National Evaluator Group (NEG)(10/27/15)

Posted 11/9/15

On their fifth conference call of the men's season on 10/27/15 the NEG invited three guests to the conference call and discussed the following (for nearly 1.5 hours):

1. Attendance on call: (n=19)*

Bill Barnett✔

Bret Bernard✔

Randy Burgess✔

Bob Corb✔

Jim Cullingham✔

Jack Horton✔

Allen Lorentzen ✔

Sandy Nitta✔

Ed Reed✔

Gary Robinett✔

Larry Rogers✔

Terry Sayring✔

Randy Snider✔

Andy Takata✔

Rick West✔

Lynn Wittstock✔

*Please excuse me if I left anybody off the list of attendees. Let me know and I will correct the record. Invited guests: John Abdou:: High Performance Director, USAWP and Executive Director, Association of Collegiate Water. Polo Coaches (ACWPA) James Graham: Head Coach Men's and Women's Water Polo, University of Pacific and liaison between ACWPA And NEG Felix Mercado, Head Coach Men's and Women's Water Polo, Brown University and President of ACWPC

Posted 10/21/14

II Coach-Referee Decorum: A lively discussion lasting over an hour and 15 minutes led to some very important points of agreement between the national evaluators and the three coaches on the call:

(1) A small minority of coaches and teams are responsible for a large majority of breaches in decorum, on the deck, in the pool, and among the spectators. These few "repeat offenders" often put the opposing coach in a position where they feel they must also breach decorum in order to "protect" their team. Players and fans model their behavior after their coach, and all of this becomes an unnecessary distraction for the referees.

(2) Referees must understand that breakdowns in decorum frequently begin when referees fail to control the physicality and set the standard for acceptable physical play early in the game. Referees must consistently apply the rules as written from the beginning to the end of the game. While coaches have considerable influence over their players' conduct in the water, ultimately it is referees' responsibility to hold the players in the water accountable for their actions, particularly when it comes to behavior that is "...unacceptable within the spirit of the game." (Rule 21-12 Misconduct) or "...playing in a violent manner." (Rule 21-14 Flagrant Misconduct). For referees to ignore this type of breach of decorum is unacceptable and future assignments should reflect the official's non-compliance with this important aspect of their position.

(3) A large majority of coaches would support the officials in applying the rules the way they are written in terms of maintaining decorum. Rule 7-4 outlines a three tier approach to maintaining decorum with the red card being the last option, primarily to be used when a coach continues to be disruptive after being given a warning and a yellow card. Contrary to the message referees were getting 8-10 years ago, most coaches favor involving the sport supervisor as prescribed in the rules for red cards. This will get the attention of "repeat offenders" and their behavior will change. (4) Coaches and referees share the same goals with respect to improving officiating: Mutual respect, increased constructive communication, universal accountability, and transparency are all critical elements in improving the quality and consistency of officiating throughout the country. Improved coach-referee decorum will reduce one significant distraction for referees, allowing for a more enjoyable experience for all stakeholders in our sport.

PLAYERS PLAY, COACHES COACH, REFS REF, AND FANS CHEER!

III. NCO Update

-Results of National Referee Call 10/20/15:

*Attendance: Curry, Drury, Dabbaghian, Dermendjian, Farid, Goldenberg, Kogonov, Kratz, Maretski, Navarro, Ortega, Perez, Rockhold, T Spiritosanto, Valsilchikov, Voltz

*Unable to Participate: Barnhart, Korsgaden, Peila, Redding, S. Rotsart, Stankevitch

*My Agenda:

-Mission Statement: improve the overall quality and consistency of officiating across the country. Applying the rules as written.

-Goals: (1) Increased transparency and accountability; (2) Link performance to selection and assignment; (3) Consistent message and support from NEG; (4) Improved decorum (MPSF)

-Methods: (1) Improved communication (ADVANTAGE, National Conference Calls (x2), NCAA Grant--Referee Schools?) (2) NEG (3) Voice-activated headsets

-Feedback, Questions, Etc?

*Follow-up: (1) Schedule another national call, probably after NCAA Championship. (2) Provide formal process to allow referees to evaluate Evaluators. (3) Schedule NEG conference call with referees invited. (4) Create situations for increased interactions between referees and evaluators.

-ADVANTAGE Update Rule Proposals (Randy S.:) Picks (Bret B.): Center Forward Position (Rick W.:) When a 5M? ( (Pete S.:) Reffing the Women's Game (Sandy N:) Operationalizing Evaluation Criteria (Kai P:) Rule 20-10: Pushing/Pushing off vs. contact (Ed R.)

-NCAA "Watch" List: Missing 1st deadline from SCIAC/CWPA

IV. Review of the last two weeks of the season: Deferred

V. Evaluator Concern

-Must put name and final score on evaluations in order for them to be useful to referees

VI. Schedule next conference call (Tuesday, 11/10/15; 6:00 PM)

VII. Adjournment

Future dates relevant to NEG:

11/10/15: NEG Conference Call 11/20-22/15: Conference Championship Weekend (CWPA--MIT; MPSF--USC; SCIAC-- La Verne; WWPA--Air Force) 11/22/15: Selection call for Teams and Officials 11/28/15: Play-In Games (TBD) 12/5-6/15: NCAA Championship (UCLA)

Respectfully Submitted,

Bob Corb, NCO