:28,631 The person behind the bar is smiling. 529 00:32:29,531 --> 00:32:31,751 Everything feels better. 530 00:32:31,751 --> 00:32:35,621 And now I can go out and do my job better, even if they're not my best friends. 531 00:32:36,671 --> 00:32:39,131 Okay, there you go.